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Matthew 6 (NIV)
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"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
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But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
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For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.
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But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
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"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.
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"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
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Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
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Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life [1]?
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"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
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Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
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If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
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So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'
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For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
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But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
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1 Timothy 6 (NIV)
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But godliness with contentment is great gain.
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For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
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But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
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People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
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For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
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But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
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Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
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Mark 4 (NIV)
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Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge.
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He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
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"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
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As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
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Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
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But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
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Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
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Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
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Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
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When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
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He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
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so that, "`they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!' [2]"
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Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
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The farmer sows the word.
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Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
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Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
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But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
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Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
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but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
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Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop--thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
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Luke 19 (NIV)
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While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.
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He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return.
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So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. [3] `Put this money to work,' he said, `until I come back.'
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"But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, `We don't want this man to be our king.'
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"He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
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"The first one came and said, `Sir, your mina has earned ten more.'
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"`Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. `Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.'
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"The second came and said, `Sir, your mina has earned five more.'
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"His master answered, `You take charge of five cities.'
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"Then another servant came and said, `Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.
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I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.'
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"His master replied, `I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?
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Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?'
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"Then he said to those standing by, `Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.'
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"`Sir,' they said, `he already has ten!'
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"He replied, `I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.
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But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me.'"
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1 Corinthians 16 (NIV)
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On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
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2 Corinthians 9 (NIV)
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Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
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Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
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As it is written: "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." [4]
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Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.
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You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
27 Or single cubit to his height
12 Isaiah 6:9,10
13 A mina was about three months' wages.
9 Psalm 112:9
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