I have a confession to make. Every once in a while, when the lottery jackpot is worth at least a few hundred million dollars, I will spend two dollars on a lottery ticket. I don’t think I’ve ever matched more…
Being “good” can get you far in our world. Good behavior wins praise, commuted jail terms, and tangible rewards. Good deeds net accolades and often tax benefits. Good things come to those who wait, who do good for others, who…
God did not overlook the corruption in Noah’s day: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In judgment…
The Golden Rule is doing to others what you would want them to do to you. If you were living a life controlled by a depraved and destructive sin (stealing), that, according to the Bible, leads to eternal separation from…
Today, the list of capital sins is as follows: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and sloth. Capital sins derive their name from the Latin caput, meaning “head.” Thomas Aquinas later would call them not “sins,” but “vices.” Aquinas declared that…
The Bible offers quite a few examples of growing wealth through legitimate means. Some are similar to investing—spending money now to make money later. God’s intentions for how we should manage our wealth are found in many Scriptures. The following…
The word mammon comes from the Greek word mammonas. Similar root words exist in Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Chaldean and Syriac. They all translate to “money, wealth, and material possessions.” In biblical culture the word mammon often carried a negative connotation. It was sometimes used to…
It’s important to realize that there is a difference between self-interest and selfishness. All people have self-interests which can operate in ways that are not selfish. For example, it is in our self-interest to get a job and earn an…
Greed is a strong and selfish desire to have more of something, most often money or power. There are many warnings in the Bible about giving in to greed and longing for riches. Jesus warned, “Watch out! Be on your…
It is the love of money, and not money itself, that is the problem. The love of money is a sin because it gets in the way of worshipping God. Jesus said it was very hard for rich people to…
