The Apostle Paul is the most well-known Christian missionary. He was beaten, persecuted, shipwrecked and thrown into prison numerous times for His faith, and yet wrote half of the New Testament!
Most of the church doctrine you see today is a result of Paul’s writings. Paul was an amazing and gifted man of God; and one that we would all do well in esteeming. Paul also talked about money on more than one occasion. So let’s take a look at what the Apostle Paul teaches us about our money.
1. The Love of Money Is Powerful & Destructive
Paul mentored, discipled and wrote two letters to a young pastor named Timothy. Here’s what Paul says to him in 1 Timothy 6:10:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (ESV)
Ok, so a couple things to note here.
The first is that Paul never says that money itself is a root of evil – rather he says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
If money were evil, we’d all be in trouble. But loving it is where the problem lies.
How can we tell if we love money? Maybe these things will help – do you have a desire to be rich, to make a quick buck, do you always look for something that will benefit you financially or what your “cost” will be to volunteer or help others?
Secondly, Paul tells us that loving money is destructive.
Notice the vivid language he uses – through this craving some have pierced themselves with many pangs and have wandered from the faith!
This is a bold statement that essentially says, the craving or desire for more and more money can and will lead to not just financial ruin, but ultimate destruction.
2. Be Generous
The second money lesson from Paul is to be generous. Notice what he says in the very famous passage of 2 Corinthians 8:7:
But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you – see that you excel in this act of grace also.
Ok, so what is this act of grace that Paul is talking about here?
Well, if you look at the context of chapter 8, you’ll notice that Paul is talking about the generosity of the Macedonian Christians who were giving out of extreme poverty. Paul is challenging the Corinthian church (and us today) to excel in the gracious act of giving generously to others!
I love what Paul says two verses later about why we should give so lavishly, so generously and without complaint:
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
Jesus’ generosity to us through the Gospel so that we may live should motivate us to be generous to others.
3. View Your Work as a Means to a Greater End
Why do you work!? Have you ever asked yourself that before? Some of us would answer, “Because I have to” or “Because I enjoy it” or “What else would I do?”
But the Apostle Paul gives us a different view of work that I think many Americans don’t have. Here’s what he says:
Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Whoa! Did you notice the “so that”? Let him work hard so that he may have something to share with those in need!
We work hard to earn money so we can be a blessing to others. If American Christianity understood that, we’d see the giving go up dramatically in the U.S.
We aren’t called to hoard or to build up a huge retirement nest egg or buy bigger houses or drive more expensive cars, we are called to share with those in need!
How often do we pass by opportunities to be a blessing to others by sharing what we have? Or worse, how often do we even look for them!?
Paul challenges us to view our work through a Kingdom lens and stop idolizing our wealth!
4. It’s OK to Be Rich
Wait a second – didn’t you just say Christians aren’t called to be about nest eggs and fancy cars?
Am I contradicting myself here?
Not at all. I don’t think Christians need to take a vow of poverty because you can be rich and not be about your wealth. It all comes down to the heart.
But, if you are rich, you have to be careful – and you have to be generous. Look at what Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:17-18:
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.
Notice Paul says they are to do good, be generous and ready to share. It’s OK to be rich, but are we ready to share!?
What Are Your Thoughts?
Which one of Paul’s teachings resonates most with you? Would you add any other teachings on money from Paul?
Would you like a better glimpse into what the Bible says about money? Be sure to read my article: 5 Bible verses about money
Actually #4. I never read that passage before or rather never paid attention to it. I particularly like this statement: …because you can be rich and not be about your wealth. It all comes down to the heart. Very well said.
GOD has put so much in some peoples hands and very little in others.Then there are those who have quite a hard time understanding let along accepting the reality of bible truththat ; they can unkonwing,ly travle the worng road.some see the worng and turn back to GOD.While meany just keep going down that DARK DARK ROAD looking for that light at the other end.Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said ,”The man has becom like one of us he knows good and evil.We must keep him from the tree of life, or he will live forever.
If you are rich, it all comes down to your heart.
And if you have the heart of God, and see others in need, could you possibly withhold your excess from them so that you may continue to live in luxury?
What a great article! Thanks for sharing! This is a really neat summary of Paul’s teachings on money. And I love #3– I had never read that verse like that before (sounds weird, but I think I must have always skimmed over the words and not made the connection that we work hard “so that” we can share with others). Awesome, encouraging, and challenging thoughts! Thanks!
thank God for this teaching, it’s challenging for every Christian
Don’t be afraid to be Rich. Instead when you become one, try your best, and your very best to become generous and holy too. Use your wealth to spread the Kingdom of God.
