I’m preparing a lesson for tomorrow night’s Bible study that I lead, we’re going through a series on the body and the believer and we’re covering Romans chapter 12 which has been a very rich passage to say the least.  I’m looking at verse 12, which says:

rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,

In personal finance we often get discouraged.  In personal finance the emergencies come up.  In personal finance you need to submit your financial walk to the Lord through prayer and meditation on biblical principles as outlined in the scripture.

Rejoicing in hope

Knowing that 100 years from now, 1,000 years from now, or 1 minute from now your identification is with Christ (Colossians 3:1-4) gives you hope.  If you’re not looking forward, then you’re not hoping.  Hope is faith in things to come - whether its the rejoicing in paying off debt and no longer having the bondage of payments to others and being able to be a fuller steward of God’s money, or thinking of the things that the money can be used for to glorify His name it is a great thing to have hope.  We’re often discouraged in life when trials come, but the trials are for our growth (James 1:1-4; I Thes. 3:3) so we can rejoice even in them.

Persevering in tribulation

Perseverance is diligant abiding in a place while pressure seems to come from all sides.  Tribulation comes, as stated above, for our growth.  The world sees pressure as a detriment, but we’re called to have a mindset that see’s God’s plan in all of these things that distract us and call us away from patience and longsuffering.  When you dip into your emergency fund (and I’ve had to do that far too often in the last few months) - persevere.  When your car gets a flat, your fridge goes out, or your kid breaks an arm: persevere.  The reliance on God that comes during times of tribulation should leave us understanding our closeness to Him rather than feeling alone.  It should show us the strength of our relationships in Christ with other believers.  It should be a great blessing to see the tribulation turn into a tool instead of a valley of toil.

Devoted to prayer

Prayer is often presented as begging God for some thing, some action or some event to take place.  But instead we should understand that it is powerfully deep and encouraging relationship.  Who you are in Christ gives you immediate access to God the Father for immediate, constant and intimate fellowship with Him. And that’s something money can’t buy.

So, you can see that I’m excited about this passage - maybe some time you can swing by the Tuesday night study and we’ll rejoice in our hope (which is in Christ), encourage one another through our trials, and pray for one another.  It’ll be great.

In the new Pixar movie Wall-e, there’s a fantastic message about stuff: Too Much Stuff Is Not a Good Thing.  There’s also a message about selfishness, gluttony, excess, and of course the environment.  And Love, if robots can be in love, that is.  However, the beginning of the movie shows us that on earth more stuff leads to the final elimination of useful life because all resources were used up (that’s the environmental message), but as the movie plays out there is a terrific scene where a massive mega-store is panned across the screen: Buy’n'Large appears to take a mile wide spot in a shopping center that is dedicated to the one single store.

The people on earth in this futuristic movie were so focused on stuff that they forgot that life was more than stuff.  Personal finance is best understood in the context of stuff (including the Nintendo Wii that I’m lusting after, the 5 string bass guitar, the new road bike, the bigger 30″ monitor, the 40″ HD TV [and, no, I don't need a bigger HDTV - that looks almost like restraint, huh?], and the gym membership with accompanying self control).  Does the stuff rule you, does it give purpose to your life?  If the answer is yes, then your perspective is out of whack.  Give another thought to the value of stuff.  Stuff is part of what drives a capitalistic culture, but a balanced and healthy society is going to deal with the stuff and grab for something deeper.

Wall-e is entertaining.  Wall-e is amazingly full of detail, and yet what I walked away with was a renewed sense of focus to get rid of the stuff and cling to the value in my family, the value in my faith, and the value in the richness of the creation around me.  I live just outside of the Rockies in Aurora, Colorado and yet I’ve never skied there, I’ve not gone hiking too many times and I’ve been pretty limited in my appreciation for the Rockies.  With the price of gas going up my opportunities, if the prices of gas keep going up, will dwindle.  Its time to kick this appreciation thing into high gear.

If you have seen Wall-e, what do you think?  Did the movie envigorate your perspective on stuff?  Am I too analytical?

