Eugene International Church of Christ

Jeremy asked me to give a lesson on finances and financial responsibility. This lesson is NOT about “giving to the church” but about being a steward of your money. I will try my best to do so from God’s perspective, using his Word at every opportunity.

The challenge with doing “financial” lessons is that everyone in the audience is at a different place in their financial life. No two people or couples find themselves in exactly the same spot… married no kids, married with kids, college student, single, responsibilities, health issues, debt load, etc. We are all in a different financial situation in any given moment.

Unfortunately, that uniqueness that we currently find ourselves in can often cause us to “shut down” to the lesson because we feel the person speaking to us could never relate to our situation or financial condition. Like a teenager who thinks their parents could never understand, forgetting the fact that they were once young men or women as well, we also can think that someone who is in a different financial position in life could not relate to what we are going through.

The truth is, this room is filled with wisdom and just because our current financial situations are different does not mean that one or more of us have not gone through the same situation that you might find yourself in. The older we get the more life experiences we have and fortunately for you (unfortunately for us), the more opportunity for us to make mistakes that you can learn from.

This is not to say that we have cornered the market on wisdom and you are free to repeat the same stupid mistakes we have made, but as Proverbs 15:22 states, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they will succeed.” If there is a key point to tonight’s lesson, that is it. Seek advice… listen to the advice… take a humble pill or an espresso shot of humility and learn from those around you so you can succeed in life, not flounder through it.

So tonight, I’m going to try and share a few nuggets that I have either learned the hard way (making the mistake) or that I avoided by following some advice of someone else that had gone through a similar experience… and survived. I believe any successes that I “learned on my own” were actually divine intervention from God who was looking over my shoulder and guiding my ways.

So let’s get started. Which brings up the point… where do we start? With a humble heart.

Reverence & Wisdom
(Proverbs 1:7) The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
(Deuteronomy 8:18) But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth…

In times of plenty, we often take credit for our prosperity and become proud that our hard work and cleverness have made us rich. It is easy to get so busy collecting and managing wealth that we push God right out of our lives. Likewise, when things are going badly, we shift into a woe is me mode and shut God out of our lives and focus on our careers and investments. In these bad times, we often want to blame God for our situation. But it is God who gives us everything we have, and it is God who asks us to manage it for him.

Questions:

1. Are you being a good steward of God’s gift to you? If not, would you expect him to give you more?

2. Who do you give the credit to in good times and who do you blame in the bad times for your financial situation?
3. Where do you go to find the best financial advice?
4. Do you ask God for wisdom or ask him to bless YOUR plans?

Need to Plan
(Proverbs 16:9) In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
We should make plans… but we need to make sure that it is God that is directing us.

(Proverbs 24:3-4) By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.
Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts.

(Proverbs 13:16) Every prudent man acts out of knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly.
A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t and even brags about it.

Being spontaneous can be fun (e.g. sharing your faith), but it is not the best way to approach every situation. There is a place for planning and self-discipline, especially when you have financial goals you want to reach. Some people think planning is too restrictive. In reality, it can set a person free to enjoy life and to be productive. Take time to set goals, to plan your course of action, and to set priorities before you launch into action.

Questions:

1. Do you know what your personal financial goals are in your life?

2. Where in your life has your lack of planning held you captive?
3. What do you need to do to be set free from your current financial captivity?

(Proverbs 14:8) The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.

We can fool ourselves by refusing to admit our wrongs and face the consequences of our actions. Like children we close our eyes and wish the problem would go away. Instead, wisely look ahead with your eyes wide open. Then you will be ready to act.

Questions:

1. Where have you closed your eyes to your financial situation (past or present)?

2. Where have you deceived yourself with regards to your finances?

   (Proverbs 27:23-27) Riches can disappear fast. And the king’s crown doesn’t stay in his family forever - so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and your herds; then there will be lamb’s wool enough for clothing, and goat’s milk enough for food for all your household after the hay is harvested, and the new crop appears, and the mountain grasses are gathered in.

   Questions:

   1. How aware are you of your true financial condition? i.e. “Oh, my wife or husband takes care of all that…” “I still have checks!”

