What the Bible Says About Money and Debt

This page is about money as God sees it, written for families who count every dollar. If you are buried in debt, or ashamed of how bad things have gotten, read When Debt Has You Under first. If you have lost your job or your home, read My work or my home is gone. If money trouble has brought you to thoughts of ending your life, call 988 or text 988 now, and read the page on getting safe. No debt is worth your life.

The Earth Is the Lord’s

First ask whose money it is.

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

Psalm 24:1 (KJV)

God says it again through Haggai, The silver is mine, and the gold is mine (Haggai 2:8). That takes in the paycheck, the truck, and the change in the jar. So we are not owners. We are stewards, managing what belongs to another, and one day we will give an account.

Jesus said, He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much (Luke 16:10). Then he called money the unrighteous mammon, and that which is another man’s (16:11-12). Mammon is money and worldly goods, and it is lent to us. That is good news for a family with little. God measures faithfulness not by the size of the account but by what you do with what is in it. Forty dollars handled honestly before him is not a small thing.

Contentment and the Love of Money

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 (KJV)

Paul does not say money is the root of all evil. He says the love of it is a root from which every kind of evil grows. They that will be rich means those who want to be, and a man can love money with almost none of it. It shows in envy and in the lottery ticket. The snare is a hunter’s trap, and the ruin it pictures is real.

Jesus said, Take heed, and beware of covetousness (Luke 12:15). Then he told of a rich man who planned bigger barns and said to his soul, take thine ease. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee (Luke 12:19-20). The man in the story is made up, but that night is real, and it comes for each of us. So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God (12:21).

Paul knew hunger, and he wrote, I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content (Philippians 4:11). It had to be learned. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me (4:13) was written about that very lesson. It is not a promise of a raise. It is a promise of strength to live without one.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5 (KJV)

Conversation means your whole way of life. The ground of contentment is not your budget but God’s promise. Paul also charged the rich to trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, and to be ready to distribute (1 Timothy 6:17-19). If you have a warm house and food in the cupboard, do not be quick to think that charge is only for someone else.

The Prosperity Gospel

Some preachers teach that God wants every believer rich and healthy, and that enough faith, or a large gift to their ministry, will unlock it. Paul warned of men supposing that gain is godliness (1 Timothy 6:5). That teaching crushes the poor saint by telling him his want proves weak faith. Yet Christ was poor. It is not a different emphasis but another gospel. See Where Heresy Shows Up.

Honoring God With Your Substance

Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:

Proverbs 3:9 (KJV)

The firstfruits were the first of the harvest, brought to God before the farmer knew how the rest would turn out. Faithful giving still has that shape. It comes off the top, not out of what is left.

The best picture of giving comes from the poor churches of Macedonia, whose deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality (2 Corinthians 8:2). They first gave their own selves to the Lord (8:5), and the money followed. Then Paul gives the root of all giving.

For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (KJV)

The Son of God left heaven’s glory, was laid in a manger, and gave himself on the cross. We do not give to earn his love. We give because we have it.

So give regularly and in proportion. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him (1 Corinthians 16:2). Give gladly, for God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). And give in trust. He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (9:6). Sowing is a picture of seed thrown into the dirt in hope. The harvest is real, though not always paid in money, for God is able to make all grace abound toward you (9:8). If your gift seems too small, remember the widow and her two mites. Jesus said she gave more than all the rich, for she gave of her want (Mark 12:41-44).

Does the Tithe Still Bind?

Faithful Reformed teachers differ here. Some hold that the tithe, a tenth, binds Christians still. Abraham gave tithes long before Moses (Genesis 14:20), and Jesus told the Pharisees not to leave it undone (Matthew 23:23). Others answer that the tithe supported Israel’s Levites and temple, which Christ fulfilled, and that the New Testament names no percentage.

Both sides agree on far more. Giving should be regular, generous, proportionate, and first. The church that feeds you with the Word should be supported by you (Galatians 6:6). Many who do not hold it binding still start with a tenth, as a floor and not a ceiling. If a tenth feels impossible right now, do not give nothing. Set an amount, give it first, and ask God to grow it.

Borrowing and Debt

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)

When you owe, part of next month’s paycheck is spent before you earn it. Debt promises freedom and delivers a kind of servitude. Scripture is just as plain about failing to pay. The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again (Psalm 37:21). A debt is a promise, and a Christian keeps it even when it costs him.

Owe No Man Any Thing

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:8 (KJV)

Some read this as a ban on every loan. Many Reformed teachers read it with the verse before, Render therefore to all their dues (13:7), as a command to pay what is due when it is due and not to stay in debt. The same Bible that warns about debt regulates lending. God forbade charging interest to a poor brother (Exodus 22:25), and Jesus said, from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away (Matthew 5:42). He would not command his people to lend if every loan were sin. Other faithful Christians hold that a believer should avoid borrowing almost entirely, and they deserve respect. Both agree that debt is dangerous, that a promised payment must be made, and that the one debt never paid off is love.

Cards, Payday Loans, and Car Notes

1. Credit cards. A card paid in full every month is a tool. A balance carried over grows while you sleep. If you cannot stop carrying one, cut the card up.
2. Payday and title loans. The Larger Catechism names usury and extortion as sins (WLC 142). Calvin and many after him allowed fair interest in trade, but lending that preys on the desperate is what Scripture condemns. Go to your deacons first.
3. Buy now, pay later. Several small payments at once can quietly eat a paycheck. If you could not buy it today, ask whether you should buy it at all.
4. Car loans. A working man needs a car that runs. A plain used car you can afford beats a new one you will pay on for years.

