3 Money Myths Christians Believe (And Why They’re Wrecking Your Finances)

How can Christians–people who follow Jesus, the King of kings, people who study the Book whose wisdom surpasses every book since the beginning of time, not be the very best investors, savers, and stewards of money in the world? 

In 47 years, I have met thousands–not hundreds–thousands of Jesus followers who rarely save, never invest, use up any extra cash they make on impulse purchases, and are always scraping to get by. 

What happened? Before I show you where this comes from, I want to ask a question: 

Where does this acceptance within the Christian community of sloppy management of money come from? 

The pulpit. 

Pastors rarely talk about it. And as the shepherds lead, so the sheep follow. 

It’s like obesity. Can you remember the last time your pastor preached about the sin of food addiction? This is why, if you are grossly overweight, it’s rare that another believer would say, “Hey brother, you need to start exercising some self control.” 

But just like sugar addiction is a form of idolatry, porn is an abuse of sex, alcoholism is an abuse of alcohol, and drug addiction is an abuse of medicine, poor stewardship is an abuse of money. 

But it gets worse. 

Bobby McGee consumes every dime he makes. The more he makes, the more he spends. Unfortunately, Bobby hasn’t considered King Solomon’s words, “There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up” (Prov 21:20). 

So when Bobby’s child comes down with a life threatening illness and Bobby’s family is hit with a medical bill he can’t pay, stress, frustration, and depression follow. 

A fellow Christian tells Bobby. “I’ll pray for you. God is growing your faith.”

“Faith” has now become a shield for Bobby’s irresponsible money management. Yes, you will enter seasons where you did everything you could within your ability but still went broke. And in that season God grew your faith by miles.

But that is something entirely different than a follower of Jesus who has a life pattern of irresponsible stewardship and lazy finance management. 

Where does it come from? 3 misconceptions about money. 

When you understand these misconceptions it can not only transform your relationship with money, but you can start living smart, creating margin for you and those you love while helping others in need. 

Misconception #1: Money is moral. 

This false notion comes from a popular misquotation of 1 Timothy 6:10, “Money is the root of all sorts of evil.” 

If money is the root of all sorts of evil then no Christ follower has any right to possess money of any kind–physical, bank deposits, or digital. 

But Paul did not tell Timothy that money is the root of all sorts of evil. He said that, “The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil.” 

Including just three little words shifts the focus from material possession to heart intention. It’s the same reason Paul told the church in Corinth that eating meat from an animal that has been sacrificed to an idol is not evil (1 Cor 8:1-13). No matter how that animal was slaughtered, meat is still meat and cannot defile your heart because someone else used it for the evil of worshipping a false god. 

LIkewise, just because millions use money for evil does not make money evil any more than a murderer using a gun to murder someone makes guns evil. 

What was evil was the heart intention. 

Heart intention is so key to understanding how to use money that one man could use prayer sinfully as the Pharisees did (Matt 6:5), while another uses money righteously, as Abraham did (Gen 14:20). 

Take a dime, for example. The dime is not righteous. The dime is not evil. This dime is nothing more than copper and nickel forged into a round, thin disc with words and images embossed on its surface. 

Money is amoral. 

But like sex, we tend to treat money as gross or God. 

The religious treats money as gross. The materialist treats money as God. 

Both paths lead to incredible suffering.

The sacred secular split

This thinking is the child of a millennial old theory that everything falls into one of two categories: the sacred or the secular. 

But it was the late 19th century French sociologist, Émile Durkheim [“ee-meel dirk-hime] who defined religion as a system that separates "sacred" things from “profane” things. According to him, sacred things inspire awe. Profane things are mundane. 

According to this theory, church would be considered sacred. Work, secular. 

Reading the Bible would be sacred. Reading a fantasy novel would be secular. 

Raising your hands during a worship song would be sacred. Dancing to hip hop would be secular. 

But the apostle Paul taught the very opposite. He wrote, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31). 

Paul argues that even the most mundane of things of life can be done in a way that honors God. Whether it’s brushing your teeth, ordering an oat milk latte, or pooping on the toilet, you can do it all to God’s glory. 

