The Bible Talks More About Money Than Hell
December 21st, 2006 | Published in Spirit | 12 Comments
Over the past several years as a Christian I have heard many sermons. I have started to notice a trend, teachers often cite the “fact” that the Bible talks more about “money” than hell (or whatever else). I am sure you have heard the same or similar statements, if not, you probably will in the future. Usually there is a number associated with this bit of trivia – somewhere around 2,000 times. The point the teacher is usually trying to make is that God thinks money is a very important issue and it is usually tied to a sermon about tithing.
Anyways, on my way into the office this morning I got to thinking about this and thought to myself – I have read the Bible, it’s not that big of a book and I do not remember it being filled with over 2,000 discussions on money (or finances, etc.). I wonder where they got this number and what the number actually represents.
I was hoping to be able to type in a few keywords into Google and find a site that listed all of 2,000 verse that discuss money – I was shocked to find none. Instead, I found more sermon related notes with the same similar quotes. I did, however, find this site, which claims there are “roughly 2,350 verses concerning money.” It goes on to say that this number is “twice as many as faith and prayer combined” and that “fifteen percent of everything Jesus said related to money and possessions.” Bingo – “He spoke about money and possessions more than heaven and hell combined.”
Of course this still does not help me – as I said earlier, I have read the Bible and even in just the New Testament I did not find Jesus speaking more about money than any other topic. To be perfectly honest I do not really recall Jesus speaking more about any topic – well perhaps the Kingdom of Heaven or Him being the Messiah (in round about ways).
As I read the previous website I noticed the bottom, they have provided us with a list of topics concerning money and then verses that support those topics. I quickly realized that this number of 2,350 is exaggerated and over-inflated. They actually have a topic called “Funding the Great Commission” and list two of the parables concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (the Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Parable of the Leaven). They also have a topic called “Tithing” which lists the Parable of New Wine in Old Wineskins.
Well, I am pretty sure that the neither the Bible nor Jesus talked about money half as much as some teachers claim they do. I also found this site which pretty much puts this topic to rest. What do you all think?
Next time your teacher tells you this, ask them for the evidence – if they have any, send it my way.
God Bless,
Lew A
P.S. Jesus never said “Go therefore and fund the making of disciples of all the nations…” – check out this blog for more things Jesus never said.
December 21st, 2006 at 11:12 AM (#)
Lew,
I think you may be on to something here. It is true that Jesus talks about money and possessions often. However, I don’t think he talks about these because they are important to him. He uses money and possessions in order to speak to people in ways that they understand. Was Jesus interested in money and possessions? No, he was interested in people. He spoke of money and possessions because the people could understand the connection to their life.
-Alan
December 23rd, 2006 at 10:59 AM (#)
Visiting from Alan’s blog … :)
Great points made here … reminds me of “God will never give you more than you can handle” — show me where it says that in the Bible, yet people say it everyday, even from pulpits.
We (and I am including myself) need more understanding of God and His Word.
Blessings!!
January 2nd, 2007 at 10:30 AM (#)
Heather,
Sorry for the late reply – I must have forgot my manners from all of the holiday travel. Thank you for the comment. It is funny that you brought up that “verse” – it was brought up in one of our Sunday morning meetings a few weeks ago. As you probably know, it comes from 1 Corinthians 10:13 – “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
Obviously people (including us and those who put themselves in a leadership position) need to put down the “popular” sayings and pick up the Bible.
I hope you had a Merry Christmas and have a God-filled New Year.
Lew
May 25th, 2009 at 04:01 PM (#)
Howard Dayton, founder of Crown Financial Ministries, is the one who, together with a friend of his, found and recorded the 2,350 verses that refer to money and possessions. I have a copy of the list. It is well organized and a thorough study on the subject. You may be able to obtain a copy of the document by contacting Crown Financial Ministries at http://www.crown.org.
October 31st, 2009 at 11:53 AM (#)
Alan,
Been a few years since you wrote this, but was refreshing to read. I am a pastor and will be speaking on money this Sunday morning. I have heard the “Jesus spoke more on…” my entire life. Countless times.
I appreciate your level-headedness. Refreshing.
Johnny Bragg
Johnson City, TN
November 2nd, 2009 at 03:30 PM (#)
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Johnny. I assume that your comment was meant for me ;).
God Speed,
Lew
July 31st, 2010 at 11:46 PM (#)
I just found the document for the 2350 verses on Money if anyone is interested.
http://www.crowncanada.ca/index.cfm?i=11829&mid=17&g=27334
August 1st, 2010 at 01:42 AM (#)
Thanks Erin,
Everyone, here is a link to the actual PDF – http://mediadownload.advancedministry.com/c3project/2350%20verses%2Epdf
After looking it over for a few minutes, I feel like my suspicions were correct. They do use some verses that mention money in passing, some that are specifically about “money” as an analogy of something else, and some that aren’t about money at all (but they’re applying it to money). Such as: Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Going through this PDF is kind of laughable. How can they use this to maintain their claim?
God Speed,
Lew
September 10th, 2010 at 10:48 AM (#)
I don’t know, I just reviewed the list myself that was provided by Lew (thank you, sir) & I found it very interesting that their were just 4 verses that spoke about children& finances. Is it because, this is where most of us learn our money management habits (instruction &/or modeling), maybe it’s because as a parent, the Lord is stating that I am responsible for instructing my children on how to manage finances & that’s tough to do if I was a bad manager (which hardly ever works, I find most children see right through the; do as I say, not as I do. Kinda like the argument of, I’ll drop my children off @ church so that they can be disciplined but, I’m not going to go…), just my observation. Lew, thanks again for this link, very informative.
Because He is Good,
Ed
June 5th, 2011 at 10:22 AM (#)
Thank you for the honest and challenging thoughts, Lew. I wholeheartedly agree with your message, that pastors need to preach responsibly.
As a secondary observation, it’s been my experience that people who speak in defense of “optional tithing” are not themselves ten-percent tithers. It rather makes me wonder if maybe the Holy Spirit gives scriptural insight based, in part, on our acts of faith, such as tithing and Sabbath observance. Your thought?
A fellow pilgrim.
June 8th, 2011 at 09:56 AM (#)
Hi Greg,
I believe your observations are partly true. I know people who were both 10% tithers and Sunday-Sabbath observers who came to the conclusions through studying scripture that neither of these things are requirements for followers of Christ. Some do not tithe/observe at all, some are more generous with their money but do not put it in a plate on Sunday mornings, and some continue to give 10% to a traditional church.
Godspeed.
Lew
July 19th, 2011 at 11:01 AM (#)
The claim about speaking of money more than hell is plausible. The New American Standard version uses the word “hell” only 13 times. While the King James uses it 54, many of these are a rendering of the word, “hades,” which does not carry the exact same meaning and does not fit many of the contexts in which it is used. I believe that discussions of money probably appear more than this, though it is impossible to quickly count the number of times the word “money” appears and equate this with discussions on money. Many instances are just stories containing the word and not discussions of principles concerning money. The real point is the use of resources and the treatment of those without them. Counting the number of times something is mentioned carries only so much weight. It is true, however, that God is sincere about how we manage our resources. The use of the money/hell stat, while possibly true though, is a club that skirts the true issue.