I wrote a post on this site a while ago that talks about what the bible has to say about money topics, and some of the biggest search referrals to that post involve people searching for biblical ways to make money, or get rich quick tips or prayers relating to making money quickly.
While I’m glad that people are searching for Biblical wisdom when it comes to their financial lives, I think a lot of them may have missed the point when it comes to faith and money.
The Bible doesn’t have a lot of verses (that I’m aware of) that talk about how to get rich quick, but it isn’t silent on the topic of getting rich quick. In fact, it talks quite a bit about it.
Today I thought I’d explore what the bible says about getting rich quick.
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Beware Of Get Rich Quick Schemes
In doing my research for this post I found that there are plenty of verses in the Bible that talk about how we should beware of get rich quick schemes, and how often, even if we are able to get rich quick that money tends to disappear faster than we could have imagined. Here’s one of my favorite verses on the topic, in two translations:
Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows. Proverbs 13:11
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13:11
The verse tells us that while get rich quick schemes can work sometimes, often because our heart isn’t in the right place the money disappears as fast as it appeared. If instead, we work hard for the money and build it up over time, we’ll appreciate it more, be more grateful and be more likely to put it to good use.
Here’s another verse talking about how sometimes, when we get too much money right away, it isn’t as much of a blessing as we thought it would be.
An inheritance claimed too soon will not be blessed at the end. Proverbs 20:21
Again, when we get money in a large lump sum, it can be more of a hindrance than a blessing. How many times have you heard of lottery winners having financial or family troubles years later?
A faithful man will abound with blessings, but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. Proverbs 28:20
Far too often those who try to get rich quick take shortcuts both on their work and on their ethics, and it can lead to problems down the line. Instead, work your way up!
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9
Don’t forget that building wealth shouldn’t be an aim in itself as it’s an empty promise. Trying to fill a hole in our lives with money, just leads to disappointment.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle. Proverbs 23:4-5
Cast but a glance at wealth, because it’s only a temporary thing, we can’t take anything with us. In the end it’s meaningless.
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. Proverbs 11:4
Wealth Comes From Hard Work And Sound Counsel
The Bible tends to towards cautioning people away from get rich quick schemes for a variety of reasons, but it doesn’t leave it there. It encourages us to build wealth through hard work and by getting advice from wise counsel.
Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty. Proverbs 28:19
Working hard leads to “having plenty of bread”, but when you waste your time and are lazy, it only leads to poverty.
All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare. Proverbs 20:13
The sluggard does not plow in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nothing. Proverbs 20:4
All of us would do well to seek and accept wise advice from those around us who are in the know.
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15
Even If You Do Find Wealth, Don’t Trust In It
One thing we should beware of is, even if we are able to create wealth, we need to make sure that we don’t put too much trust in it.
..if riches increase, do not set your heart on them Psalm 62:10
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luke 12:15
Whoever loves money never has enough;whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.This too is meaningless. Ecclesiastes 5:10
A stingy man hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. Proverbs 28:22
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6
We need to make sure that we place our trust in God, and not in money or things. We need to be good stewards of what we’ve been given, and give generously and in love.
Where To Find True Wealth
So where can we find true wealth?
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also Matthew 6:19-21
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9
We can only find true wealth in the gift of salvation that God has given us. Nothing we can do to build wealth or riches can hold a candle to what we’ve been given in Christ Jesus.
What do you think about get rich quick schemes, can they ever be a good thing?
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All of the ideas in this post, while referencing the bible, are logical extensions of trying to be a good person and do the right thing. Gaining wealth from hard work and ethical behavior is the right path to take regardless of a person’s religious beliefs. Get rick quick schemes are rarely worth much. I agree that wealth achieved too easily is not appreciated and often is squandered. Interesting post.
I agreee with Mary. I think regardless of religion that hard work is the path to choose. Genuinely enjoyed reading all of these verses.
Great verses Peter, thanks for sharing.
I was in a valley of decition because of poverty thinking on what to do to get money fast, when I got your post, and the holy spirit us it to deliver me from falling. Thank you so much.
Great post!
Thanks Peter, very enlightening. I really enjoyed this reading!
THANKS FOR THE BIBLICAL VERSES
yes. i second the notion
amen!
The Lord will continue to use you for glory.
beautiful adages from scripture, and courage-inspiring translations. many of your entries spark goose bumps in that it had a concrete revelation to what I think serves very true and real in practical life situations i am consciously aware of… for example: “your heart is where your treasure is.” i observe this amongst day to day people; those materialistic in earthly desires reveal thid trait and i find common for this group of people alike to lack spuritual/Godlike undertakings in their daily lifes, and therefore these people lack the proper good ethics in things they do and like one of your entries say they hasten to money/wealth and fall into the traps of desire!
Thank you so much for sharing about money from bible verses
The Bible says nothing about working hard. It says to tithe your first fruit (income) and that God will make a way for you. And not to put your trust in money but in God’s word. For He is a man that does not lie. He says try me in this and see won’t I open up the windows of Heaven and pour out a blessing.
