Over the last few weeks we have been in a teaching series entitled, “My 2009 Resolutions”. I have simply taken the resolutions that many of you turned in at www.my2009resolutions.com and shared what the Bible has to say about them. On Sunday we discussed our spending habits in I Resolve to Fix My Finances. Let me give you a brief summary of what we learned.
Most people do the following with their money, and they do it in this order:
1-Spend it 2-Worry about it 3-Repay it 4-Save it 5-Give it
At first glance there may not appear to be anything wrong with that order. After all when you get your paycheck then don’t you owe it to yourself to go buy yourself something you want? And obviously the very first thing you should do is begin paying your bills right? And doesn’t everyone worry about money…isn’t that normal? Well it may be normal, but it is far from the way we are to handle our money. In fact if your money is handled in the order shown above, then you are likely to be in deep trouble. Why? Because it means that your money is controlling you rather than you being in control of your money. And anytime we are worried about money it likely means that somewhere along the way we have gotten our priorities out of whack. So how do we get control of our money? The answer is simple, but the process is very difficult for many to accept and implement.
The first step is to declare all of our assets and money to God (Romans 11:36). All that we have is His. Secondly we give God His tithe (Proverbs 3:9-10). The next step is something that most of our parents did without hesitation, but for many of us it is a missed step. Thirdly we need to save a percentage of our money (Proverbs 21:20). Obviously many of us may have to give up some of the luxuries of life in order to tithe and save a percentage of our income. How difficult is it for us as Americans to sacrifice inorder to give and save? Let’s talk about this briefly before looking at the last two steps.
The recent copy of Money Magazine has the results of a survey that asked people what they would and would not be willing to sacrifice during a financial downturn. The list of items or services that they would not give up was very interesting. Many said that they would not give up the following: A gym membership, eating out, their extra car, premium cable, and fine wine and spirits. Now if I’m reading that correctly, that means the average American says that even when they are going broke there are just some things they will not give up. Regardless of how much financial stress they are under they are still going to attempt to stay in shape while eating out, driving a sweet ride, and getting drunk on expensive booze while sitting in front of the TV! Okay so I am being a little sarcastic, but you see why so many people are having financial problems. In order to have financial freedom and to begin controlling our money rather than allowing it to control us…we may have to be willing to give up some of the luxuries of life. It is all about priorities! Let’s get back to our list of priorities when it comes to our money.
First we declare all that we have to God. Then we pay Him the 10 percent that he asks of us. Thirdly we put a percentage in savings. Fourthly we begin repaying our creditors (Proverbs 13:8). Lastly, we should find ways to enjoy our money (Ecclesiastes 5:10). I realize that we are in very difficult economic times and that some of you reading this may have found yourself in the middle of a financial crisis. Please don’t feel shame or guilt, because we have all been there at one time or another. The key is to get help and change your spending habits. I want to recommend something that will help you do just that! It is called Financial Peace University. It is a course offered at our church and you can get signed up today by calling the church at (817) 741-3687. Don’t put this off any longer! Today is the day to begin controlling your money instead of continuing to allow your money to control you!