Money part 2

This part two of a spiel on money and how to deal with it. If you haven’t read last time’s, then go there now. If you have, then let’s get down to the nitty gritty. How does God want you to use the money He has provided? Well, you could be the teenager and say “it’s all mine.” But I suspect you won’t. You could be the legalist and divvy up what’s God’s and what’s yours to the cent and become a Pharisee or worse Ananias or Sapphira. Or you could do what I believe is biblical and trust that God knows what you need and has provided enough for today and tomorrow. Now I want to do things God’s way so let’s look at option three. The first thing to remember when you get your paycheck is don’t look at it as yours. Look at it correctly and that is - God knows all of my needs and those of the world that can be dealt with by the exchange of money, and has given me X dollars to do my part. It’s still His and I need to be the good servant trusting in the goodness of my master. So if God has entrusted us with 100% of a paycheck to be spent to His glory how do we divvy it up? First Fruits: I believe that the Bible is pretty clear that God’s house and specific duties (teacher, priest etc) are incredibly important to God. The way God wants us to deal with this particular need is by giving first fruits to their upkeep. I think God gets a bit ticked with us and it speaks volumes to the world if the treasurer has to beg for funds for building upkeep and pastor is driving a 30 year old bomb while the car park it full of new SUV’s . You might know it better by its other name - tithe (meaning 10% of income). Now some people have put it up to 22% when you take into account special offerings in the OT, but I think as Christians and being under grace, the rule of thumb should be to pray and see what you feel at peace with. I can’t stress enough, however, that this is the first thing God expects in any budget and it is just as real a need as food in your fridge. Remember, God is good and knows your needs so trust that if you put first things first you will not be left out. The next rule of thumb for good stewards is 10% to savings and investments. Good stewards build wealth bit by bit and then use their resources for God’s glory. Having full barns with the intention to do good is not evil. Having full barns and just admiring your handy work is. If you don’t thinks savings are a good idea, remember that being locked into debt helps no one. That leaves 70-80%. I believe that this is discretionary for living and free will offerings. You need to develop a budget for all the household stuff (mortgage, fuel, food etc) out of this. I think the part about living modest lives and being satisfied with what you have comes into play here. If you cannot live on this amount then it might be time to check your lifestyle, not take from tithe or savings. Sure there are times when you will have to flex and spend, but if you find yourself unable live on under 80% of your wage for 70% of a year, then you need to look seriously either at your lifestyle or you need to be petitioning God about it. If take an honest look at the lifestyle you lead, you might, like me, just find out that it isn’t very modest. If you use this method you will probably see that as you go on and stick to your budget, your discretionary portion doesn’t all go. When this happens don’t go “Yahoo! We’re off to Tahiti” (unless of course you have budgeted that into your holiday fund) but rather look at where God would have you use it. Finally if you are locked into big debt such as a large Bankcard bill or some other form of personal finance and you can’t see the forest for the trees then you will probably need some professional advice. Most churches can direct you to a financial councilor who is in touch with biblical principles and will help you to work out a God-glorifying solution. So get the right perspective. Make tithing and savings as important as food and more important than a night at the movies and be content with what you have and thank God that you have at all.
Finally, I have to admit that while I have been writing this I find myself falling short of what has gone down on paper. I therefore ask if you are like me and do find yourself falling short of being a good steward, that you would not run away in guilt or shame but rather you would join me in admitting it to our Provider and Sustainer and commit with repentance to becoming the one who can be trusted with much.