Jesus talked about money more than almost anything, which surprises people who assume faith and finances live in separate rooms. The Bible is not squeamish about it and not simplistic either. Money is not called evil; the love of it is. This plan reads money in context, where the real question is never how much you have, but who owns whom. It is possible to have little and be mastered by it, and to have much and hold it open-handed.
Day 1The main text· Gospel
Matthew 6:19-24Setting. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, on treasure, the eye, and two masters.
Sit with the passage, then read on.
Bridge. "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Note the direction. Your heart follows your money, not the other way around. Then the blunt conclusion: "You cannot serve God and money." Not should not. Cannot. Jesus treats money as a rival god with real gravitational pull, which is why he will not let you stay neutral about it.
Day 2The main text· Epistle
1 Timothy 6:6-10, 17-19Setting. Paul, coaching a young pastor on contentment, greed, and the rich in his congregation.
Sit with the passage, then read on.
Bridge. "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils." Read it carefully: the love of it, not the thing itself. And read the balance in verse 17, where Paul does not tell the rich to feel guilty but to be generous, "rich in good works," holding wealth loosely. The target is not your bank balance. It is your grip.
Day 3An echo elsewhere· Wisdom
Proverbs 3:9-10Setting. A proverb from Israel's wisdom about honoring God with your resources.
Sit with the passage, then read on.
Bridge. "Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce." Mind the genre. This is a principle about priority, giving God the first and best rather than the leftovers, not a formula guaranteeing your barns overflow if you pay in. Christians differ on the specifics of giving, and this plan leaves those to you. The heart of it is simple: what gets your first slice reveals what you actually worship.
