Money Money Money Mo-nay

Our small group is preparing to start a long study on money developed by Crown Financial Ministries. Although one of the four couples has been through the study before, the other three have not, and we all decided we could use more guidance from the Word and wise counsel on the issue. Crown isn’t just about making a budget and eating out less. It addresses a variety of financial topics including our attitudes toward money, saving, investing, and giving. We are excited and eager to begin.

I don’t know about you, but I think about money a lot – stressing because we don’t save as much as I’d like, trying to work as much overtime as I can so that Jenny can stay home with the boys, feeling guilty because we have so much compared to the majority of the world, deciding to whom we should give the money we can spare, grumbling about Jenny’s purchases but justifying my own, wondering whether we’ll have enough saved up for Brenden and Jonathan to go to college, and so on. I tend to stress about money instead of trusting God to provide, even though I believe He will.

Many have noted that how we use our money is one of the best indicators of our true priorities. I agree. For example, we pay our mortgage because we value having a roof over our heads. We pay for cell phones and internet access because we want to stay connected to our people and learn from the global community. We give to IBC and other nonprofits such as WorldVision and Water Is Basic because we believe in their missions and want to meet others’ physical and spiritual needs. We do not pay for fancy cars and vacations, not because we wouldn’t enjoy them, but because we can’t afford them along with our other expenses and gifts, and we value those other things more.

I drive myself crazy sometimes by taking these tradeoffs to an extreme, with thoughts like, “With what I paid for this single dinner out, I could have fed a starving child for a month” or “The cost of this vacation could have bought malaria nets for an entire village”. I see such a vast disconnect between the middle-class American life that we live and the mind-boggling generosity we read about in the New Testament. In Luke 3, John the Baptist said those who have two tunics should give one away. I don’t own any tunics (?), but I own plenty of coats, shoes, shirts, and pants. Should I give away my entire wardrobe except for a single outfit? I’ll bet I would get some funny looks and wrinkled noses starting on Day 2 or 3. In Acts 4, the members of the early church sold their possessions and land and pooled their money, commune-style, to share with those in need. Sounds kind of…dare I say it…socialistic, eh? The goal seems to be nothing less than radically redistributing our wealth until everyone has enough. We’re not even close and probably never will be.

However, the Word doesn’t condemn having possessions, either. It tells us to provide for our families and save up in advance for future problems. Some of the greatest kings and other figures of the Bible, such as King Solomon and Job (for part of his life), were extremely wealthy but weren’t criticized in the Word for not giving away everything God had given them. Somehow there must be a balance between these two extremes…right?

The Bible talks about money repeatedly, offering sound principles that still work thousands of years later. I hope that the Crown study will help all of us align our financial attitudes and goals with those of God, giving us a clear plan for the use of our money. I hope it will also bring peace to the war that rages constantly within my soul.

Related posts:

1. The Shackles of Debt This week our home group, which is going through Crown Ministries’ study on finances, talked about debt. I won’t retype the entire lesson (you’re welcome!), but the gist of it...
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