4 Biblical Teachings on How to Handle Our Money
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- Updated May 08, 2023
Our culture loves money but also never talks about it in tangible terms. Asking what someone makes or what their financial status is can be very taboo. Lately, I’ve been wondering if this area of our lives needs a little more light to be shone upon it.
For the past few weeks, my husband and I have been going through the Financial Peace University by Dave Ramsey. Jokingly my friends and I have lamented that Ramsey’s teachings are ruining our lives! Really though, this class is shedding light on the ways that my husband and I have let carelessness get in the way of us using all our resources with wisdom. The revelation of the ways we need to get on a financial “diet” and start to use our money with intentionality kinda stings. Yet, as I’ve sat through the class and gone from skeptic to follower, I’ve realized one really key point that the program is shedding light on: believers are called to live differently when it comes to our finances!
Our culture is shouting so many financial myths at us that are slowing many of us down in our ability to live with outrageous generosity. It tells us that debt is a necessity, but really it’s a way to keep us in a place of financial slavery. We believe that wealth is only for the rich and the famous when statistically, 80% of millionaires are just regular people who have committed to quickly paying off debt, investing in their retirement, and saving money whenever possible. Basically, wealth or financial freedom is possible for Americans when we start following what the Bible teaches about money rather than just following the crowd towards the path of endless materialism and debt.
Here are some key Biblical teachings that can guide us as we strive to be more intentional with our resources:
1. Avoid Debt
Proverbs 22:7 tells us, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” Proverbs is known as the wisdom book, and it teaches, just like Dave Ramsey, that debt is a trap. Now if you are like me, you have some debt and almost feel like it’s impossible to avoid loans and credit cards, but when we guard our hearts against the voice of the world that says more is better than free, we can start to chip away at that debt and one day arrive at a place of freedom.
Followers of Jesus need to begin to reject the debt narrative of our culture that wants to keep us trapped and poor. We have to commit to paying off things that we need quickly and really think hard before signing up for another loan or card. The second you pay off every note that you owe, you suddenly become so much richer! Being debt free is the easiest way to give yourself a raise and make space to save, invest, and plan for the future.
2. Learn How to be Content
Hebrews 13:5 instructs, “ Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Ugh, guys, this is so hard! I mean, there are just so many ways that I want to use money for my pleasure, status, or so my family can keep up with the Joneses! As a parent, I feel this pressure even more intensely. It’s not that I need a special designer purse, but what I do want is for my kids to get every opportunity that their friends have. The same kinds of over-the-top birthday parties. I want them to get music lessons, do sports, enjoy dance classes, have the best curriculum, and enjoy the best gifts! My heart is good as a Mom to want to provide well for them, but provision for my kids does not have to look just like my neighbors. We have five kids, and realistically our budget will only allow for some of the activities, parties, gifts, trips, and more that my kids are given the chance to participate in.
Being content with the financial abilities we have been blessed with as a family is a lesson relevant to not just me, but it's something we have to teach our kids about too. Being content is definitely a counter-cultural way to live. If we can seek to live in that space of knowing we have enough, there is such peace to be found when it comes to our money.
3. Avoid the Love of Money
1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Let’s be real, most of us love money. I’ll confess first… I love money. I love the feeling of being able to spend something a little extra on myself because some extra cash just popped into our hands. I love the idea of being able to build my dream life with my dream home and dream vacations. Yet, that’s not the point of money when we are Christ followers. Money is a tool God gives us. We are called to avoid the relentless pursuit of it. Believers are to use what we have wisely, not storing up our treasures here on Earth but focusing on how we can use what we have to bring Heaven down to Earth.
4. Live Generously
Proverbs 11:24-25 states, “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” It’s interesting because when it comes to generosity, it’s the one and only place where the Bible tells us how to get more money. There are several passages that say when we give freely, God makes sure he takes care of us (Proverbs 19:17, Luke 6:38, 2 Corinthians 9:6). In God’s backwards Kingdom, we give to others in order to grow our own provision! I don’t understand that math, but I’ve seen it at work in my own life in many ways, so I’m starting to trust that God means what he said here.
What I love about the charge to take control of your finances is that the end goal is so you can feel free to give without fear. When a need comes to your view, you can act. That’s probably the most exciting thing you will ever get to do with your money! I’m ready to get busy making that budget, logging expenses, and following our plan because I’m pumped for the day I can send someone a check for something they need without thinking twice about it!
Creating a new habit is so hard! When it comes to how we handle money, being faithful requires practicing habits that will build into a healthy story as time goes on. Start small and begin to ask God to show you how to better handle what he has given you! I started praying last year for our family, and God sent me to Dave Ramey even though I had no intention of taking that small group class, somehow I’m doing it. God is faithful to help us with all we need!
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