What does the Bible say about the love of money?
Many people mistakenly say, “Money is the root of all evil.” This is not true. Money itself is not inherently evil. The Bible actually teaches that “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). When we love money, it can easily corrupt us if we’re not careful. It can distort our motives, cloud our judgment, and erode our character. To guard against this, we should continually pray for contentment in life and regularly give through tithing and generosity to others. Giving loosens the grip that money can have on us. It also honors the Lord and serves as a reminder that everything we have is a gift from God, meant for His glory. Money can become an idol that hinders us from fully experiencing Christ. I encourage you to fight this temptation, pray diligently, and keep your focus on Christ to protect your heart. Let’s dive deeper into this together.
1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV) – “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
These verses emphasize the pitfalls of loving money, the value of contentment, and the priority of devotion to God over material wealth. Let me know if you’d like adjustments!
Hebrews 13:5 (ESV) – “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NKJV) – “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.“
Matthew 6:24 (NASB) – “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Luke 16:13 (KJV) – “No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Proverbs 15:27 (NLT) – “Greed brings grief to the whole family, but those who hate bribes will live.”
1 Timothy 6:9 (Holman) – “But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
Proverbs 28:25 (NIV) – “The greedy stir up conflict, but those who trust in the Lord will prosper.”
Luke 12:15 (ESV) – “And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.'”
Matthew 19:24 (NKJV) – “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Proverbs 11:4 (NASB) – “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”
1 John 2:15 (KJV) – “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
Psalm 62:10 (NLT) – “Don’t make your living by extortion or put your hope in stealing. And if your wealth increases, don’t make it the center of your life.”
Proverbs 23:4-5 (NIV) – “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.”
James 5:1-3 (ESV) – “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire.”
Luke 6:24 (NKJV) – “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”
Proverbs 13:11 (NASB) – “Wealth obtained by fraud dwindles, but the one who gathers by labor increases it.”
1 Timothy 6:17 (NIV) – “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Matthew 6:19-20 (KJV) – “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
Ecclesiastes 5:13 (NLT) – “There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.”
Proverbs 30:8-9 (Holman) – “Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor wealth; feed me with the food I need. Otherwise, I might have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the Lord?’ or I might have nothing and steal, profaning the name of my God.”
Mark 8:36 (ESV) – “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”
Luke 12:33-34 (NIV) – “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Proverbs 22:1 (NKJV) – “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Colossians 3:5 (NASB) – “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.”
Psalm 37:16 (NLT) – “It is better to be godly and have little than to be evil and rich.”
Proverbs 10:2 (KJV) – “Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.”
Matthew 16:26 (NIV) – “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”
Luke 18:25 (ESV) – “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Proverbs 28:6 (NKJV) – “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he be rich.”
1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NASB) – “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.”
Ecclesiastes 7:12 (NLT) – “Wisdom and money can get you almost anything, but only wisdom can save your life.”
Proverbs 11:28 (NIV) – “Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”
James 2:5 (KJV) – “Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?”
Psalm 49:6-7 (ESV) – “Those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches? Truly no man can ransom another, or give to God the price of his life.”
Proverbs 15:16 (NKJV) – “Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure with trouble.”
Luke 16:11 (NASB) – “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”
Matthew 13:22 (NLT) – “The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.”
Proverbs 21:6 (NIV) – “A fortune made by a lying tongue is a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare.”
1 Corinthians 6:10 (KJV) – “Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
Psalm 52:7 (ESV) – “See the man who would not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches and sought refuge in his own destruction!”
Proverbs 18:11 (NKJV) – “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own esteem.”
Luke 12:21 (NASB) – “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Ecclesiastes 2:26 (NLT) – “God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him.”
Proverbs 27:20 (NIV) – “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes.”
Matthew 6:21 (Holman) – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
1 Timothy 3:3 (ESV) – “Not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money.”
Proverbs 16:8 (NKJV) – “Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice.”
Luke 11:39 (NASB) – “But the Lord said to him, ‘Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.'”
Ecclesiastes 4:6 (NLT) – “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”
Proverbs 20:21 (NIV) – “An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end.”
James 4:2-3 (KJV) – “Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
Psalm 119:36 (ESV) – “Incline my heart to your testimonies, and not to selfish gain!”
Proverbs 28:20 (NKJV) – “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.”
Luke 16:14 (NASB) – “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him.”
Ecclesiastes 6:2 (NLT) – “God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy it.”
Proverbs 10:22 (NIV) – “The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.”
Matthew 23:25 (Holman) – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
Psalm 10:3 (ESV) – “For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.”
Proverbs 14:31 (NKJV) – “He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.”
Luke 8:14 (NASB) – “The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.”
Ecclesiastes 5:15 (NLT) – “We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.”
Proverbs 21:26 (NIV) – “All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.”
2 Timothy 3:2 (KJV) – “For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.”
Psalm 39:6 (ESV) – “Surely a man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil; man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!”
Proverbs 19:1 (NKJV) – “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one who is perverse in his lips, and is a fool.”
Luke 14:33 (NASB) – “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NLT) – “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle.”
Proverbs 28:22 (NIV) – “The stingy are eager to get rich and are unaware that poverty awaits them.”
Philippians 4:11-12 (Holman) – “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot.”
