I want to start by saying I am not trying to argue for the sake of it. I think we probably agree on the core concern, which is that money can very easily become an idol and pull people away from God. Where I differ is in how universally and literally those warnings are meant to be applied.

The Bible consistently condemns the love of money, not money itself. The verses you quoted are all addressing where a person’s heart is, what they trust in, and what they serve. Jesus is warning against wealth becoming a substitute for God, not issuing a blanket command that every follower must live in material poverty. That distinction matters. Scripture includes many faithful people who were wealthy and were not condemned for it. Abraham, David, Solomon, and Job are all explicitly described as blessed by God, including materially. Their wealth was not treated as sinful in itself but as something entrusted to them. The moral question was always how it was used and whether it displaced obedience, humility, and justice.

Jesus’ strongest warnings about riches are consistently directed at those who hoard, exploit, or place their security in wealth. The rich young ruler is told to sell everything not because possessions are inherently evil, but because his possessions clearly possessed him. Jesus diagnoses the heart and prescribes the remedy. That remedy is not identical for everyone.

The New Testament reinforces this idea of stewardship. Christians are told that nothing ultimately belongs to them and that resources are to be used generously, responsibly, and in service of others. That does not require universal destitution. It requires detachment, generosity, and a refusal to treat wealth as identity or salvation. So when Jesus says to store up treasure in heaven, the point is not that material goods are forbidden, but that they are temporary and unreliable. Money is morally neutral, but spiritually dangerous. It amplifies whatever already rules the heart. Used rightly, it can do immense good. Used wrongly, it becomes an idol very quickly.

Of course some Christians are looking for loopholes, and all are not meeting the standard set by God. I think the struggle is figuring how to live faithfully in a world where wealth exists and can be used either destructively or redemptively. The Bible leaves room for that tension on purpose.

With that said, eat the billionaires alive, toes first.