37 Bible Verses about Materialism, As An Aspect Of Sin

Though claiming to be wise, they made fools of themselves, and have transformed the splendor of the immortal God into images in the form of mortal man, birds, beasts, and reptiles.

While Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred to its depths to see the city completely steeped in idolatry.

For people will be selfish, avaricious, boastful, haughty, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreverent,

So then, my dearly beloved, keep on running from idolatry.

But men who keep planning to get rich fall into temptations and snares and many foolish, hurtful desires which plunge people into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some men in reaching after riches have wandered from the faith and pierced their hearts with many a pang.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back here and follow me." And when the young man heard that, he went away in deep distress, for he owned a great deal of property.

When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell everything you have, and distribute the money among the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come back and follow me." But when he heard that, he was very sad, for he was surpassingly rich.

Then one of the Twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the high priests, and said, "What will you give me to turn Him over to you?" Then they paid him thirty pieces of silver. So from that time he kept looking for a good opportunity to turn Him over to them.

But if anyone has the world's means of supporting life and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how can love to God remain in him?

Jesus said to His disciples, "I solemnly say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven. Again, I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven."

His disciples were startled at this statement. But Jesus again said to them as He continued the topic, "My children, how hard it is to get into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to get into the kingdom of God."

So when Jesus saw it, He said, "How hard it is for those who have money to get 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 get into the kingdom of God."

And what was sown among the thorns illustrates the man who hears the message, and the worries of the times and the pleasures of being rich choke the truth out, and he yields no fruit.

A different class are those people sown among the thorns. They are people who listen to the message, but the worries of the times, the deceiving pleasures of being rich, and evil desires for other things, creep in and choke the truth out, and it yields nothing.

And the portion of them falling among the thorns illustrates those who hear it, but as soon as they pass on they are choked out by the worries and wealth and pleasures of life, and thus yield no mature fruit.

Continue charging the rich of this world to stop being haughty and not to fix their hope on a thing so uncertain as riches, but on God who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything for our enjoyment; charge them to continue doing good and being rich in good deeds, open-handed and generous hearted, in this way amassing for themselves the riches that forever endure in the life to come, so that at last they may grasp the life that is life indeed.

For if a man with a gold ring, dressed in fine clothes, comes to your meeting, and at the same time a poor man clad in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the man who wears the fine clothes, and say to him, "Sit here in this fine place," and say to the poor man, "Stand up, or sit there on the floor at my feet," do you not make improper distinctions among yourselves and prove to be critics with evil motives?read more.
Listen, my dearly loved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of the world to be rich in faith and to possess the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Come now, you rich people, weep aloud and howl over the miseries that are sure to overtake you. Your wealth has rotted, your clothes are moth-eaten, your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will testify against you and devour your flesh like fire. You have stored up these things for the last days.read more.
See, the wages that you have kept back from the laborers who reaped your fields are crying aloud, and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. Here on earth you have lived in luxury and self-indulgence; you have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the upright man; he offers no resistance.

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is to be demanded of you. Then who will have all that you have prepared?' So it is with the man who continues to pile up possessions for himself, and is not rich in God."

For we bring nothing into the world and surely we can take nothing out of it.

"Stop storing up your riches on earth where moths and rust make away with them, and where thieves break in and steal them.

For what benefit will it be to a man, if he gains the whole world and loses his higher life? What price would a man pay to buy back his life?

For what benefit will it be to a man to gain the whole world and fail to gain the higher life? For what price can a man give to buy back life?

For whoever chooses to save his lower life will lose his higher life, but whoever gives up his lower life for my sake will save his higher life. For what benefit will it be to a man to gain the whole world and lose or forfeit himself?

Then He said to them, "You are the men who exhibit your uprightness before the public, but God knows your hearts. For what stands high in the sight of men is detestable in the sight of God.

Let the poor brother of lowly station rejoice in his exalted station as a Christian, and the rich brother rejoice in his being on a level with the poor, because the rich will fade away like the flower of the grass. For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass, and its flowers wither, and its beauty fades away; so will rich men fade away in their pursuits.

Because you say, 'I am rich, I have already become rich, I need nothing,' and you do not know that you are the very one that is wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked;

And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, even wild birds have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

But Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, even wild birds have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Keep on fostering the same disposition that Christ Jesus had. Though He was existing in the nature of God, He did not think His being on an equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped,

And then He said to them, "Be ever on the alert and always on your guard against every form of greed, because a man's life does not consist in his possessions, even though they are abundant."

So I tell you, stop worrying about your life, as to what you will have to eat or drink, or about your body, as to what you will have to wear. Is not life worth more than food and the body worth more than clothes? Take a good look at the wild birds, for they do not sow or reap, or store up food in barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps on feeding them. Are you not worth more than they? But which of you by worrying can add a single minute to his life?read more.
And why should you worry about clothes? Look at the wild lilies and learn how they grow. They do not toil or spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his gorgeous splendor, was ever dressed up like a single one of these. Now if God so gorgeously dresses the wild grass which today is green but tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you with little faith? So never worry and say, 'What are we going to have to eat? What are we going to have to drink? What are we going to have to wear?' For the heathen are greedily pursuing all such things; and surely your heavenly Father well knows that you need them all.

You must have a turn of mind that is free from avarice; you must be content with what you have, for God Himself has said, "I will never fail you, I will never forsake you."

Stop loving the world, or the things that are in the world. If anyone persists in loving the world, there is no love for the Father in his heart, because everything that is in the world, the things that our lower nature and eyes are longing for, and the proud pretensions of life, do not come from the Father, but from the world; and the world is passing away and with it the evil longings it incites, but whoever perseveres in doing God's will lives on forever.

But Peter said, "No silver or gold have I, but what I do have I will give you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth start walking."

Now there was but one heart and soul in the vast number of those who had become believers, and not one of them claimed that anything that he had was his own, but they shared everything that they had as common property. So with great power the apostles continued to give their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God's favor rested richly on them all. For none of them was in want, for as many of them as were owners of farms or houses proceeded to sell them, one by one, and continued to bring the money received for the things soldread more.
and to put it at the disposal of the apostles; then distribution was continuously made to everyone in proportion to his need. Now Joseph, a Levite, a native of Cyprus, who by the apostles was named Barnabas, which means Son of Encouragement, sold the farm he had and brought the money and put it at the disposal of the apostles.

Not that I refer to any personal want, for I have learned to be contented in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to live in lowly circumstances and I know how to live in plenty. I have learned the secret, in all circumstances, of either getting a full meal or of going hungry, of living in plenty or being in want.