Wise Living with Money
Wise Living – Money
Money! We need it. It doesn’t take long and we spend it. We save it. Sometimes we even waste it. The big question is how do we demonstrate wise living with money. That is a challenge that faces us on most days.
As Christians, we are called to follow Christ and that includes how we spend our money. We need wise living with money.
Principles for Wise Living with Money
Everything comes from God – We need to remember that everything comes from God. God is the one that gives us the physical strength for the job we have. He is the one who gave us the intellectual abilities that allowed us to get the position. He is the one that provided the job you have right now. Everything even the money we have comes from God. Remember that everything comes from God.
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)
Everything belongs to God – “It is my money and I can do with it what I want.” We might not say that aloud but that is at times how we act. We forget that everything belongs to God. “The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.” (Psalm 89:11) Our money is not just ours to use as we need. Really our money and everything belongs to God. He gives it to us but it belongs to him. This is will change how we view money. In some ways, we are a channel through which God can supply other’s needs. Everything belongs to God who loves and cares for us.
God calls us to be stewards – Based on the two principles above we are called to be stewards of the money that God has given us. A steward is someone who manages something for another person. If we realize this principle, it will change how we view our money. Masters entrust certain things to the steward and there are some things that the steward needs to discuss with the master. The same should be true with our money. Some things we need to pray and ask God for wisdom as to what to do.
Options for Wise Living with Money
How you live in these options is really between you and God. You need to be listening to God and ask him what to do? Ask him to help you spend it wisely, save it thoughtfully, and give generously. We each have different income, needs, and responsibilities.
Spend it – There is no question unless you live in a bartering society you need to spend money. How can we be wise in our spending? Spend on what you need. Do you need another notebook? (That is me talking to me and the answer would be, “no.”) Discounts and markdowns easily tempt us to purchase things that we do not need. Do you need the latest gadget? Can you buy it used? Could you borrow instead of purchasing? Those are questions that individually we need to answer.
Save it – It is wise to have money saved. Saving money can help you to avoid debt. Again, the amount that you save depends on you. Save it, but remember to keep trusting God and not the money in your bank account. Save it so you can help others.
Give it away – God does ask for our tithes and offerings. We should be giving to the Lord’s work. Give to your local church, to missionaries you know, Christian organizations that are working to proclaim Christ. Give to the poor and needly. Care for the widows. Gift cards can be a way to give but have it spent in a specific way. How much can you give away? Look to increase your giving each year. Be ready to give. Here are some more thoughts on giving.
Budget it – A budget is just a plan. It helps you plan. I will add that this is an option because for some a budget makes them hoard more and trust in their money. For others it is helpful. Know yourself and what will help you to be wise living with money. There are various resources available that can help you with this.
Dangers of Money
How much money is enough? Just one more $$$ or one more £££. Money brings blessing but it has dangers. Be aware of the dangers of money.
Trusting in money and not in God – It is easy to begin to trust in our money, what we have saved and how we spend it. When we begin to do that we are forgetting the principles above. We need to balance the need with trusting God.
Greed and selfishness – Remember the rich fool (RF) in Luke 12:13-21 a parable that Jesus told a crowd. At the end of the harvest, RF said to himself, “I have more crops than I have room to store them. Give to those that are needy? No, I am going to build a bigger barn and store all this for me.” We might think that is the wise thing to do, be prepared, take care of yourself, and save all you can. Then Jesus calls him a fool. Why? Because he forgot who gave all that to him, he was trusting in that. That night his life ended. His harvest meant nothing as he stood before the Lord. Do you see greed and selfishness? That is the way of a fool. Be wise.
If I could challenge you and myself in one area, I would challenge you to look at how much you can give.
What is your biggest challenge with money? Leave a response in the comments.
This is part of a series on Wise Living. Wise Living means that we look at various aspects of life and how God is calling us to live. Do not to swayed by the things that you hear from the word but from God’s truth. Here are the other posts in this series.
Have you signed up for my mailing list? Be sure to do it to keep updated on what is happening, get information about what is coming up, and access to subscriber’s resources.