4 Faith-Inspired Tips for Overcoming Financial Stress

1. 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."

Did you know that you can love money if you are rich and if you are poor? Loving money is a heart condition in which we love money more than we love our God. It leads us to abandon his ways in the pursuit of this first love. The love of money led Judas to betray his friend for a meager 30 pieces of silver (Matthew 26:15). Maybe this cautionary tale was why the New Testament warns us several times to check our hearts when it comes to how we interact with money. They witnessed how evil can be born when we prize money over our relationship with God.

Some questions that can help us assess our hearts on the issue of money are as follows:

What is my primary motivation in life?

Could I have less financial stress if I adopted a heart of contentment?

Am I being faithful to God's call to be generous with my money or am I hoarding every dollar out of fear we won't have enough?

Am I honest about how I am using my money? Have I gained my wealth through honest means? Have I abused another person in my pursuit of financial stability?

2. Live with Generosity

Luke 6:38 tells us, "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

In God's economy, he takes out little and makes more when it is freely and generously given to others! I know it makes no sense to give when you are living in financial stress, but it's one of the places in the Bible where God promises that if we are obedient in our giving, he will make sure we are provided for.

Our faithfulness to give is an act of obedient surrender when it comes to our resources. It's an acknowledgment that all we have comes from the Lord. We are just stewards of his world. He calls us to give regularly so we don't get caught up in the idea that we can hoard all we have by our own strength for our own gain. Instead we are saying not my will but your will be done. Take a part of what I have for your Kingdom work because it's yours to begin with. I am reliant fully on the Lord!

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/CarmenMurillo

3. Avoid Excessive Debt

Proverbs 22:7 teaches, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."

Basically when we get in debt we become a slave to our lender. They get first dibs on our paycheck and we are not free from the need for money because we owe what we can earn to someone else. Living in our means is a part of biblical wisdom and helps us avoid financial disaster.

Do your best to pay in cash for what you can. When there is a need for a loan make sure to not extend yourself over your means. Keep tabs on spending so you are accountable for every dollar. This helps to avoid excessive spending or borrowing for unnecessary items. I personally use an app to log every dollar we spend and place each purchase into the appropriate budgeted categories that my husband and I have agreed upon. Keeping track of how you are spending your money is so important to ensure that you are using what you have been given wisely.

4. Be Honest When it Comes to Financial Matters

Proverbs 19:1 states, "Better is a poor person who walks in his integrity than one who is crooked in speech and is a fool."

Poverty is preferable to being a lying fool. How we gain the money we have to use is vitally important to the health of our souls. The more successful you are when it comes to finances, the more you realize that few men and women are not driven by greed. It doesn't matter the organization; where there is money, there is a temptation to compromise your integrity.

Integrity is essential when sharing money in a marriage.

You need to be fully transparent with your spouse on how you are handling your shared resources. Hidden spending habits, stealing the identity of your spouse to take out loans they don't know about (happens so much more than we realize), and ill gotten gains are abusive ways to handle your money. It's so heartbreaking to hear of someone who appears to love the Lord but has lied, stolen, and cheated their way to a certain financial status. There is a clear spiritual issue in our lives if we are not honest with our finances.

Money is tricky! It's so easy to see the ways it can help us, free us, and even how we can help others with it then letting that lure us into living as if money is our god. As the cost of living rises, financial stress feels like a given, no matter what your paycheck looks like each month! But no matter if we have a little or a lot, there is one truth that remains constant: God is our provider! We have to trust him with all our hearts, not lean on our own understanding, and he promises to make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).