Year after year, financial self-help books continue to be extremely popular. However, much of the advice tends to follow the same guide, whether it’s books like Rich Dad, Poor Dad, The Millionaire Next Door, or Dave Ramsey’s popular Total Money Makeover. However, one book is older and more popular than all of the financial self-help books put together and can be relied on for the same type of sage financial wisdom: the Bible.

The Bible is a handy guide for financial matters that Christians face daily. Thousands of years ago, numerous biblical stories and sayings illustrate fundamental financial ideas as relevant today as they were then.

Let’s explore five key quotes from the Bible and how they apply to your finances.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.'” – Luke 14:28-30

This quote focuses on the importance of planning and building a budget for your finances and any goals you wish to accomplish. Some expenses, such as rent or mortgage, are known and expected each month. But, all too often, unexpected needs arise, and a failure to plan for these may end up doing incredible damage to your financial security.

Whether you sit down and create a budget manually with a pen and paper or in excel, or you use a budgeting tool like Mint or one provided by your bank or credit union, the important thing is to get started.

Think through your monthly expenses and then identify “unexpected” things you should be prepared for, whether that’s setting aside money for upcoming birthday and Christmas gifts or a car repair.

Developing a monthly budget is a significant step when making the jump from living paycheck-to-paycheck and building your financial future.

“Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” – Genesis 41:34-36

This passage from Genesis deals with the Pharaoh’s dream, which Joseph interprets as a warning for the famine to come. Joseph then advises the Pharaoh to store food during good times to ensure it’s available during bad times.

Sound like familiar financial advice?

Developing an emergency fund is not a new financial technique, though it remains essential. If the past few years have taught us anything, it’s that it’s important to have a plan that expects the unexpected.

Thankfully, rather than seven years, most financial experts suggest you maintain an emergency fund of about 6-months of living expenses. This should provide you with an adequate buffer should you lose your job unexpectedly, get sick, or need to deal with an unplanned home or auto repair.

Ideally, your emergency fund is in a high-interest savings account separate from the account where you do your daily transactions. This will help eliminate the risk of dipping into it out of convenience rather than necessity. It’s also recommended that your emergency fund is in cash, or liquid, so that you’re not forced to sell stocks or other assets, which will end up costing you money to access your funds.

“Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.” – Ecclesiastes 11:2

This short line from Ecclesiastes serves as a great cautionary tale for investing in stocks and, more recently, digital assets like cryptocurrency or NFTs.

It’s often exciting to invest in a company or product that you use or strongly believe in. Still, it’s important to realize that “disaster may come upon the land” at any time, and therefore you must protect yourself.

Whether it’s your retirement portfolio or a small brokerage account you manage “for fun,” it’s recommended that you diversify your investments. In addition to any individual stocks that you purchase, make sure you consider low-fee mutual funds or index funds that represent the whole market instead of a single company or sector. These are generally safer than individual stocks and require less hands-on management. Maintaining a diversified portfolio will often allow you to weather most storms and continue to grow your wealth through hard times.

The Role of Money In Your Life

These are just three of the many verses about financial advice found within the Bible. Some verses provide clear insight into how to take care of your money, while others appear to suggest it’s a mistake to care about money at all. Ultimately, when taken together, the Bible teaches that you should have a healthy relationship with money. Your financial wealth can serve as a valuable tool for you, your family, and your community – but money is not the most important thing.