# Bible Verses About Money > First Timothy says the *love* of money is *a* root of all kinds of evil. The familiar saying that money itself is the root of every evil drops both qualifications. Scripture focuses on the loyalties wealth can create and gives practical guidance about debt, work, contentment, and generous giving. _Scripture text is not reproduced in this file: the translations BibleHearth serves are licensed from their publishers and require a copyright notice beside the text. Every reference below links to the verse on BibleHearth, where the passage and its notice appear together._ ## Scripture warns about what money can command The major warnings name love, greed, trust, and service. They examine the posture of the person holding wealth without declaring a particular amount inherently sinful. - [1 Timothy 6:10](https://biblehearth.online/verse/1-timothy/6/10) — Paul names the love of money, and calls it a root of all kinds of evil. Both "a root" and "all kinds" matter to his carefully worded warning. - [Matthew 6:24](https://biblehearth.online/verse/matthew/6/24) — Jesus frames God and money as rival masters, making allegiance the central concern. - [Luke 12:15](https://biblehearth.online/verse/luke/12/15) — Before telling a parable, Jesus warns against greed because a person's life isn't measured by possessions. - [Hebrews 13:5](https://biblehearth.online/verse/hebrews/13/5) — Contentment is presented as the alternative to love of money, and it rests on God's promise never to leave or forsake his people. ## Practical wisdom about debt and accumulation Biblical wisdom pays attention to the practical effects of borrowing, dishonest gain, gradual saving, and misplaced treasure. - [Proverbs 22:7](https://biblehearth.online/verse/proverbs/22/7) — This proverb observes the power debt transfers: the borrower becomes servant to the lender. It isn't phrased as an absolute prohibition. - [Proverbs 13:11](https://biblehearth.online/verse/proverbs/13/11) — Money gained dishonestly dwindles while money gathered gradually grows. The proverb connects method and character to financial results. - [Matthew 6:19-21](https://biblehearth.online/verse/matthew/6/19) — Earthly treasure decays and can be stolen. Jesus then says the heart follows whatever a person treats as treasure. ## Generosity is treated as the ordinary use of surplus Where Scripture instructs those with means, the instruction is almost always to give, and to give without coercion. - [2 Corinthians 9:7](https://biblehearth.online/verse/2-corinthians/9/7) — Paul rules out reluctance and compulsion explicitly, which cuts against pressured giving of every kind. - [1 Timothy 6:17-18](https://biblehearth.online/verse/1-timothy/6/17) — Wealthy believers are warned against arrogance and misplaced hope, then directed toward generosity and good works. - [Acts 20:35](https://biblehearth.online/verse/acts/20/35) — Paul quotes a saying of Jesus found nowhere in the gospels, in a farewell speech about supporting the weak. ## Provision is promised, but not prosperity The provision passages are frequently stretched. Read in context they concern real needs and God's presence. They don't promise unlimited accumulation. - [Philippians 4:19](https://biblehearth.online/verse/philippians/4/19) — Written to a church that had just sent Paul a gift while he was in prison, this promise concerns needs within a setting of generosity and scarcity. - [Matthew 6:31-33](https://biblehearth.online/verse/matthew/6/31) — The needs named are food and clothing, deliberately basic, and the instruction is about ordering priorities. ## What these verses do not mean Two misuses dominate. The first is quoting "money is the root of all evil," though 1 Timothy 6:10 names the love of money as a root of all kinds of evil. The second is the prosperity reading, in which Malachi 3:10 and Philippians 4:19 become a mechanism for generating wealth. Malachi addresses a nation withholding the temple tithe; Philippians was written from prison to people who had just given sacrificially. Neither is a formula. Scripture also never treats poverty as evidence of sin or of weak faith. Jesus was poor, and the prophets reserve their sharpest language for people who exploit those in poverty. Scripture speaks directly about money. Its practical observations cover debt, steady saving, work, provision, and giving. Its sharper warnings ask what money does to the loyalties and trust of the person who holds it. First Timothy's familiar verse is carefully qualified: the *love* of money is *a* root of all kinds of evil. Keeping those words restores the precision that the popular slogan loses. ## Common questions about money ### Does the Bible say money is the root of all evil? No. 1 Timothy 6:10 says the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Both qualifiers matter. Paul addresses attachment to wealth and identifies one source among many kinds of wrongdoing. The same letter later tells wealthy believers to resist arrogance, place their hope in God, and be generous. ### What does the Bible say about debt? Proverbs 22:7 observes that the borrower becomes servant to the lender, describing the power debt transfers without giving an outright prohibition. Scripture regulates lending heavily. It forbids interest that exploits the poor and mandates periodic release of debts, and treats repayment as an obligation. ### Does the Bible require Christians to tithe? Tithing is commanded in the Mosaic law, and Malachi 3:10 is addressed to a nation withholding it from the temple. The New Testament never restates it as a fixed percentage. Second Corinthians 9:7 asks for giving decided in advance, without reluctance or compulsion. Many Christians use ten percent as a voluntary benchmark. ## Related topics - [Bible verses about work](https://biblehearth.online/topics/work) - [Bible verses about gratitude](https://biblehearth.online/topics/gratitude) - [Bible verses about trust](https://biblehearth.online/topics/trust) --- Source: https://biblehearth.online/topics/money Reviewed: 2026-08-21 Original writing © BibleHearth. Licensed Scripture is not included in this file.