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Money and Me |
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By Tom Gilbert
- March, 2003
I’m going through a real challenge of late. Money problems.
I know we all have them. My problem is my relationship
with the “coin”. Let’s call it a learning
opportunity.
Money is necessary. Is it a necessary evil? Some people would
say so. There’s that famous quote, “the
love of money is the root of all evil”. Notice,
it doesn’t say money itself is the root of evil.
It’s the love of money.
These days I don’t love money. I least I don’t think
so. I’m just frustrated by my lack of it. Through
my own decisions over the past years I’ve lived
a less-than-responsible way when it comes to managing
finances. Whenever things have become tight out comes
the plastic. Just charge it. When confronted with “pay
me now or pay me later” I kept choosing later.
Well, later just became now.
It’s sad that most of us are not brought up with good training
when it comes to money. Our financial knowledge is usually
limited to circling paydays on the calendar and spending.
The American society is driven by consumerism and it’s
pretty easy to get programmed into a constant buying/spending
mentality.
There’s not a lot of training in saving and investing. My impression
is that too many of us (me included) have paid lip service
to investing in God’s work and it certainly comes
after investing in our own welfare.
In my spiritual awakening of the past few years I’ve
been rewarded greatly in seeing God at work. The lesson
of being of service to others, especially those in need,
has not been lost on me. However, as I’ve become
more attuned to this I’ve also traveled a bumpy
path of employment. Lower wages than previous years,
debts coming due at the time, all when I am now more
willing than before to spend my money properly.
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What’s a Poor Boy to Do?
Is anyone out there relating?
What are the lessons here?
The lessons are really the same as they are in every other part
of life. Reliance on self is a dead end. Praying for
the knowledge of God’s will for us in our lives
and the power to carry that out must be our focus.
There are ways to manage money properly. Being a good steward
is not only being financially responsible, it is biblical.
And it all comes down to what I call the attitude of
the heart. This attitude, whether selfish or generous,
is the key to living the Gospel message of loving others
as Jesus loves us.
If I’m generous with my time, my possessions, my money and
my talents then it is no longer all about me. It’s
about helping others. Isn’t this what Jesus spent
so much time teaching his disciples? After all, he is
the one who washed the disciples’ feet at the
Last Supper.
Giving some of our money to help others sets in motion the
spiritual principle that unleashes blessings. Sometimes
I can get caught up in thinking that means if I give
then I will be getting a financial blessing back. Sometimes
that does happen, but I think it misses the point.
God is more concerned with whether I’m willing to give
up some of the money for good causes. It’s a trust
thing. He knows best where the money should go, so I
pray for guidance in this. It is often my church, but
it doesn’t have to be. Maybe it should go to a
person I meet that’s in immediate need. Or a homeless
shelter. Or some other charity. Proper discernment will
come when I ask for it and have the common sense to
learn something about the charities I give to.
You have probably heard about tithing. That’s giving 10%
of your income. It is a Biblical guideline and a good
one. Again, the percentage is not as important as willing
generosity.
Enough commentary. Time for some practical application. Here
are some helpful tips to live with financial responsibility
and wisdom that comes from God’s inspired Word
and passed on with love and encouragement.
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Cyber Resources
NavPress has put together a Bible study on “Your Money and
Your Life” in their Discipleship
Journal. Read some excerpts from their most popular
articles to help you find balance between the good and
the bad of money. Some of the articles are right on the
mark. Check out “Financially
Free” , “Mission
Possible” and “Should
a Christian Buy a Lexus?” delivered with two
viewpoints!
Over at Crosswalk.com “Handling
the Master's Money” by Austin Pryor for Sound
Mind Investing is a short, scripture-laced article that
might give you a different viewpoint on investing.
Right now everybody is on pins and needles with the world
news of imminent war and the economy on shaky ground.
“Will
You Survive 2003?” has really good practical
advice for businesses in this uncertain time, especially
in event of war or national disaster.
Are there any of those debt-consolidation and financial
advisor services out there operated by and designed primarily
for Christians? Oh, yeah…just do searches like this
one at Google.
I can’t personally vouch for these services, but
you can investigate prayerfully and ask God to give you
good sense and proper counsel.
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On the Road to Recovery
The answers to my own situation are there. Praying to God,
and more importantly, trusting in God, will help. I’m
sure that our Heavenly Father won’t let me down,
but he will expect me to do the footwork.
The key, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article,
is the attitude of my heart. Being generous doesn’t
always mean giving a lot. It means giving with a glad
and willing heart. Remember the poor widow at the temple
who tossed in her last two pennies? Jesus said she gave
more than all the others because she gave all she had…out
of her need. There’s no denying the generosity
there.
Being smarter and more responsible about finances is also
necessary. We can create a budget and be aware of how
much money is coming in and how much is going out. Plan
and save where we can. Track our spending (you’ll
be surprised what and where you spend your money). Read
some books and articles. You may find that you can still
have lots of fun without spending as much (“Cheaper
Ways To…., just out on RELEVANT books).
We can tighten our belts, but we don’t have to tighten
our hearts.
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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PROVERBS 2:6-8 |
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"For the LORD gives
wisdom,
and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He holds victory in store for the upright,
he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
for he guards the course of the just
and protects the way of his faithful ones. " |
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(NIV) |
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