77 Bible Verses about Materialism, As An Aspect Of Sin

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

Why should the nations say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he has done whatsoever he has pleased. Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men's hands.read more.
They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusts in them.

They that make a graven image are all of them nothing; and their precious things shall not profit; and they are their own witnesses; they see not, nor know; that they may be ashamed. Who fashions a god, or molds a graven image, that is profitable for nothing? Behold, all his fellows shall be put to shame: and the workmen, they are mere men: let them all be gathered together, let them stand up; yet they shall fear, and they shall be put to shame together.

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

What profits the graven image that its maker has shaped it; the molten image, and a teacher of lies, that the maker of his work trusts in it, to make dumb idols?

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,

You shall not make unto yourself any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: You shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And he received them from their hand, and fashioned it with an engraving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

You shall make no idols nor graven images, neither raise you up a standing image, neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the LORD your God.

Take therefore good heed unto yourselves; for you saw no manner of form on the day that the LORD spoke unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air,read more.
The likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest you lift up your eyes unto heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD your God has apportioned unto all nations under the whole heaven.

The graven images of their gods shall you burn with fire: you shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto you, lest you be snared by it: for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.

But king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, You shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clung unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.read more.
For 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 the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

They made a calf in Horeb, and worshiped the molten image. Thus they changed their glory into the image of an ox that eats grass.

I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

Has a nation changed its gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be astonished, O you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be you very desolate, says the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed themselves out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Therefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.

Both riches and honor come from you, and you reign over all; and in your hand is power and might; and in your hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.

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

Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year a hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. And the man became great, and advanced, and grew until he became very great:

But you shall remember the LORD your God: for it is he that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore unto your fathers, as it is this day.

Moreover he provided himself cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him very great possessions.

Praise you the LORD. Blessed is the man that fears the LORD, that delights greatly in his commandments. His descendants shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endures forever.

The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it.

For she did not know that I gave her grain, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they prepared for Baal.

And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage;

But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which plunge men into destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

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

By your great wisdom and by your trade have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches:

Jesus said unto him, If you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet you lack one thing: sell all that you have, and distribute unto the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother have need, and shuts up his heart of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, 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.

And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again, and said unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to 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.

And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hard it is for those that have riches to enter into the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

And these are they who are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

And that which fell among thorns are they, who, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

Charge them that are rich in this present age, that they be not haughty, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to share; Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in fine apparel, and there come in also a poor man in shabby clothing; And you have respect to him that wears the fine clothing, and say unto him, Sit here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand there, or sit here under my footstool: Are you not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?read more.
Hearken, my beloved brethren, Has not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to them that love him?

Come now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is rusted; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as if it were fire. You have heaped treasure together for the last days.read more.
Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; you have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed the just; and he does not resist you.

For riches are not forever: and does the crown endure to every generation?

Surely our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire consumes.

For he sees that wise men die, likewise the fool and the senseless person perish, and leave their wealth to others.

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

Will you set your eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.

As the partridge sits on eggs, and hatches them not; so he that gets riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

But God said unto him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you: then whose shall those things be, which you have prepared? So is he that lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Now therefore thus says the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways. You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but you have not enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he that earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

And Ahab spoke unto Naboth, saying, Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give you for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto you. And Ahab came into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid himself down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.

You shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor any thing that is your neighbor's.

Neither shall you desire your neighbor's wife, neither shall you covet your neighbor's house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.

But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for 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 the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.

So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for 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 garments, and armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a set rate year by year.read more.
And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he stationed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowlands, for abundance.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?

For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or suffer loss?

And he said unto them, You are they who justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and its flower falls, and the beauty of the appearance of it perishes: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.

Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not a thing to be grasped to be equal with God:

And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, says the LORD.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?read more.
And why take you thought for clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Therefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, How shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things.

Let your conduct be without covetousness; and be content with such things as you have: for he has said, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For 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 passes away, and the lust thereof: but he that does the will of God abides forever.

And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray you, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land before you? separate yourself, I pray you, from me: if you will take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if you depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.

That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe thong, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich:

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,read more.
And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of encouragement,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.