I <heart> Money?

Those of you who know the old adage and who know me probably have knitted brow regarding the title of this post… No need to fear, however, I have not lost my ever-lovin'-mind. Yet. Arguable at times, but not yet. :-)

I started blogging with a lot of ideas and I guess I backed away from some of them because I feel like my whole life is one big conversation regarding things and stuff, finances and relationships, as they are taught Biblically. I am not totally sure that I want people to think of me as the single-topic preacher type, and I definitely don't want to seem critical or harsh to anyone regarding this sensitive and personal topic. So, I hope that by posting some things here I can point out some Biblical principles, and, Lord-willing, the things I say will not be taken offensively because I am not giving them to anyone in particular. Just stuff that I have learned personally through experience and listening to people who I believe follow and teach Biblically…

The title above is sort of like admitting you are an alcoholic or something. You have been hiding the truth for years from your church, your friends, your pastor, your spouse and yourself? The situation has come to a head, perhaps, and the awful, private truth has now become obvious to the entire world. The repo man came last week and took the car. The Bank laughs when you ask for a mortgage. You can't look the offering plate in the eyes, so you sort of glance askance as you gingerly (and quickly) hand it off.

Maybe you aren't there – yet. Maybe the problems are still lurking in the privacy of your checkbook, but you feel the weight of the debt while the headlines are blaring certain doom, and you are feeling the fear, the oppression of your past choices ominously looming over your head like a thunder cloud before the storm.

Then again, maybe you aren't all that deeply concerned. Things are OK, but I know I should be better with my money. Perhaps you just want to do well as a steward of God's blessings, giving, investing…

Or, maybe you have been cruising along and the handles on your finances got shorter with a pay cut. Whatever the circumstances, the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord, seeking and following His advice. And that starts with a little honest confession, "Hello, my name is Ryan, and I like stuff…"

There are a lot of opinions regarding financial matters, but there are a few common but false assumptions that I would like to tackle with a few firm principles. I hope to generate some healthy thinking.

The first bad assumption that I see is that money is bad, dangerous or sinful. To some, the oft repeated phrase is misquoted as, "…money is the root of all evil…". With this phrase, we explain corporate greed, corruption of all sorts and burglaries in many forms. But it is wrongly quoted that money is the source and reason for them… The Bible, from where the saying originated instead says:

1 Timothy 6:10 (New International Version)

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

It is from this text that I keep my heart attitude aligned to God and His Word. It is not the money itsefelf, but the love of money that I have to mind. And there is a very good reason that it says this in this way. When we are emotionally attached to anything, then we are then tempted to make rash decisions that feel good at the moment, but ignore God's own word. Money is a great example to demonstrate this kind of root problem, because we all have the emotional attachments to it to one degree or another. It provides perceived security, perceived joy, perceived status, and in it we easily place our trust – even though we ironically print right on it, "In God we trust!"

For some of us the last 30 years has been a financial inebriation. We think that because we have all sorts of things and stuff, we have things figured out; and now, with the markets melting down, jobs in decline, and headlines that rub salt in every wound, we have a national, monster hangover. We the people have been drinking the wine of wealth, securing our futures in the things of this world, haven't we? It was a nice time while it lasted, huh? As with alcohol, there is a subliminal deceit that having enough things and stuff, is satisfying and plain fun. Just as with alcohol some of us are more susceptible than others to be intoxicated and addicted to it, while others are relatively unaffected by it.

How are you? Are you still drunk? Are you hung over? Are you OK? Why? Do you know someone else who is doing things right and winning?

I hope to explore these and some related ideas, and, as we look at these things, I think that we will find that there is a proper, Biblical perspective that will bring true peace, true joy and real satisfaction. Today though, you need to consider where you place your trust – what's the bottom line?

God truly desires to bless His children. He knows that things and stuff can be a problem for His kids too. It can be a problem both ways - not to have it at all and be hungry, or to have it and cause ourselves many griefs.

For His faithfulness to us I live most often in Matthew 6: 19-33. He takes care of the birds and the lillies, knows the number of hairs on my head, so He will take care of me.

All good things come from Him… and He gives perfectly:

James 1:17 (New International Version)

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

But He does not give equally – He gives as liberally as is good for His kids. He has a purpose for each and I hope to dig into that later, but the summary is that He will only give as much as we are capable of being faithful using, according to the measure of our character.

Financial stress is destructive. It is the usually the result of our own bad behavior and we will be looking at that, but today please understand that God has the best plans for us. He has given us a great deal in His Word which will not leave us in stress – if we honor it. He is continually shaping us to His image, teaching, testing and forming our hearts to be like His. He is a giver, indeed The Giver. He does not give from a limited resource, nor does He give with debt either to Himself or us. He gives freely. As destructive as financial stresses are, the real source of stress is sin, whether financial or otherwise.

If you are overwhelmed with life, I want you to understand something very important. God loves you and gave His Son so that you could know peace in your heart, eternal peace that you have never experienced unless you have been forgiven your debt of sin. You see, we owe a debt for sin that can only be paid by death. How serious is this debt? It is not even repayable by you or me because we ourselves have sinned, so our own life cannot serve as payment. God has a plan though. He sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect human life, to pay an infinite human debt, from the only infinite source, which is God himself. There is a place to start now, "…my name is __________, and I have sinned…"

He has provided a way to take care of the ultimate debt through His Son's own sacrifice. To get to true freedom, you have to start with the most important things…

1 John 1:9 (New International Version)

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

There is real hope, real help and real solution that we will continue discover, both spiritually and financially… As Dave Ramsey closes out every broadcast, "There's only one way to true financial peace and that's to walk daily with the Prince of Peace, Christ Jesus."

So, hang on, there may be a little turbulence ahead, so let's figure out the seatbelts, OK?