“Money and the Church”

Qohelet rightly observed that money has real practical power in human affairs, for “money answers everything” (Eccl 10:19). Yet Scripture consistently warns that the desire for money can become a subtle and destructive force in the human heart. What Jesus called “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:9), Paul described as “filthy lucre,” emphasizing that those who belong to Christ, especially those entrusted with the ministry of the Word, must not be lovers of money (1 Tim 3:3, 8; Tit 1:7). Jesus taught that no one can serve both God and money (Matt 6:24), and Paul warned that those who crave riches fall into temptation, traps, and many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction (1 Tim 6:9). One of the most dangerous consequences of this pursuit is the temptation to compromise God’s Word for financial gain, thereby exchanging divine truth for temporal profit.