As I had mentioned in an earlier post I’ve had a paradigm shift in how I look at credit cards.  My past attitude is that credit cards were evil without much in the way of exception.  I don’t have the same strong opinion any more.  Before I’m struck down with hate email or comments with great intensity let me clarify that most people who don’t like credit cards, when provoked to a good, long think, will agree with me.  The credit cards that get abused are a symptom!  Just like money isn’t evil by itself, credit cards are not evil by themselves.  If you pay off your credit card each and every month and maximize your return on the credit card’s reward program then the credit card is not a problem for you.

The symptom of debt is actually a symptom of the root problem: lack of self control.  If you understand where your finances are and you maximize your use of the card within the constraints of your budget, you might be able to pay for your family’s vacation in rewards.  James, a long time reader of my blogging (I don’t recall how James found me, but I’ve been grateful for the things I’ve learned from him and his commenting), actually left a comment stating that’s what he does some time ago.

My dad, a financially astute guy, uses his Discover card for as many expenses as he can and maximizes his rewards this way.  I have to admit to thinking this was crack smoking crazy until I realized that I was putting the blame on the wrong thing.  I’m not recommending everyone get as many credit cards as they can or that folks use credit cards if they can’t control themselves when they have access to the credit cards, but I am saying that I recognize that my previous stance was legalism.  As Romans 14:23b states: “…whatever is not from faith is sin.”  Don’t spend a dime that is not spent in reliance on the Lord.  This could be spent virtually with a credit card or literally with cash, but if you’re doing it out of compulsion and not in the abiding life of Christ, then its not the right attitude or way to be spending money in the first place!

This isn’t just a paradigm shift, this is a right-aligning with what the word of God teaches about walking by faith.  If I make a law about credit cards then I have failed to see the fullness of my relationship with Christ in the area I have created the law in.  I died to the law and the nature of the law when I was identified in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection.  I’m going to pay off my credit cards, cancel all but one, and then as I abide in Christ, I’ll focus on my heavenly relationship, knowing those earn eternal rewards, and use the Discover to maximize the earthly rewards which might just be used to help those in need (Romans 12:13).

Note: This, and all of the Sunday Sermon posts is written by and for Christians and reflects thoughts in that vein.

In Genesis 1 we start to learn about value in the Bible.  God creates various things and calls them, “Good.”  Bill Cosby, the noted comedian, points this out in one of his routines.  God’s estimation of value is significantly more reflective than ours.  God’s calling things good is reflective of His valuation of creation.  There is an element of sufficiency that lacks in our modern vocabulary.  We make things that are exceptional, amazing, super, wonderful, and mostly: obsolete.  We make things in a celebratory fashion and esteem them as our creation and more amazing than the last.  God makes things that last and calls them good.  God was content with His creation and stopped, we always strive for more and don’t stop.

As we build our wealth we need to have a sense of value that reflects God’s value.  When God creates Adam in His image, its very good.  Our value, as esteemed by God, is greater than that of all of his other creations.  Part of that is in His giving us characteristics that He has.  No other element in Creation has His characteristics and it means something.  When we buy things with God’s money, using a will that reflects that fact that God has a will, we need to make sure our will is aligned with His will.  We then have the authority to assign value, just like God did.   Buy things that are good, but things that have lasting value, don’t buy things that are the latest thing just for their shine-factor.

What things carry value for you?  What things do you call good?  What things do you call sufficient?  This is a great foundation for all of life.  Money has an estimated or esteemed value in the world, it reflects an ability to trade good for good without having to have that good.  Adam didn’t need to trade even Apples for Apples, he didn’t have to trade, but as we’ll look at next week, it didn’t take long for mankind to figure out the need to trade and that estimation of value cost a man his life.  A life God valued as more than just good.

This is by far the most taboo post I’ve posted to date. You’ve been warned

One of the things that I don’t see posted on Christian Personal Finance Blogs that I think need mentioning is the fact that there is a lack of “to others” in most churches. Each Christian should seek out opportunity to serve one another with financial and spiritual and labor oriented needs. What if you could help someone else at your church save hundreds of dollars by coming over and doing some honey-do list items on Saturday because you saw the opportunity, you met the need, and you loved them with the very life of Christ?

One case in point was recently on Gather Little By Little when the pastor’s wife verbalized something that was odd: Thank God for Credit Cards. That is putting a reliance on the wrong things for sure. Hopefully this post will outline some of the philosophical changes that need to be put in place in the life of believers when it comes to finance and the body of Christ.