Money is no more virtuous or evil than a hammer. I can use a hammer to murder someone. I can also use that same hammer to build a house for the homeless. In both situations, the hammer was not evil or good. The only question is: how was the hammer used? Was it used to help or harm? 

The same is true for money. 

This is why in 1520 Martin Luther wrote, “...the works of monks and priests, do not differ one whit in the sight of God from the works of the rustic laborer in the field or the woman going about her household tasks, but that all works are measured before God by faith alone…” 

Misconception #2: Rich people don’t go to heaven. 

This absurd idea comes from Jesus’ words in Mark 10:25, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

First of all, can a camel walk through the eye of a needle? No. So Jesus is saying that a rich man cannot enter heaven? 

Well that would mean that Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea and Lydia of Thyatira all went to hell. Yet Scripture tells us that each of these were men and women of God. 

Then why did Jesus make this audacious claim? 

Because right before Jesus made this statement, He told a rich young ruler, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mark 10:21). 

Does this mean that in order to inherit eternal life we must sell all that we have and give the money to the poor? Of course not. But wealth was the young man’s kryptonite. It was his idol. It was the one thing holding him back from putting his whole faith in Jesus Christ.  

For someone else this could be alcohol. Alcohol is not any more evil than a pencil. But if it’s an addiction holding you back from putting your whole faith in Jesus Christ, the alcohol has to go. 

The story continues, “But at these words he [the rich man] was saddened, and he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around, said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” (Mark 10:21-23). 

Jesus did not say that rich people cannot enter the kingdom of God. Nor did He say that being rich is wrong, dirty, or evil. He said that it is especially difficult for rich people to enter the kingdom of God because they tend to put their hope in their riches, instead of Christ. 

I love this about Jesus: he always went straight to the intent of the heart. 

Instead of anathematizing sex he anathematized lust (Matt 5:27-28). 

Instead of anathematizing oaths he anathematized dishonesty (Matt 5:37).

Instead of anathematizing success he anathematized selfish ambition (Mark 9:35). 

And instead of anathematizing money he anathematized greed (Matt 6:18-21). 

The other day I saw a license plate that said, “I’mAllSet.” I don’t know the owner of the car, but I have a hunch that they mean money. 

It reminds me of the man who became extremely wealthy from his crops. So he built bigger, fatter barns where he could store all his wealth. Yet that very night, God told him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:20). 

Naked we came into this world and naked we will return. We are fools if we put our hope in riches. But we are also fools if we do not wisely steward the resources God has given us. 

And that brings me to misconception #3: 

Misconception #3: To grow wealth is evil. 

People who make this claim have difficulty answering the following question: 

You receive an offer letter from two different companies. Same benefits, same company culture, same growth opportunity. But the one difference between the two jobs is that one pays more. 

Which would you choose? 

If he’s being honest he’ll say, “The one that pays more.” 

And then I ask, “Why did you pick the one that pays more?” 

An honest answer would be, “Because I wanted to make more money.” 

My sister-in-law experienced a bidding war to buy her house and guess which buyer she went with. The one who paid more! 

To grow wealth is not only not evil, but the duty and responsibility of every follower of The Way. 

But what do we do with Paul’s instruction to Timothy? “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim 6:8-10). 

Look closely. Paul does not condemn money. He condemns the love of money. 

If seeking to make money is evil then why did Paul make money building tents? If seeking to invest and grow one’s wealth is sinful then why did Jesus condemn the servant who buried his talent instead of investing it while his master was away (Matt 25:24-30)? 

When one’s end goal in life is to make as much money as he can, he starts down a path that will plunge his soul into utter ruin. If your end goal is to get rich, you are on a path of great disappointment. 

But when a follower of Jesus desires to make money so that he can experience the fulfillment of honoring the King of kings as a steward of His resources and so that he can bless his wife and children and so that he can give to those in need, support his local church, and bless people around the world, that is a wise and responsible man. 

God gave you talents and resources. It is your responsibility and privilege to use those talents and resources to grow wealth while serving others. 

If you want help creating financial freedom for you and your family, go here.