What does the Bible say about ___?
Updated 2026-07-31 · 24 questions · answer first, then the passages in full
The money questions we chose to answer first (not a ranking of search volume), answered in a couple of hundred words each. Where Scripture commands, we say so. Where it gives wisdom rather than a rule, we say that too, and where careful believers disagree, both cases are stated by someone who wants that side to win.
Every answer ends with the same three-part verdict: what is commanded, what is wisdom, and where there is freedom. If you want the reading rules behind that, start with how we read Scripture on money. For the long version of any answer, follow its "go deeper" links into the lessons, the sixteen themes, and the tools.
Getting started
7 questions · The questions people arrive with, usually because of a verse they half-remember.
- Is money the root of all evil?
No. Three words got dropped from the quotation, and each one changes it.
- Is "God helps those who help themselves" in the Bible?
It is not in the Bible, and the gospel runs the other way, though diligence is praised.
- Is the prosperity gospel biblical?
No, and the verses it leans on say something else once you read the paragraph around them.
- Does the Bible say anything about budgeting?
Not the word, but counting the cost before you build is a habit Jesus expects everyone to recognise.
- Is it wrong to be ambitious about work and money?
Skill and excellence are commended. The ambition Scripture forbids is the kind that eats other people.
- Is saving money a failure to trust God?
No. Stored provision is called wise; the sin named is hoarding as security, and anxiety.
- Do Christians have to pay taxes?
Yes: stated directly, twice, under an empire nobody would call just.
Giving
3 questions · How much, to whom, and whether the tenth still binds.
- Is tithing required for Christians?
Giving is commanded. Ten percent is a benchmark, and faithful readers differ on whether it binds.
- How much should I give?
Scripture gives a mechanism, not a number: decided in advance, proportional, first, and growing.
- Should I still give while I am in debt?
Yes, usually a smaller amount than you planned, because repayment is also an obligation.
Debt & risk
6 questions · Borrowing, guaranteeing, gambling, insuring: where Scripture is sharpest.
- Is debt a sin?
On most readings no, but it is never commended either. Not repaying is the part Scripture calls wicked.
- Are credit cards wrong for Christians?
The card is not the problem. The balance you carry is, and it is the servitude Proverbs describes.
- Should I cosign a loan or lend money to family?
Do not cosign, and Proverbs 22:26-27 says why. Do give, or lend expecting nothing back.
- Is filing for bankruptcy a sin?
Not automatically. Scripture builds in release for unpayable debt, and still calls repayment a duty.
- Is gambling or playing the lottery a sin?
No verse names it. Several name what it runs on, and lottery spending weighs heaviest on the poorest players.
- Is buying insurance a lack of faith?
No. Seeing trouble coming and preparing is called prudent; the faith question is where security rests.
Wealth & investing
5 questions · Owning, multiplying, profiting, retiring: blessing and warning, both kept.
- Should Christians invest?
Yes. Patient multiplication is treated as faithfulness; the parable criticises burying it.
- What does the Bible say about cryptocurrency?
Nothing directly. Plenty about honest weights, hurrying to be rich, and understanding what you buy.
- Is it wrong to be rich?
No, but Scripture calls wealth a danger as often as a gift, and gives the rich orders.
- Is retirement biblical?
The modern version is not in Scripture, but neither is working until you drop.
- Is it wrong to make a profit?
No. The anger in Scripture is aimed at how profit is taken, never at profit itself.
Family
3 questions · Money between the people who live with the consequences.
- What does the Bible say about teaching kids about money?
Teach it the way Deuteronomy teaches everything: in ordinary moments, with real money.
- What does the Bible say about money in marriage?
One flesh is an economic claim too: shared life, shared work, and agreement before action.
- Should Christians leave an inheritance?
Leaving one is called good. Scripture is just as clear about what a rushed inheritance does.