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Major religions have a lot to say about wealth, and much of it is cautionary.
For instance, the Christian Bible says love of money is the root of all evil. The Qu'ran tells Muslims to give regularly to charity. And the Tanakh tells Jews that one who loves money will never be satisfied.
But there are plenty of differences among Judaism, Christianity and Islam, three of the world's major religions, about how religion and wealth should interact.
Some religious leaders lead openly luxurious lives, while others argue that living modestly brings them closer to their God.
And many believe it's what you do with wealth that matters.
Jewish stereotypes about money
Over centuries, many Jews have had to face a "cruel stereotype" of having an excessive amount of wealth and greed, says Rabbi Ralph Genende, senior rabbi at Caulfield Hebrew Congregation, and principal rabbi to the Australian Defence Force.
"[It's] as old as Judaism itself," he says.
"It gained traction in Medieval times when Jews were barred from most professions, but allowed to be money lenders."
They "were damned for being successful at it", Rabbi Genende says.
For example, in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, a Jewish character named Shylock was depicted as a greedy money lender.
But the Torah — the first five books of the Hebrew Bible — instructs its followers to be humble when it comes to money.
"Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud," it states.
That's not to say wealth is discouraged in Judaism.
"It's how you use [money] that makes it moral, amoral or immoral," Rabbi Genende says.
Giving 'tzedakah'
Rabbi Genende spells out what moral or immoral wealth might look like in the Jewish faith.
According to Jewish law, if you are wealthy, there is an obligation to share your wealth with those who are in need. It's a concept also found in Islam.
"We [Jews] are encouraged to spend more time thinking about what [we are] going to live for, rather than what [we are] going to live from," Rabbi Genende says.
"The Hebrew word for charity is tzedakah, and [it's] axiomatic for the Jewish faith. I would suggest [it is] the basis for the commitment to charity by the other monotheistic religions that followed it."
In the Tanakh, there are instructions for Jews to leave a portion of their property "for the poor and the foreigner".
This is still something practised commonly by rabbis and implemented by many in the Jewish community, today.
Christianity and the prosperity gospel
Many verses of the Christian Bible instruct people to avoid greed and hoarding wealth.
For example, it instructs, "Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
But many Pentecostal and Evangelical churches encourage wealth accumulation through the idea of the "prosperity" gospel.
Brian Rosner is a theologian and a scholar of the New Testament, and principal of Riddley College, a theological college.
He tells ABC RN's God Forbid that the prosperity gospel, or prosperity theology, is the idea "that if you have enough faith, God will make you healthy and wealthy".
But he says interpretations vary when it comes to wealth and the Bible.
Dr Rosner believes prosperity gospel preachers misinterpret certain verses and that many Christians, including Catholics, directly oppose the idea of the prosperity gospel.
It "doesn't match the message" of Jesus, who was the son of a poor carpenter, he says.
Dr Rosner says instead, many Christians follow the teachings of Jesus that instruct them to stay away from the love of money, and that their wealth or income be shared with their church through "tithing".
Tithing, which involves Christians giving 10 per cent of their income to the church, is a modern interpretation of the Bible's teaching that, "A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, is the Lord's, and is holy".
Islam, zakat and pure intentions
The Qu'ran instructs Muslims to be wary of having excessive wealth. Many hadith, the sayings and teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, describe having wealth as a challenge to be overcome.
One hadith is: "Truly, for every nation, there is a trial, and the trial for my nation is wealth."
Gaining excessive wealth in Islam is not seen as something to strive towards. Instead, greed is considered to be a corrupting force.
Muslims are warned to not save or hoard great sums of money, but instead to distribute it to those who are in need.
One of the five pillars of Islam is to give zakat, similar to the Jewish concept of tzedakah. Under Islamic law, zakat requires Muslims to give 2.5 per cent of their annual income to charity.
Rachel Woodlock, an Islamic Studies lecturer at the University of Melbourne, says for Muslims, zakat is seen as "purifying the rest of their wealth".
Islamic banks and 'spiritual destiny'
The Qu'ran also says that there's a difference between trade and usury, lending money with high-interest rates.
While usury is forbidden in Islam, trade isn't.
"The Prophet was a merchant. So, conducting business and engaging in trade and earning money is not inherently a bad thing in and of itself," Dr Woodlock says.
Nowadays, Muslims can borrow money without high-level interest through Islamic banks, which pledge to give money without "compound interest".
But Dr Woodlock says Islamic banks are not without criticism.
"In the 20th century … Muslims became concerned with modern banking practices of interest … And so they developed alternative banking and finance products in order to avoid [usury].
"The difficulty is, it doesn't take into consideration things like inflation."
But a major principle in Islam is that everything Muslims do is based on their intentions.
"With anything, if you are seeking to gain wealth, with a bad intention … then all of that would be seen as injurious to your spiritual destiny," Dr Woodlock says.
She says Islam values being content with what God has given you, and those who do are afforded "higher spiritual status".
The Prophet Muhammad said that obsessively pursuing wealth has the potential to destroy a person.
It's a message many people — religious or not — might agree with.
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