77 Bible Verses about Materialism, As An Aspect Of Sin

And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a pleasure for the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to give intelligence; and she took of its fruit, and ate, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man and of birds and quadrupeds and reptiles.

Wherefore should the nations say, Where then is their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands:read more.
They have a mouth, and they speak not; eyes have they, and they see not; They have ears, and they hear not; a nose have they, and they smell not; They have hands, and they handle not; feet have they, and they walk not; they give no sound through their throat. They that make them are like unto them, every one that confideth in them.

They that form a graven image are all of them vanity, and their delectable things are of no profit; and they are their own witnesses: they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed; and the workmen are but men. Let them all be gathered together, let them stand up: they shall fear, they shall be ashamed together.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits; he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

What profiteth the graven image that the maker thereof hath graven it? the molten image, and the teacher of falsehood, that the maker of his work dependeth thereon, to make dumb idols?

But in Athens, while Paul was waiting for them, his spirit was painfully excited in him seeing the city given up to idolatry.

for men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, evil speakers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, profane,

Thou shalt not make thyself any graven image, or any form of what is in the heavens above, or what is in the earth beneath, or what is in the waters under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, Jehovah thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and to the fourth generation of them that hate me,

And he took them out of their hand, and fashioned it with a chisel and made of it a molten calf: and they said, This is thy god, Israel, who has brought thee up out of the land of Egypt!

Ye shall make yourselves no idols, neither rear you up for yourselves carved image, or statue, nor shall ye set up a figured stone in your land, to bow down unto it; for I am Jehovah your God.

And take great heed to your souls (for ye saw no form on the day that Jehovah spoke to you in Horeb from the midst of the fire), lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the form of any figure, the pattern of male or female, the pattern of any beast that is on the earth, the pattern of any winged fowl that flieth in the heaven,read more.
the pattern of anything that creepeth on the ground, the pattern of any fish that is in the waters under the earth; and lest thou lift up thine eyes to the heavens, and see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, the whole host of heaven, and be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, which Jehovah thy God hath assigned unto all peoples under the whole heaven.

The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver and gold that is on them and take it unto thee, lest thou be ensnared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.

But king Solomon loved many foreign women, besides the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, Hittites; of the nations of which Jehovah had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you; they would certainly turn away your heart after their gods: to these Solomon was attached in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines; and his wives turned away his heart.read more.
And it came to pass when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God, as the heart of David his father. And Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and followed not fully Jehovah, as David his father.

They made a calf in Horeb, and did homage to a molten image; And they changed their glory into the similitude of an ox that eateth grass.

I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Hath a nation changed its gods? and they are no gods; but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder; be amazed very much, saith Jehovah. For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water.

Wherefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.

and riches and glory are of thee, and thou rulest over everything; and in thy hand is power and might; and in thy hand it is to make all great and strong.

And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.

And Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold; and Jehovah blessed him. And the man became great, and he became continually greater, until he was very great.

But thou shalt remember Jehovah thy God, that it is he who giveth thee power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto thy fathers, as it is this day.

And he provided for himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance; for God gave him very much substance.

Hallelujah! Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house; and his righteousness abideth for ever.

The blessing of Jehovah, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow to it.

And she did not know that I had given her the corn and the new wine and the oil, and had multiplied to her the silver and gold, which they employed for Baal.

and thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied, then thy heart be lifted up, and thou forget Jehovah thy God, who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage;

But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and many unwise and hurtful lusts, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is the root of every evil; which some having aspired after, have wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

If I have made gold my hope, or said to the fine gold, My confidence! If I rejoiced because my wealth was great, and because my hand had gotten much; If I beheld the sun when it shone, or the moon walking in brightness,read more.
And my heart have been secretly enticed, so that my mouth kissed my hand: This also would be an iniquity for the judge, for I should have denied the God who is above.

by thy great wisdom thou hast by thy traffic increased thy riches, and thy heart is lifted up because of thy riches.

Jesus said to him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell what thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. But the young man, having heard the word, went away grieved, for he had large possessions.

And when Jesus had heard this, he said to him, One thing is lacking to thee yet: Sell all that thou hast and distribute to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in the heavens, and come, follow me. But when he heard this he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Then one of the twelve, he who was called Judas Iscariote, went to the chief priests and said, What are ye willing to give me, and I will deliver him up to you? And they appointed to him thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought a good opportunity that he might deliver him up.

But whoso may have the world's substance, and see his brother having need, and shut up his bowels from him, how abides the love of God in him?

And Jesus said to his disciples, Verily I say unto you, A rich man shall with difficulty enter into the kingdom of the heavens; and again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to enter a needle's eye than a rich man into the kingdom of God.

And the disciples were amazed at his words. And Jesus again answering says to them, Children, how difficult it is that those who trust in riches should enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

But when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, he said, How difficultly shall those who have riches enter into the kingdom of God; for it is easier for a camel to enter through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

And he that is sown among the thorns this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

And others are they who are sown among the thorns: these are they who have heard the word, and the cares of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But that that fell where the thorns were, these are they who having heard go away and are choked under cares and riches and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to perfection.