Do you understand that verse ,is for the pastors not the individual ,cos the pastors are the ones who is to send the 10th of the tithe gathered to the wear house .. read malaki 3;7 downwards and after that read the Deuteronomy 14:22-26.. the they take the tithe wrongly and deposit it in their own accounts so there is no food in the house of God ,they use it to do their own work instead of feeding the strangers ,widows and the orphans with it .. may God forgive us all
Is it a sin to make a large commision on a 2 million house sold or to make huge money selling online education though affiliate links? Both are legal and provide value to the buyer. Both can earn a lot of money very quickly. What can you say about this? I know a guy that has made around 60K in the last two months selling online education courses. 2 months ago he was broke. He bought a course on marketing, studied it, applied it and now he is making big money. It was quick. How is this a sin? As long as he is selling something of value without telling lies how is that wrong? The internet has made it possible to make huge money in little time. What do you think? I for one plan to make as much as I can and one of my why reasons for doing so is I want to build a no tuition school of entrepreneurship for underprivileged teens in the Philippines plus just live an amazing life. When I read Proverbs 13:11 in other translations it does not deal with the time taken to gain wealth but with the integrity of how it was gained. What can you say? Proverbs 13:11 GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
11 Wealth gained through injustice dwindles away,
but whoever gathers little by little has plenty.
Jesse,
I think I agree with you that in principle it is not a sin to do the things you mention. If we are really honest with ourselves though, we all like the idea of making money quickly because this appeals to the greed of our sinful nature. Please don’t think I’m judging you as I’m writing this also to remind myself. Selfish ambition is listed as one of the ‘obvious’ acts of our sinful nature in Galatians 5 v19 & 20.
Galations 5v24: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
Luke 12v15: Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
Your school idea is definitely honourable: Proverbs 22 v9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
We must also know in the context of this verse what Jesus definition for generosity is. This is found in Mark 12v41-44.
One final point is this, the bibles teaching on money is sufficient financial guidance for All, both personal, corporate national and international. In the light of the bible teachings these ‘monetary policies’ if you can call them that, have the power to create a stable balanced macro economy without credit cycles (boom / bust) fuelled by greed.
If god wants you to work hard why did jesus command the fish to enter Peter’s net after peter complained of working hard?
Why did god take Israel from slaves to riches they didn’t earn? He gave them a developed city instead of telling them to work hard to build one.
Why did Jesus feed and heal people for free without requiring them to work?
Why did Abraham recieve wealth from God and then refuse to be paid for his work?
Why did jesus have a fish bring him gold to pay his tax instead of getting a job?
Why did Jesus ask his disciples to leave their jobs for him if he wanted them to work hard?
Why was Adam put in a garden to freely eat and then expelled to work hard by the sweat of his brow?
Why did Saul, David, Solomon and all the others inherit wealth instead of working for it?
What would happen to the world economy if Jesus came back and offered free health care to all people? Good luck finding a job.
Why was israel called to be priests and not servants?
You people have fallen victim to the protestant work ethic of calvinism.
Of course you quote solomon about working, yet solomon never worked a day in his life and inherited all of his wealth. God you people are blind
I love people of positive energy like yours…..
Thank you for your Wisdom. I am constantly praying about having a spiritual mindset about money. My question is I have a few ideas that can grant multiple sets of income but how can I be sure I’m not chasing money with those ideas when I DO want more to get out of debt and not live check to check?
My spirit is lifted by the these scriptures,thanks
Amen this is powerful
This post has awoken something in my spirit that I don’t want to recover from. This post is just coming my way after a mysterious dream still on wealth. God bless you for me. The scriptures are timely.
Like Dave Ramsey says “every time he reads the story of the tortoise and the hare, the turtle wins”
I want to be rich in my life.
Thank you. I have been inspired today
This is so great. I really love the message in it, may God reward you abundantly with wealth, and to every reader please pass it on.amen
I have a very hard time getting my husband to understand that him hoarding change and money to sell it for more money rather than working is wrong and him valuing his dog and guitar and him constantly reading the lost books and numberology are from the devil. Please help me. I love your page and posts they help me to make sense of so much. Thank u.
Well as i was reading this article I thought hard about being financially free from Debt. However I thought about my mom and how she works so hard just so that she can keep a roof over Armani and all fours. She is the super Moms of all moms. Or can I say she is the one who will do anything for anyone. So I decided to do things a little different. Playing the lottery…so that maby one day she can break. And I mean really brake! I’m constantly trying to do anything just to play making my own self sick scrambling and being confused about weather or not im a winner. Iv came close several times but I only end up with the same order I was in. NOW I SEE CLEARLY. AND CONTENT. It’s all about the path that you choose.THANKS FOR READING THIS.
This post has really changed my mind. Actually I was researching for Bible verse on how to make money easier and I saw this post and I read it to the end.
More grace to you. Thanks for saving one.
this is a message through GOD:S directive keep it up GOD is your backbone
i made many wrong decisions in my life regarding money due to lack of wisdom and knowledge. I wasted the income of years of hard work by wrong spending and now after retirement Resulting me in hopeless dire straits, divorced, homeless, workless and without hope for the future at the age of 66 years old.
how do I gain wise council?? where and how do I start from nothing except my HOPE and Trust in God and His Word ???
thanks for taking time to read this cry of desperation.