We started a new series on money this week at church. Nothing too earth shattering since I've had the good fortune of working through several different biblical studies on finances. But a couple thoughts that stood out to me.
I was talking with a friend today about three different axis involved in having a biblically sound financial aspect. One is the heart of spending - selfish vs. generous, a second of wisdom (e.g. budget or impulse spending), and the third is the fearful vs. calm spectrum: Do I trust God to meet my needs?
The irony is that there are many people who are fiscally responsible out of selfishness and distrust of God's provision. (This is my natural leaning - why spend irresponsibly and get myself in trouble later?) And then there are those who love giving and spending but never plan ahead, and call it trusting God. The problem, of course, is that it disregards most of the biblical principles on financial matters.
On the flip-side, I was talking to my friend about what it means to have trust in God when one also has an solid emergency account. If I'm relaxed and secure, is it because I have great faith in God, or because I know that rarely does God inflict Job-like disasters on middle-class Americans with wise savings habits? (At least, in my small sample size, it's rare.)
There's something unsettling that doing the right thing seems to make trusting God financially more of an intellectual exercise than anything else.
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2 comments:
This is a cool concept -- and I like this post. So financial decisions can be thought of as existing in 3-dimensional space, huh? I'll have to ponder this more. :)
"There's something unsettling that doing the right thing seems to make trusting God financially more of an intellectual exercise than anything else."
Wow that's worth pondering. I hadn't really thought about it like that before but I can definitely relate.
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