Bible Verses about Materialism
| After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. | For we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing out. If we have food and clothing, let us be content with these. |
| Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. |
| Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. | Do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, where they will be destroyed by moth and rust and where thieves break in and steal. Rather, store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves cannot break in and steal. |
| And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? | What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his very life? |
| Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” | After this, he said to the crowd, “Take care to be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Life does not depend upon an abundance of one’s possessions.” |
| Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” | Do not succumb to the love of money, but be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon you.” |
| So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. | For our eyes are fixed not on what is seen but rather on that which cannot be seen. What is visible is transitory; what is invisible is eternal. |
| But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. | However, those who want riches fall into temptations and are trapped into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. |
| Better to have little, with fear for the Lord, than to have great treasure and inner turmoil. | It is better to have a little and fear the Lord than to possess immense wealth and suffer anguish. |
| We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. | Just as he came forth naked from his mother’s womb, so shall he depart, naked as he came, with nothing remaining from his labor that he can carry away in his hands. |
| Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. | For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be. |
| How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver! | It is better to acquire wisdom rather than gold, and more desirable to acquire understanding rather than silver. |
| Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” | Jesus replied, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” |
| And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. | I also ask that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing. They should be adorned not with braided hair or with gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is fitting for women who profess their reverence for God. |
| Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. | Instruct those who are rich in this world’s goods that they should not be proud, nor should they trust in the uncertainty of riches but rather in God who richly provides us with everything we need for our enjoyment. |
| First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. | Keep falsehood and lying far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but simply provide me with the food that I need. |
| So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. | And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry). |
| And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul? | What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his very life? Or what can he give in exchange for his life? |
| Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. | Godliness produces great gain, but only to those who are content. |
| Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold. | An honorable name is more to be desired than great riches, and high esteem is preferable to silver and gold. |
| Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! | All day long the godless man continues to covet, whereas the righteous man gives unsparingly. |
| All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. | The entire community of believers was united in heart and soul. No one claimed any of his possessions as his own, for everything was held in common. |
| Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death. | Riches will be of no avail on the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. |
| In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle. | When you fix your gaze upon it, it is gone before you realize it. For it suddenly sprouts wings and flies up to the sky like an eagle. |
| The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. | The wealth of a rich man is his stronghold; he regards it as a high wall that cannot be scaled. |
Related topics
Money
Don’t love money; be...
Greed
Those who love money...
Desires
So I say, let...
Poverty
Jesus told him, “If...
Food
For he satisfies the...
Contentment
I know how to...