DEVO: May 20 - #9 Money

The wicked borrow,

and do not pay back,

but the righteous are

generous and keep giving;

Psalm 37:21

 

What do families fight over most?

 

Money.

 

Throughout the history of the world, economies always go up and down. A few are rich. Most are poor.

 

There are plenty of resources available in our world – food, for example. So we shouldn’t be asking God why there are hungry people. He should be asking us! It’s greed. It’s a lack of compassion. It’s the myth of scarcity. It’s sin.

 

So … being in financial crisis may be new to you, but it’s a very old reality. Therefore, if we want to quit the squabbling in our house and make sense of our finances, we need some OLD advice. Indeed, we need God’s ancient and eternal wisdom.

 

Here’s the new advice that governs our culture. Here are the ways that most people are encouraged to use their money:

 

1.    Spend

2.    Borrow

3.    Repay

4.    Save

5.    Give

 

Does the sound familiar?

 

Well, watch how God’s wisdom almost flips those priorities on their head …

 

1.    Give

2.    Repay

3.    Save

4.    Spend (and only on necessities, not niceties)

5.    Borrow (never … or almost never)

 

Which person are you in the family. It seems like in every family, one wants to spend and the other wants to save.

 

And what about our kids? Until our children understand the theology of money, they'll always ask for more and newer and certain brands.

 

Let me conclude with an example …

 

My brother-in-law is a pastor. One day as my nephew, his son, climbed into their old car at school, he looked around. Surrounded by all his friend’s family's fancy SUVs, he said, "Dad, I wish we could get a new car."

 

His dad said, "We could go get one tomorrow."

 

"Really!"

 

"Sure. All we'd have to do is quit giving to missions and ministry." And my brother-in-law started listing all the good things that giving and church and ministry provided.

 

My nephew got it. "I kind of like this old car," he said. And never brought it up again.

 

Give, first. (It's not "her money" or "his money" or the kids priorities. (Do you ever see families play that game?) It's God's money. So give first. Repay, second. (Debt is to be avoided.) Save before spending. And refuse to borrow.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s constantly tempted

to ignore God’s wisdom

and be upside down