   2. If something were to happen to your spouse, would you know how to keep things running?

   Council and Openness

   (Proverbs 15:22) Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

   Those with tunnel vision, people who are locked into one way of thinking, are likely to miss the right road because they have closed their minds to any new options. We need the help of those who can enlarge our vision and broaden our prospective. Seek out the advice of those who know you and have a wealth of experience. Build a network of counselors. Then be open to new ideas and be willing to weigh their suggestions carefully.

   Questions:

   1. Who are your current financial counselors and advisors? Do you have any?

   2. Who do you want them to be? Make a list!

   (Proverbs 14:15) A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps.

   First off, unless you have been completely open about your financial situation with your chosen “counselor” or “advisor”, you cannot expect the advice that they will give to be the best for your situation, nor can you blame them if their advice does not work out. Good financial advice is based off of the complete information that you provide (remember to expose even your true hidden agenda as well).

   Second, remember that who you seek financial advice from will have a tremendous impact on the results you hope to achieve but the eventual decision or choices that you make are yours and yours alone, no matter how much or how little advice you get.

   Questions:

   1. Have you been completely transparent with your advisor about your financial situation?

   2. Are your motives (all of them) clear to the other person when seeking their advice?
   3. Are you asking the right person?
   4. Do you take ultimate responsibility when ‘advice’ goes bad or do you blame the other person?

   Borrowing

   (Proverbs 22:7) The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

   This doesn’t mean you should never borrow. It warns you, however, never to take on a loan without carefully examining your ability to repay it. A loan you can handle is enabling; a loan you can’t handle is enslaving. The borrower must realize that until the loan is repaid, he is a servant to the one that made it.

   So many Christians take spiritual and financial beatings in this area. Not only those that borrow, but those that loan as well. Many a brother or sister have wrecked their faith or allowed bitterness to take over their hearts from borrowing and loaning money to each other. I personally advise against it unless both sides have first sought some serious advice on the matter. We need to protect our hearts in this matter, more than our checkbooks.

   Questions:

   1. Do you truly understand what your debt load is? How much do you have to work in order to pay for it?

   2. Do you have a plan to free yourself of the debt or will you be a servant of it forever?
   3. Do you owe fellow Christians money? Have you been responsible with it?

   Patience
   (Proverbs 21:5) Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty. - New Living Standard

   Trust me; there are no “get rich quick” programs out there (legal ones that is). If there were, everyone would be doing it. Multi-level marketing schemes and “can’t lose” investments will bring far more pain and suffering to you than a steady focused work ethic.

   Questions:

   1. What shortcuts are you taking with your finances? Refinancing… Risky investments…

   2. How successful have they been?
   3. Have you gambled away your future just to satisfy your “I want it now” needs?

   Quick Wealth

   (Proverbs 20:21) An inheritance obtained early in life is not a blessing in the end.

   You are more grateful when your blessings are a result of hard work and diligence that pays off, verses a quick handout or an investment paying off. The danger is that you start relying on and even budgeting in the “handouts” or future payoffs to your financials. Something you cannot count on. Enron… WorldCom are sobering reminders of this. If your retirement is based strictly on your company’s 401k, social security, or even “getting money from your relatives when they pass away” then you will more than likely find that there will be nothing waiting for you at the end. We’ll talk about diversifying a little later. As the saying goes, never put all your eggs in one basket or to count your chickens before they hatch.

   Questions:

   1. Does your budget rely on risky future investments or on stable, steady and diversified growth?

   2. Is your retirement relying on the lottery or inheritance from others to get you there?

   Saving

   (Proverbs 6:6-8) Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. - New Living Standard

   Those last few moments of sleep are delicious - we savor them as we resist beginning another workday. Proverbs warns against giving in to this temptation. This does not mean that we should never rest: God gave Jews the Sabbath, a weekly day of rest and restoration. The key is to not rest when we should be working. If laziness turns us from our responsibilities, poverty will soon bar us from the legitimate rest we should enjoy.

