Money Matters

The next Financial Peace course is starting at church tonight. This will be my third time through and once again I get to help lead a discussion group with Stephanie. It sounds like a lot of people are signed up this time, so the class should be bigger than before. I am excited to see how the class affects others as I have been blessed in applying these practical principles in my own life.

We've just recently compeleted a short "Money Crunch" series at church and Financial Peace is starting again, it's not a bad time to take a look at how we are doing with our money. I've found it boils down to two questions.

1. Where is my heart in relationship to how to use my money? Am I desiring to use my money in a way that honors God and recognizes that everything I have belongs to him?

2. I want to use my money in a way that glorifies God and be a wise steward. What does it look like practically in everyday life to use my money well?

Randy Alcorn's "The Treasure Principle" has been helpful in evaluating my own heart in regards to the first question. I know my heart can easily drift into believing that my money is mine to do whatever I want with and that I deserve it because I worked for it. I need to be reminded that all of it is a gift from God and I will be held accountable for how I use it. I'm glad that we are including this book into our Financial Peace course to examine not only our habits, but our hearts as well. I'm hoping to get to read Alcorn's "Money, Possessions and Eternity" sometime to dig deeper into this area.

The Financial Peace course really comes into play with the second question. The information provided by Dave Ramsey helps with budgeting, smart shopping and saving well. It helps me to make the most of what God has entrusted me with and protects me from spending more than I make. Also, having knowledge about where my money is helps to relieve financial stress and frees me to spend and give since I don't have to worry that I am accidently spending my rent money. I'm always refining what I'm doing, but I can see definite improvement since I started the course.

Take some time to evaluate how you use your money reflects your view of God. And take time to look into some practical financial advice, like Dave Ramsey's book "Financial Peace", to see if there are ways you can be using your money more wisely.

Am I Willing to Give What I Cannot Keep?

As part of the Financial Peace University (FPU) course that I'm helping with at church, I've started to read "The Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. I'm very interested to wrestle with these things as I read and discuss with members of my group. God has been good to provide so well for me financially, in terms of a job and generous parents who helped me through school. Having seen how I had the tendency to take advantage of that generousity, I wanted to be equipped in how to handle my money wisely and in a way that honored God before I started my job. And Stefan was kind to point me in the direction of Dave Ramsey. His book, "Financial Peace", helped to establish the practical aspect of being a good steward of what God had given me and allowed me to give more freely.

But temptation can come from being more familiar with my finances and with money and investing in general. As I seek to save wisely, it can be easy to drift into a selfish hoarding mentality, to place my security ultimately in my savings, or to be tempted to think about how much money I would be saving if I didn't have to tithe. That's why I'm glad to be taking additional time to consider my heart's inclination towards money and how God calls me to use what he has given me. When it comes down to it, Jesus is concerned with the motives in our hearts and how that reflects what we truly value.

There is a great quote in the very beginning of the first chapter that you may have heard before. It sums up the message of the book in a eloquent way:

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot

We need to consider using our money in the right way now so that we might gain eternal rewards in heaven. It's also applicable to our lives in general. Are we willing to serve sacrificially, give our time and live lives dedicated to God? While these things never ensure our salvation, God promises great rewards and there is an eternal joy that comes from obedience to God. And in reality, what are we giving up? Our lives on this earth and our money are things that will eventually come to an end. We are fools if we cling to the things of this world that will perish and neglect those things that are eternal.

Are we willing to give what we can't keep to gain what we can't lose?