God bless us all!
Great article though my question was not fully answered. Why then was Paul poor and always struggling, (scripture about Jesus’ poverty). Also why do pastors harangue us about getting rich, and blame us for being in lack. Some of us really work hard and fulfill financial requirements of the church and we still get by modestly. Should we steal? It s not fair that they insinuate we have no faith.
And many rich people I know, even Christians all have that dread whenever you are nice to them. They think you are going to ask them for money! So yes, it all comes down to the heart.
A couple of facts that I see here. The Sabbath is the last day of the week, which is Saturday, which is when Jesus and the disciples taught in temples and synagogues. The Bible also has scripture on what day to handle money which is on the first day of the week, which is Sunday. For setting provisions for the week and maybe helping someone if you are willing. So, now I wonder how the two got merged and why. I think it’s because someone knew that on Sunday people were more willing to give to the poor on Sunday and that people gathered on the Sabbath, so they said let’s merge the two and tell everyone that they should give to the church and the church will take there money and distribute it the way they see fit. IDK, Something just doesn’t feel right, maybe I’m wrong. Just a thought. God Bless All
Most of what Paul teaches is Paul’s opinion, not thus saith the lord. People have to get off the kick that every word in the bible is from God himself.
Love of money? Depends on what you mean by love and money. God gave many people wealth in the OT.
Be generous? Of course, but how can you be generous if you’re not striving to have money?
Work as a means to a greater end? That’s protestantism and calvinism, not Hebrew.
Learn the context and stop thinking paul is talking to you in the 21st century.
God communicates through the heart of a person, not a book. Silly people.
thanks for that!
If all scripture is given by inspiration of God… 2 Tim 3:16 , and 2 Peter 1:21 says that …. holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, then it’s not any man’s opinion.
Jesus said “Woe to the rich.”
He said about Joseph: May his land be blessed by the Lord with the dew of heaven’s bounty and the watery depths that lie beneath; with the bountiful harvest from the sun and the abundant yield of the seasons; with the best products of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the eternal hills; with the choice gifts of the land and everything in it; and with the favor of Him who appeared in the burning bush. May these rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince of his brothers. His firstborn bull has splendor, and horns like those of a wild ox; he gores all the peoples with them to the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim, and such are the thousands of Manasseh.
Deuteronomy 33:13-17 HCSB
Look what happened to Solomon with his money and his riches. It corrupted him in the end by his vanity. He became poor and weak in his heart to do what God commanded his father King David to do, obeying the Law of God about having to worship only 1 God and not many from his many different concubine’s different Gods. God punished him and stripped away all his posessions and gave it to another King. Solomon Himself said that everything under the sun is VANITY. He finally recognized that he became corrupted by money. It went to his head and not his heart. No, Money is not needed in this world at all. It is Satan that entrusted that notion in man’s head, because he wanted to be worshipped as God. God created man from the Earth to worship him and Satan said to himself that i will implant in man’s head Money which is made from the earth to oppose God’s will. 666 is Solomon’s wages earned in a year. Dont you see, God said that everything in this world he gave to us Free, so that we take it and share it with others Free as well. Yes, we have to work but not for money, it should be abolished, but for our need and to share with each other freely. There wouldnt be any thieves in this world because why would someone steal and have vanity if he can get exactly what the others have. Also, that’s why Jesus said “woe to the riches” because they had lost their faith in the words of God and contemplated only money and not the real faith from the heart toward God. Also i want to mention that Tithing was never about money but about food, to the Levites priests.
And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
Mark 10:23-27 KJV
Isaac sowed seed in that land, and in that year he reaped a hundred times what was sown. The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich and kept getting richer until he was very wealthy. He had flocks of sheep, herds of cattle, and many slaves, and the Philistines were envious of him. The Philistines stopped up all the wells that his father’s slaves had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with dirt. And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us, for you are much too powerful for us.”
Genesis 26:12-16 HCSB
From there he went up to Beer-sheba, and the Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your offspring because of My servant Abraham.”
Genesis 26:23-24 HCSB
I believe that Paul was the first opportunist that we would today call a televangelist. If you read it closely you can start to tease out his own love of money. The problem with many reading the bible is that they assume all in it are virtuous unless told in the book otherwise. They think the bible is perfect. If you read it as skeptically as you would anything else it starts to appear to you.