   Questions:

   1. Are you self disciplined?

   2. Do you strive to “work” on your own, or do you rely on others to push you towards it?
   3. Are your days of rest more about hiding from reality (your true condition) or enjoying what your work and efforts have provided for?

   (Proverbs 21:20) In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

   Easy credit has many people living on the edge of bankruptcy. The desire to keep up and accumulate more pushes them to spend every penny they earn, and they stretch their credit to the limit. But anyone who spends all he has is spending more than he or she can afford. A wise man puts money aside for when he may have less. God approves of foresight and restraint. God’s people need to examine their life-styles to see whether their spending is God-pleasing or merely self-pleasing.

   Questions:

   1. Do you live paycheck to paycheck?

   2. Are you living beyond your means? i.e. Increasing credit card debt?
   3. What could you give up to live within your means?
   4. What can you give up to live well below your means to catch up?

   Diversification

   (Ecclesiastes 11:2) Divide your gifts among many, for you do not know what risks might lay ahead. - New Living Standard

   When you reach the investment phase of your life (living well below your means) and you are being blessed with the ability to invest in the future, it is important that you diversify your future (not all your eggs in one basket).

   Questions:

   1. How well diversified are your investments? All my money is in one stock… a tree farm… my brothers business… etc.

   2. If one failed, how would it change your future and financial security?

   Planning Sequence

   (Proverbs 24:27) Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.

   We should do things in their proper order. If a farmer builds his house in the spring, he misses the planting season and goes a year without food. If a businessman invests his money in a house while his business is struggling to grow, he may lose both. It is possible to work hard and still lose everything, if the work is done in the wrong sequence. Our chances of success are multiplied when we do things in the proper order and effort.

   Questions:

   1. What is your primary financial focus? Are you “building your house” or focusing on the “getting your financial fields ready”?

   2. Are you focusing on the correct sequence in your financial future?
   3. Does God come first? Is tithing a part of your planning or a by-product of what is left?

   How Much is Enough?
   (Proverbs 30:7-9) O God, I beg two favors from you before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. - New Living Standard

   Having too much money can be dangerous, but so can having too little. Being poor can, in fact, be hazardous to your spiritual as well as your physical health. On the other hand, being rich is not the answer. As Jesus pointed out, rich people have trouble getting into God’s kingdom (Matthew 19:23,24). Like Paul, we can learn “how to live on almost nothing or with everything” (Philippians 4:12), but our lives have a better chance of being more effective if we have neither too much nor too little money. That we learn contentment.

   Questions:

   1. Is your focus to “get rich” or to “feel content”?

   2. Where do you currently fall in the above self evaluation scale (rich, poor, or content)?
   3. What do you need to change in your life to be perfectly “content”?

   Trust God

   (Proverbs 3:5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

   If you want favor with both God and man, and a reputation for good judgement and common sense, then trust the lord completely; don’t ever trust just yourself.

   When we have an important decision to make, we sometimes feel that we can’t trust anyone - not even God. But God knows what is best for us. He is a far better judge of what we want than we are. We must trust him completely in every choice we make. This does not mean we cannot study the options and make intelligent decisions, nor that we should have no confidence in our ability. It means however, that we must not be wise in our own eyes. We should always be willing to listen to and be corrected by others. Bring your decision to God in prayer; use the Bible as your guide; and then do what is right.

   Questions:

   1. Do you bring everything to God? Even your financial things?

   2. If not, why? Is it because “you know best” or perhaps you feel “God would not understand”?

   There is a section in the Book of Jeremiah that touches on what we went over… seeking sound advice, the right motives, proper planning, contentment, purpose, and most importantly, priorities.

   In Jeremiah 29:1-14, the Lord tells the Jews that had been taken captive by Babylon to be careful about whom you chose to listen to. They listened to a prophet that preached something contrary to what God said he would do and was searching for something that they wanted to hear, vs. what God had told them earlier. God sent a letter to remind them to focus and plan for their future in all areas of their lives, but he also expects us to rely and trust that he has their ultimate future taken care of. He must come first.

   He summed it all up in verses 11-13.

   (Jeremiah 29: 11-13) For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

   Rich Hackett
   Deacon
   Eugene International Church of Christ

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