Is money good or bad? Is it moral, immoral, or amoral to be rich or poor? Are people with money better or worse than those with less money? Read on to find out! Table of ContentsMistake 1: Thinking Something Is Amoral When It Is Moral or ImmoralMistake 2: Thinking Something Is Immoral When It Is AmoralThe Amoral Nature of MoneyHow We Spend Money Is MoralHow We Feel About Money Is MoralThe Love of Money, Versus Money, Is the Problem During college, I took a world religions class. A Buddhist monk was brought in as a guest speaker. He had no modern-day luxuries, such as a vehicle, computer, or refrigerator, because he thought these were sinful (immoral). He thought it was good (moral) to allow himself only what was necessary for survival, such as food, water, and shelter. But this is not what Jesus meant when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). There, Jesus referred to denying ourselves immoral pleasures, but the monk was abstaining from things that are amoral (non-sinful, or spiritually neutral): If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—“Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.Colossians 2:20-23 When people rigorously neglect the amoral and follow legalistic, man-made commands, there’s “an appearance of wisdom,” but there’s “no value against [indulging] the flesh,” which is to say there’s no spiritual benefit. It’s heartbreaking when people spend years rigorously denying themselves in ways that have no moral or spiritual benefit. The Bible teaches that drunkenness and homosexuality are immoral (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). It’s tragic when people spend years getting drunk or participating in homosexual relationships because they’re convinced their immoral actions are amoral. We must understand morality because if we don’t, we might find ourselves in one of the above situations and fail to see the goodness (morality) of certain behaviors and the sinfulness (immorality) of others. These are the two mistakes we typically make with morality. Let’s consider them in more detail so we’ll be prepared to view our money correctly. Mistake 1: Thinking Something Is Amoral When It Is Moral or Immoral Many verses discuss the morality of our words. For example: Matthew 12:37— Jesus said, “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”1 Peter 3:10—“He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.” Most people know their speech is moral, but they might not know that the amount they speak (and listen) is also moral (versus amoral). James 1:19 says, “My beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.” This verse contains three commands, which means we’re dealing with morality: it is moral to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; and it is immoral to be slow to hear, quick to speak, and quick to anger. Anger and listening might be mentioned together because they’re closely related. As a pastor, when I’m counseling couples, sometimes it’s obvious early on who’s more at fault when problems arise because they’re slow to hear and quick to get angry. Ecclesiastes teaches that one way to identify fools is they talk too much: “A fool’s voice is known by his many words…a fool also multiplies words” (Ecclesiastes 5:3; 10:14). David took so seriously how much he spoke that he prayed God would protect his mouth: “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips” (Psalm 141:3).
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