Cosigning

The old word for cosigning is surety, promising to pay another man’s debt if he does not. Be not thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee? (Proverbs 22:26-27). If you have already done it, Solomon says to go humbly and press the man to release you. Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids (Proverbs 6:3-4). He pictures a roe and a bird slipping out of a trap (6:5), and the trap is real. When a son or friend needs help, it is often kinder to give what you can afford to lose than to sign for what you cannot (WLC 141).

Thou Shalt Not Steal

The eighth commandment reaches much further than shoplifting.

The eighth commandment requireth the lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.

Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 74

The Larger Catechism fills it out (WLC 141-142). It requires honest dealing, paying each his due, restoring what we wrongly kept, and giving and lending freely as we are able. It requires a lawful calling worked hard, careful provision, and frugality. It forbids theft, fraud, extortion, and usury, and also covetousness, anxious care, envy, idleness, waste, and wasteful gaming (see What the Bible Says About Gambling). It even forbids robbing yourself and your family of the right use and comfort of what God gave. No one keeps that list. It should send us all to Christ.

Working and Saving

God’s first plan for a family’s needs is work. If any provide not for his own, he hath denied the faith (1 Timothy 5:8). A modest wage faithfully earned is a holy thing. See Diligence, Honesty, and Providing for Your Own.

Solomon sends the sluggard to the ant, who gathers her food in the harvest (Proverbs 6:6-8). There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up (Proverbs 21:20). Jesus asked which man would build a tower without first sitting down to count the cost (Luke 14:28). A budget is just counting the cost. Yet the rich fool saved too. Saving for the broken water heater or the lean months is faithfulness. Saving so that you will never need to trust God is hoarding. Plan, and then sleep.

Paying Taxes

Taxes are part of what is due. For for this cause pay ye tribute also, Paul wrote, for they are God’s ministers (Romans 13:6). He wrote under Nero. Jesus said, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s (Matthew 22:21). That holds when taxes are high and rulers waste them (WCF 23.4). It means an honest return, cash jobs included. Do not cheat. See What the Bible Says About Government.

Remembering the Poor

He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Proverbs 19:17 (KJV)

Here is a loan Scripture urges on you, and it is made to God. The apostles asked Paul for one thing, that we should remember the poor (Galatians 2:10). John asks, whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? (1 John 3:17). Bowels was the old word for the deep inward feelings.

Christ gave his church an office for this work. When widows were neglected, the church chose seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, to see to it (Acts 6:1-3). Reformed churches see the deacon’s office there. Give to the deacons’ fund, tell them when you see a need, and if the need is yours, let them help. Saints are bound to relieve each other in outward things, according to their several abilities and necessities (WCF 26.2).

When Debt Has You Under

Maybe the bills are stacked on the counter unopened, and you have hidden them from your husband or wife, or from your church, because the shame is heavy. Maybe it is your own fault, or partly, or it came through sickness or a layoff. Hear this. Your worth is not your credit score, and God has not turned his face away.

Scripture tells of a widow whose husband had feared the Lord and still left debts. The creditor was coming to take her two sons as bondmen. God filled her empty vessels with oil, and Elisha told her, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest (2 Kings 4:1-7). That happened. God did not shame her. He provided so that she could pay. He may not fill your jars that way, but his ordinary way of helping is through his people.

1. Tell the truth. If you are married, tell your spouse all of it, if it is safe to. Then tell your deacons.
2. Stop digging. No new debt, even if it means hard cuts for a season.
3. Write it all down. Every debt, its amount, rate, and due date.
4. Talk to those you owe. Many will work out a plan with an honest debtor. Beware anyone who promises to make debt vanish for a fee.
5. Pay something, faithfully. A small payment kept every month is the righteous man of Psalm 37 at work.

If you are weighing bankruptcy, do not decide it alone. Talk with your elders. The law may release a debt that love would still move you to repay if God later prospers you.

If some of this is sin, the overspending, the hiding, the envy, confess it plainly. Jesus taught us to pray, forgive us our debts (Matthew 6:12). Debt there is a picture of sin, and the debt it pictures is real and far larger than any bill. Christ paid it, blotting out the handwriting that was against us, nailing it to his cross (Colossians 2:14). If he paid the debt you never could, he will not leave you alone with the one you can.

Christ Our Treasure

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, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:19-21 (KJV)

Moths in the closet and rust on the truck are real, and everything you can hold will wear out or be taken. Treasure in heaven is just as real, and nothing touches it.

The true treasure is Christ himself. He was sold for thirty pieces of silver, and he died under God’s wrath for sinners who loved money more than God. On the third day he rose. Now he offers himself freely. He that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat (Isaiah 55:1). If you have loved money, or feared its lack more than you trusted God, turn from that and trust Christ alone. If you do not know him yet, read the gospel. Whoever has him is rich, whatever the bank says.

What to Do This Week

1. Give thanks. Name ten things God has given you, starting with the plain ones.
2. Count the cost. With your spouse if you are married, write what comes in and goes out this month, and pray over it.
3. Set your giving first. Decide what you will give on the Lord’s Day, and set it aside before anything else is paid.
4. Start a small reserve. Put by a few dollars a week for the breakdown you know will come.
5. Make things right. If you owe money you have been avoiding, or kept what is not yours, begin to pay it back (WLC 141).
6. Remember the poor. Give to your deacons’ fund, or meet one need you know of.
7. Pray for daily bread. Ask for a competent portion, enough, as God’s fatherly wisdom sees best (WLC 193). Then rest. He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.