What Does the Bible Say About Saving Money? (Proverbs 13:22)

What does the Bible say about saving money? Should Christians save money? Proverbs 13:22 says, "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children." Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way to learn what Bible verses about saving money teach us. Table of ContentsWe Develop the Habit of Spending or Saving MoneyThe Bible’s View of Saving MoneyAvoiding Financial RegretsSaving Money the Right WayTaking Advantage of Time and InterestContrast Peter and PaulAccumulating Money Wrong WaysAvoid Gaining Money CorruptlyAvoid Gaining Money QuicklyWhat about Gambling?Is the Stock Market Gambling?Teach Your Children About Saving MoneyHelped by God After health-and-fitness-related New Year’s resolutions, such as exercising more, going on a diet, and losing weight, the second-most-common resolutions are financial. This would be good news, except that only 64 percent of New Year’s resolutions last longer than the first month, and only 46 percent last longer than six months. Changing is hard! As a pastor, I’ve heard many people say, “I’m going to stop this,” or “I’m going to start that,” but then nothing changes. We get into the habit of doing things one way and it’s difficult to do things differently. This is why the Bible warns us about losing good habits and developing bad ones: “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33). “They get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house” (1 Timothy 5:13 NIV).” “Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25). In chapters 11 and 13, we discussed avoiding going to the movies, eating out, or buying high-end coffee because all these purchases add up. The other risk is these activities become habit-forming. We Develop the Habit of Spending or Saving Money Notice the word or in the subhead above. We can’t develop the habit of spending and saving money. They are mutually exclusive. Think of a plane trying to fly in two different directions. I’ve spoken with people who habitually spend money and defend their actions by discussing how much they have saved. They still develop the habit of spending money, but they’ve found a way to justify it. For some people, spending money moves from a habit to an addiction. Consider these testimonies. Although women are in view, men can have similar problems: Michelle feared the day her husband might discover her secret stash of credit cards, her secret post office box or the other tricks she used to hide how much money she spent shopping for herself. She said, “I make as much money as my husband and if I want a $500 suit from Ann Taylor, I deserve it and do not want to be hassled about it. So the easiest thing to do is lie.” Last year, when her husband forced her to destroy one of her credit cards, she went out and got a new one without telling him. She also said, “I do live in fear. If he discovers this new Visa, he’ll kill me. “Men just don’t understand that shopping is our drug of choice,” even while admitting that some months her entire salary goes to paying the minimum balance on her credit cards. She added, “Walking through the door of South Coast Plaza is like walking through the gates of heaven. God made car trunks for women to hide shopping bags in. “Shopping is my recreation. It is my way of pampering myself. When you walk into [a mall] and you see all the stores, it is like something takes over and you get caught up in it.” Three in five women admit to hiding purchases from their husband. These women are slaves to spending money, and as I said a moment ago, men have this problem too. The good news is all of us can change. Even if you’re the biggest spender, you can develop the habit of saving money. The same fervor you had for spending, can be turned into a fervor for saving. You can become as excited about maxing your retirement account as you used to be about buying things. You can reach the point that you view every purchase as money you are unable to save. To put it simply: As much as spending used to be your habit, saving can become your habit. The Bible’s View of Saving Money As negatively as the Bible speaks of debt, it speaks equally positively of saving: “The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down” (Proverbs 21:20 NIV). Foolish people spend (gulp down) what they have, but wise people save (store up). Earlier I mentioned Proverbs 13:22 to condemn government debt: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” But what would this verse look like when followed? You would have people who save so much it is passed down not just to their children, but to their children’s children. In the New Testament, Paul affirmed, “Children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children” (2 Corinthians 12:14). Folly fritters away and is unprepared for the future, but wisdom conserves and makes provision, as the ant demonstrates: “[An ant stores] her supplies in summer, and gathers her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:8). “Four things…are little on the earth, but they are exceedingly wise; the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer” (Proverbs 30:24-25). Ants are “exceedingly wise” because they know how to save. Recognizing a coming need and preparing today is wise. Doing so enables us to care for ourselves, family members, friends, and neighbors. A great example of this is when Joseph stored up for a coming famine: During the seven plentiful years the earth produced abundantly, and he gathered up all the food of these seven years, which occurred in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it. And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he ceased to measure it, for it could not be measured…The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. Genesis 41:47-49, 53-54 What is saving if not gathering up or storing up during “plentiful years” that produce abundantly so we’re prepared when lean “years of famine” come? Because of Joseph’s efforts, “many people [were] kept alive” (Genesis 50:20). Avoiding Financial Regrets Sadly, despite the importance of saving: Sixty-nine percent of Americans have less than $1,000 in their savings accounts, and 34 percent have no savings at all More than 70 percent say they would be in a difficult situation if their paycheck was delayed even one week I tell my congregation that one of the worst things to have to say is, “I wish I could go back and do things differently.” How much better our lives would be if we never had to make this statement. On the other hand, one of the best things to be able to say is, “I’m so glad I made the decision I did.” If you ask people what their biggest regret is, many will tell you about a financial decision they made that they have never been able to recover from. Statistically, more than three in four Americans have at least one financial regret. The most common regrets are taking on too much debt and not saving early enough. I want you to avoid being part of these statistics by saving the way the Bible prescribes. Saving Money the Right Way Proverbs 13:11 gives us insight into how to save correctly: “Wealth gained dishonestly will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.” This encourages consistent, steady saving week after week, month after month, and year after year. Take your mind back to the parable of the talents: He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more…But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. But his master [said to] him, “You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.” Matthew 25:16, 18, 26-27 By looking at what the first servant did right and the third servant did wrong, we see what we must take advantage of to save the right way. The key words are “at once” and “with interest.” Taking Advantage of Time and Interest The first servant knew it was important to serve the master, so he got right to putting his talents to work. Unfortunately, the third servant did not follow the first servant’s example—he buried his talent in the ground. This was a common practice in Jesus’ day, akin in our day to putting money in drawers or mattresses (where it also gains no interest). God rebuked the third servant for failing to invest the money and gain interest. We are being poor stewards when we waste money on trivial purchases, but we are also being poor stewards when we allow money to sit for years (or decades) without growing in value. When inflation is factored in, the money is losing value. The solution is to invest as early as possible. Time, versus money itself, is the greatest tool we have to increase the value of money. The sooner we start, the greater our return. This also means that procrastinating (like the third servant) is one of the greatest threats to making money. The longer we put off investing, the more money we lose. Contrast Peter and Paul Consider these examples: Peter is 30 years old and he invests $200 per month at 7 percent interest. When he turns 60, he will have $244,000. Paul is 20 years old and he invests $200 per month at 7 percent interest. When he turns 60, he will have $525,000.