Answers

By   •   September 3, 2013   •   Topics:

Q:

Is it wrong to want to make money and do well? Or does God frown on that? My family never had very much and I've always been determined to do better, but am I wrong? Or does the Bible even say?


A:

The Bible actually says a great deal about money, and we shouldn’t be surprised at this, because God is concerned about everything that concerns us, including our money.

The Bible actually says two very important things about money. First of all, it warns us about its dangers. When money becomes the most important thing in our lives, then it becomes a danger to us. Greed takes over, and before long we don’t care who we hurt or what rules we bend as we pursue money. Money and things become more important to us than people, and more important even than God. Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters…. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24).

The second thing the Bible says about money, however, is that it can be good. When we see it as a gift from God, and we ask Him to help us use it to help others and support His work, then money becomes something good instead of something evil.

Don’t fall into the trap of living only for yourself and for the things of this world. Instead, open your heart and life to Christ, and put Him first in your life. Then commit your abilities and your future to Him. Let the Apostle Paul’s words to his young friend Timothy be your guide: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:10,11).