Enjoin on those rich in the present age not to be high-minded, nor to trust on the uncertainty of riches; but in the God who affords us all things richly for our enjoyment; to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal in distributing, disposed to communicate of their substance, laying by for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of what is really life.

for if there come unto your synagogue a man with a gold ring in splendid apparel, and a poor man also come in in vile apparel, and ye look upon him who wears the splendid apparel, and say, Do thou sit here well, and say to the poor, Do thou stand there, or sit here under my footstool: have ye not made a difference among yourselves, and become judges having evil thoughts?read more.
Hear, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen the poor as to the world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to them that love him?

Go to now, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that are coming upon you. Your wealth is become rotten, and your garments moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is eaten away, and their canker shall be for a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as fire. Ye have heaped up treasure in the last days.read more.
Behold, the wages of your labourers, who have harvested your fields, wrongfully kept back by you, cry, and the cries of those that have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived luxuriously on the earth and indulged yourselves; ye have nourished your hearts as in a day of slaughter; ye have condemned, ye have killed the just; he does not resist you.

for wealth is not for ever; and doth the crown endure from generation to generation?

Is not he who rose against us destroyed, and doth not the fire consume his residue?

For he seeth that wise men die; all alike, the fool and the brutish perish, and they leave their wealth to others.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches; loving favour rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together; Jehovah is the maker of them all.

wilt thou set thine eyes upon it, it is gone; for indeed it maketh itself wings and it flieth away as an eagle towards the heavens.

As the partridge sitteth on eggs it hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches and not by right: in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be a fool.

But God said to him, Fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; and whose shall be what thou hast prepared? Thus is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

For we have brought nothing into the world: it is manifest that neither can we carry anything out.

And now thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but are not satisfied; ye drink, but are not filled with drink; ye clothe yourselves, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages for a bag with holes.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust spoils, and where thieves dig through and steal;

And Ahab spoke to Naboth saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, for it is near, by the side of my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; if it seem good to thee, I will give thee its value in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, Jehovah forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to thee! And Ahab came into his house sullen and vexed because of the word that Naboth the Jizreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and ate no bread.

Thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not desire thy neighbour's wife, nor his bondman, nor his handmaid, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.

Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour's house, his field, nor his bondman, nor his handmaid, his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour's.

But the children of Israel committed unfaithfulness in that which had been brought under the curse: Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against the children of Israel.

And king Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and clothing, and armour, and spices, horses and mules, a rate year by year.read more.
And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen; and he had a thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and he placed them in the chariot-cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he as the sycamores that are in the lowland for abundance.

For what does a man profit, if he should gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

For what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? for what should a man give in exchange for his soul?

for whosoever shall desire to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, he shall save it. For what shall a man profit if he shall have gained the whole world, and have destroyed, or come under the penalty of the loss of himself?

And he said to them, Ye are they who justify themselves before men, but God knows your hearts; for what amongst men is highly thought of is an abomination before God.

But let the brother of low degree glory in his elevation, and the rich in his humiliation, because as the grass's flower he will pass away. For the sun has risen with its burning heat, and has withered the grass, and its flower has fallen, and the comeliness of its look has perished: thus the rich also shall wither in his goings.

Because thou sayest, I am rich, and am grown rich, and have need of nothing, and knowest not that thou art the wretched and the miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked;

And Jesus says to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven roosting-places; but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head.

And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes and the birds of the heaven roosting-places, but the Son of man has not where he may lay his head.

For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus; who, subsisting in the form of God, did not esteem it an object of rapine to be on an equality with God;

And he said to them, Take heed and keep yourselves from all covetousness, for it is not because a man is in abundance that his life is in his possessions.

Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might; let not the rich glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah.

For this cause I say unto you, Do not be careful about your life, what ye should eat and what ye should drink; nor for your body what ye should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than raiment? Look at the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into granaries, and your heavenly Father nourishes them. Are ye not much more excellent than they? But which of you by carefulness can add to his growth one cubit?read more.
And why are ye careful about clothing? Observe with attention the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; but I say unto you, that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed as one of these. But if God so clothe the herbage of the field, which is to-day, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, will he not much rather you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore careful, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we put on? for all these things the nations seek after; for your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of all these things.

Let your conversation be without love of money, satisfied with your present circumstances; for he has said, I will not leave thee, neither will I forsake thee.

Love not the world, nor the things in the world. If any one love the world, the love of the Father is not in him; because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is passing, and its lust, but he that does the will of God abides for eternity.

And Abram said to Lot, I pray thee let there be no contention between me and thee, and between my herdsmen and thy herdsmen, for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before thee? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if to the left, then I will take the right; and if to the right, then I will take the left.

if from a thread even to a sandal-thong, yes, if of all that is thine, I take anything ...; that thou mayest not say, I have made Abram rich;

But Peter said, Silver and gold I have not; but what I have, this give I to thee: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazaraean rise up and walk.

And the heart and soul of the multitude of those that had believed were one, and not one said that anything of what he possessed was his own, but all things were common to them; and with great power did the apostles give witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. For neither was there any one in want among them; for as many as were owners of lands or houses, selling them, brought the price of what was soldread more.
and laid it at the feet of the apostles; and distribution was made to each according as any one might have need. And Joseph, who had been surnamed Barnabas by the apostles (which is, being interpreted, Son of consolation), a Levite, Cyprian by birth, being possessed of land, having sold it, brought the money and laid it at the feet of the apostles.

Not that I speak as regards privation, for as to me I have learnt in those circumstances in which I am, to be satisfied in myself. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. In everything and in all things I am initiated both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer privation.