Relationship with God
This post doesn’t mean anything if your relationship with God isn’t first priority. The Bible says that the Christian has been identified with Christ’s death, burial, resurrection, ascension and seating in the Heavenlies (Romans 6:6, 6:8; Col. 2:12; Col 3:1-3). That identification means that you don’t have to be dealing with any guilt for sins past or present. It also means that every Christian can boldly approach the throan of God (Hebrews 4:14-16) because you’re seated there in Christ (Colossians 3).

II Corinthians 3:18 tells us that we’re to behold the Lord Jesus Christ for spiritual growth. This beholding is part of the relationship. I liken this to a bride and groom gazing at one another during a wedding ceremony. If anything were to get in between them they’d know it! At least in their minds would be, “Hey! That’s not my husband!” or “That’s not my wife!” Think of your relationship with the Lord as the same thing. That relationship must come first before the rest of this post will have any value. If you’re not sure about some of this, I’d strongly recommend the daily devotional “None but the Hungry Heart” which you can buy at mjsbooks.com [disclosure:I have helped with that site in a very limited way but do not get compensated. One of the elders at my church is the steward of that site].

Relationships with One Another
The body of Christ is made up of individuals that have hearts, minds and spirits (spirits that commune with the Holy Spirit, 1 Cor 2:12). This body works as a unit. As Paul illustrated in I Corinthians 12 each person plays a part. Here’s the thing though: there is a very real need for the body to have a strong inter-personal relationship focus which operates like a neurological network. That is to say: I should know you, and you should know me because we’re in the body, and we should know each others joys and sorrows! We should each choose to cultivate an attitude of intimacy so that we can understand when needs arise. I personally believe that credit card debt in the church is evidence of shallow relationships. I’d be ashamed to tell anyone that I have a need because they don’t know me and I’ve put on a false face! The opposite should be true. We should be gladly admitting our needs and fulfilling them for one another (Romans 12:13).

As that last reference to Romans 12:13 states we should be giving to those who are in need. This can come from an attitude of service, but it can also come from the provision that exists in our own resources. While I’m getting out of debt I simply don’t have lots of extra money to throw around to help others, but once I’m out of debt, I will explicitly seek to give some of my money to those in need. Each believer who is not in need should wait on the direction of the Holy Spirit (sometimes its a phone call, sometimes its an observation, and sometimes its a prompting from God) and give to those in need through financial or service oriented opportunities. While I don’t have money I am going to serve others with my time and abilities.

An Attitude of Unity of Mind and Unity of Body
We as believers need to have unity of mind. In a relativistic culture that teaches, “We just need to disagree, ” we need to have a counter-culture mindset that says we agree that we may disagree here, but we’re working towards unity. I disagree with lots of Christians about lots of things, but I never once set those things aside as something to be ignored. Instead I see that as an opportunity for us to grow together and fulfill the command of the scriptures to be of the same mind (Romans 12:16).

An attitude of unity of body is similar to a unity of mind. We need to see to it that we’re hospitable to one another and identify how our lives can intersect beyond a handshake and a howdy on Sunday morning. Acts 2:42-47 describes the very first church, and in doing so it clearly explains that they were intimate and united spiritually and physically.

A Doctrine of Provision
All of this boils down to a doctrine of provision: God provides the needs, God provides the solutions, and God provides the agents of those solutions. Philippians 4:18-19 clearly presents the idea that God handles needs. It is clear that in times of need we have growth in our lives, so God can be seen to use these needs and provides them (James 1:2-4). The real area that I desire to see growth in the lives of believers (those who blog and those who do not) is the understanding that the doctrine of provision accounts for an agency! We are agents of God in the lives of those around us. God will provide fulfillment for needs. Period.

Conclusion
Practically speaking as Christian Personal Finance bloggers I would love to see a greater call for serving one another and helping others in the body get out of debt in creative ways. There is far too much ‘me’ and ‘I’ going on in the form of ‘get yourself out of your own debt.’ This isn’t to say that this is all bad, we need to own our mistakes, but it is to say that we should look for ways to help folks get out of debt and instead teach them to grow into financial dependence on God with personal responsibility for our stewardship as believers. What things can we add to this concept to help teach a greater attitude of servitude? Serving one another presents opportunities for saving, learning, growing, love and a whole slew of unity and goodness.