When I was a student, a professor made the statement, “The Bible talks as much about money as it does about sex, maybe more.” At the time, I thought he was referring to principles of personal financial responsibility, perhaps some teaching about stewardship, even a few strongly worded commands about generosity. Over the years, I have come to appreciate that the Bible does much more than that: It provides a way of thinking about wealth, property, and financial resources. We all form a perspective on matters of economics, both personal and social. Our experiences of success and failure and of want or plenty, the influencers of our formative years, a book, some philosopher, a politician, or our communities shape what we believe and what we think about everything, and this includes money and all things related to it. Many people end up with a set of economic assumptions and beliefs without much effort or intentionality. They go along with prevailing trends or criticisms, react to current or personal events, and follow their emotions or their circumstances to conclusions. But from a faith perspective, it seems that if the Bible has so much to say; perhaps we should benefit from the wisdom, teachings, and revelation that millennia of human beings have.
There is no room here to exhaust the biblical references tied to material matters. Even among people of faith, there is ample disagreement regarding interpreting many passages dealing with money and property. But I would like to take a swing at a few things worth considering based on conversations with friends, what young people are talking about, and the messages we are all ingesting via social media. Firstly, the growing sympathy for socialism and socialist thinking is very troubling. I know (and have for more than 40 years) many who believe Christianity and the Bible even endorse a collectivist outlook on economy. I categorically disagree. The early church held all things in common out of necessity and in Christian love and community. They did not argue for governmental control of personal wealth and property. They had a profound concern for the poor and took action to care for those in need. But they did not advocate those things falling to the government. Perhaps the most penetrating words I have read addressing this come from Winston Churchill, who was no saint but did know his Bible as most in his era did. To paraphrase, he said that Christianity holds that what is mine is yours; Socialism today holds that what is yours is mine (or ours).
Generosity, compassion, charity, benevolence, and frugality are Christian virtues that carry with them expectations for thinking and behaving laid upon people of faith from which there is no exemption. Likewise, greed, avarice, envy, and covetousness are ill-conceived virtues that carry the same implications for which there is no justification. Forming a perspective or philosophy of personal and social economic ideas takes work. Christianity and the Bible offer thinking that is not overly simplistic and is often marked by paradox. For example, Jesus teaches with some force that the poor should be cared for with compassion and exhorts the rich young man to sell all he has and give the proceeds to the poor in Mark 10. However, in Matthew 26, he also corrects his disciples, who were upset about what they thought was a lavish and wasteful display by a woman anointing his head with expensive oil that could have been sold to help the poor. Jesus says to them, “The poor you will always have with you.” So, which is correct? Both. The Bible teaches to feed the poor, as in Isaiah 58, and that those who will not work should not eat, as in 2 Thessalonians 3. Compassion and benevolence do not cross out personal responsibility and hard work. Other striking references speak to the aversion to wealth and property manifesting in our culture presently. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 include protections for wealth and property. You cannot steal it or covet it. This says something about God’s perspective on property and human nature. We must also remember that money is not the root of all evil but the love of money, as 1 Timothy 6 teaches. A faith perspective on money and material matters requires wisdom, intentionality, and humility.
This article first appeared in-print in Bucks County Courier Times on February 16, 2025.
