Money isn’t evil. It’s a convenient medium of exchange—certainly easier than trading oxen for groceries! But the inspired writers of the Bible wisely counseled their audience against an inordinate attention to wealth. 

The writer of First Timothy said, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (6:10). Other biblical writers urged individuals to avoid and make up for the injustices surrounding wealth imbalances in their communities. James’ letter speaks clearly about valuing people for who they are, not how much money they have. And Christ Jesus shared several parables about proper use of money and pointed out situations around him, such as the poor widow casting two pennies into the treasury (see Luke 21:1–4), that spoke to the importance of true value as opposed to amounts of money.

And that’s the crux of the issue, isn’t it? To what extent does real value relate to a certain amount of money? Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, offered this counsel: “Take away wealth, fame, and social organizations, which weigh not one jot in the balance of God, and we get clearer views of Principle. Break up cliques, level wealth with honesty, let worth be judged according to wisdom, and we get better views of humanity” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 239).