No matter your spiritual disposition, those guys who wrote the Bible knew a thing or two about holding on to your shekels.
Get Rich Slowly gathered together some personal finance proverbs that are as true today as when they were written.
• Save 10% of everything you earn: “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8
• Avarice is a sin: “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 12:15
• Mind the debts you take on: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
Do you have a favorite personal-finance proverb, from the Bible or from other texts? Share yours in the comments.
Why Religion is an Important Part of Personal Finance [Get Rich Slowly]
(Photo: amishsteve)
Note: If you want to discuss anything besides how the bible relates to personal finance, I’ve opened a thread in The Consumerist Forums. Anyone who continues to post off-topic here could become a candidate for banning. You’ve been warned.
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So for 6000 years at least people have been trying to scam other people with some variant of a payday loan scheme and credit… sigh. I guess that means we have at least that long to go before we don’t need a site like this one.
What is up with the italics? They are invincible, yea like unto the Lord.
The parable of the talents is not about investing. Nor is it about your “talents” as in skills. It’s a TALE OF TERROR meant to scare the shit out of you. The two who invested were doing something that, in the mores of the time, was greedy and potentially evil. Money was a zero-sum game, so by going out and turning their money into more money, they were literally stealing from someone else according to the thinking of the time. They were the sort of people who ought to be shunned. The one who buried and protected his money did what was morally right, and he got SCREWED. You’re meant to read it and be like, “Holy crap, the world has gone crazy and evil people are winning!” IT’S NOT MEANT TO BE INVESTMENT ADVICE! and you’re not meant to admire the two who made money!
(This is why Bibles need heavy, heavy cultural footnotes.)
As for Dave Ramsey, Luke 14:28 is also not about money. It’s about giving yourself entirely to God, not half-assedly. (Based on surrounding context, the far more common theological interpretation of Luke 14:25-33 relating to money is that you should GIVE UP ALL YOUR MONEY to follow God.) Dave Ramsey is theologically FULL OF SHIT. What he teaches bears no resemblance whatsoever to Christian theology of money, although some of his writing on the Tanakh are within the realm of reality for some Jewish schools of thought. But he makes a lot of money at it, so I doubt he really cares that his theology sucks balls.
There’s not really a justifiable Christian theology of money that says it’s okay to have it. There just isn’t. Jesus is far too clear on the preferential option for the poor and that money is an impediment to salvation. Claims to the contrary are either fringe thinking or theologically uninformed — often deliberately so, because you can sell a hella lot of books on “why God wants you to be rich” to people who don’t know better and who don’t think that following the Gospel should interfere with their creature comforts.
Not that most of us even with theology degrees are living in voluntary poverty. But at least we have the good grace to feel guilty about it.
I don’t see how Proverbs 6:6-8 refers to saving 10%. To me it says that you don’t need a commander, overseer, or ruler to tell you the best thing to do.
@Eyebrows McGee:
Clearly your knowledge of Dave Ramsey’s teachings and Christ’s teachings are terribly lacking. Quite sad really.
Here are some recent interesting posts from the MoneyBlogNetwork and beyond: All Financial Matters discusses high 401k fees. MightyBargainHunter highlights a $10,000 test. Five Cent Nickel covers the latest Wal-mart roll back.
[en.wikipedia.org]