More on Money

I wanted to continue some thoughts today from the post that I did yesterday called “A Place for My Stuff”. When it comes to money, as Christians, we can go around and around chasing our tail on this one if we are not careful.

A few random bullet points that have been rolling around in the Z cranium:

1. There are obviously no black and whites when it comes to judging someone else’s finances. There may only be black and whites for you and your family when it comes to using money for the glory of God. Wow, that sounds pretty relativistic, but I think it true Biblically. Jesus told the rich young ruler to give it all away, yet he seemed pleased when Zacheus said that he would give back half. There is diversity in scripture on this issue.

2. Do I have contentment right now? (1 Tim 6:6-10) What am I willing to be content with? If I am not content, why not? Am I being ruled by the American cultural norm of instant gratification? These types of questions can be good in helping us decipher between needs and wants. Based on the text above, it seems like simplicity should be the norm (again, relative term, I know). Question everything. That being said, there is a time to stop all the questioning that can be paralyzing and act by faith.

3. Run your big purchases by someone you trust who you know will ask you hard questions and tell you the truth. There have been so many times in my life when it became clear that my motives are not a honest and pure as I thought they were after I talked to a trusted friend. Usually this is my wife, but sometimes it’s not and having someone to run things by that I am not as emotionally invested in can be good at times.

4. Spending lots of money on something is not always bad and in fact is probably wise in many cases. I have spent lots of money on musical gear in the past. In this case you usually get what you pay for. When you are standing in front of hundreds of people week in and week out it is important that your gear works well. It might be unwise stewardship of my resources to not spend lots of money on good gear in this case, but the question of contentment arises again. Am I content with what I have and seeking to “wear it out” for the glory of God, or do I find myself clamoring for newer and better because I get a rush off the bright, shiny and new?

5. It seems like Biblically there is a place for extravagance. When the woman at Bethany anointed Jesus his disciples thought the money for the very expensive anointing oils should have been given to the poor. Jesus said she did a wonderful thing. In the Old Testament, God commands his people to build him a temple and that temple was not exactly a small worship shack in the desert. Do these narratives give us rules? No, but at least they show us that there is a time and place for extravagance, and perhaps especially when it is tied to honoring God.

6. Get out of debt! Is some debt good debt? Maybe in house buying cases, but other than that (and you can do this unwisely as well) I don’t want to be a slave to any lender (Proverbs 22:7). In our culture, debt is more often than not a sign of not being willing to wait until one can afford something. It’s impatience and laziness in is clearest forms. As Dave Ramsey says, it’s like kindergarten revisited, “I want it NOW!!!” The debt noose is slowly tightening around the necks of so many in our culture and our churches. Unfortunately, in the past our family has paid the price of being unwise with debt, but by God’s grace we have been debt free (expect for the house, 15 year mortgage) for almost two years. I can’t tell you how freeing this feels.

7. Remember, rich or poor, sin is lurking around every corner. You can be prideful in your wealth or in your super-spiritual poverty. Fight sin to the death and seek to use your money for the glory of God!