Nation in Financial Crisis by Ann-Louise Gremminger
Recent news headlines convey a bleak situation for America’s wallets. In record numbers, Americans are losing their jobs, retirement incomes and homes. Many are worried about their families, worried about their financial stability, worried about the future, and, from a human perspective, understandably so.
But, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, how are we to respond to these things?
I can’t tell you how to manage your money or your living situation. I haven’t walked in your shoes.
However, there are 3 Biblical principles that apply to each one of us in regard to our personal finances, regardless of the current economic climate.
1. Prioritize
Take some time out and think about the birds in the air and the lilies in the field.
What!? Have you lost you’re mind!? I’ve got kids to feed, bills to pay, and I could get laid off from my job at any moment, but you want me to think about birds and flowers?!
Honestly, it’s not my idea. In Matthew 6, Jesus said,
Look at the birds of the air…
your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow; …
not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these…
Do not worry then…
your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Take time to smell the roses.” Well, I believe Jesus wants us to do just that. Take a step back, away from your troubles, and think about what He is saying to you today.
When we are consumed by matters of life, our focus is shifted away from the Father. We forget that He is here. We forget that He is in control. We forget that He has promised to supply all our needs. We forget that His promises are sure and we forget that He has never failed.
The Father wants us to bring all our troubles to Him. He wants to hear of our pain, our fears and our worries. Take it to Him, ‘casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:7).
Then, just spend some time with Him in His Word and in prayer. Remember who He is and what He has done. No matter what is happening in your life today, choose to seek God first and choose to say with Habakkuk,
Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. (Hab 3:18)
2. Be a Good Steward
What?! I don’t have much right now and now you’re telling me how to use it!?
Good stewardship is not my idea. It is a Biblical principle that does not change with the financial forecast. This is a discipline we need to exercise every day, whether our 401K is doing well or not.
In order to be a good steward, we need to begin by recognizing the Source of all we have. In Deuteronomy 8:17-19, God gave warning to the children of Israel to remember that all they had came from Him. We are reminded again in James 1:17,
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
All that we have came from God, as a gift to us, and ultimately, it all belongs to Him.
The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it. (Psalm 24:1)
In Matthew 25, the parable of the two servants reveals how God’s response to what we do with the things He has entrusted to us. One servant was called “good and faithful” and the other “wicked and lazy.”
We need to ask God for direction in each financial decision we make. Do you really need that new outfit in Macy’s window this week? Can you do without eating out every week? Do you really need a brand new car right now?
The above questions are just generalizations, but the idea is that we must put God first and follow His leading.
How we use the money and other possessions God has provided reveals much about where we are in relationship to Him.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)
3. Don’t Rob God
What!? You mean to tell me I have to keep giving to the church when times are so bad?!
Again, this is not my idea. It is a command. Consider what God says in Malachi 3:7-8,
Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.
But you say, 'How shall we return?'
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!
But you say, 'How have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings.
Some folks would argue with the application of the above verses, saying, ‘Well, that’s Old Testament. That doesn’t apply to me.’ Well, 2 Timothy 3:16 is quite clear that it does apply, but, we’ll see what the New Testament has to say on this issue of giving.
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper… (1 Cor 16:2)
The KJV puts it this way,
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…
For some of us, giving as ‘God hath prospered him’ would go above and beyond a tithe. Jesus said,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mark 12:17)
God doesn’t want the leftovers, either. He wants the ‘first fruits’ (Deut 18:4). This means, when you get your paycheck, take out what is God’s first, then budget what’s left, not the other way around. If you don’t set aside for the Lord first, by Sunday, you’ll find you’re guilty of robbing God.
Some of us have forgotten that giving is a both a command a privilege that God will bless. He’s not asking you to give what you don’t have. He’s telling you to give part of what you do have – that He gave you. We know that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).
Another thing many fail to realize is that God blesses obedience, including in the area of giving.
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--
pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard
of measure it will be measured to you in return. (Luke 6:38)
So then, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, how are we to respond to the current economic situation?
1. Prioritize – seek God first, all the time.
2. Be a good steward – use what God has given you for Him.
3. Don’t rob God – give to Him and give to Him first.
Back to THINK articles
HOME
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB
http://www.lockman.org
I can’t tell you how to manage your money or your living situation. I haven’t walked in your shoes.
However, there are 3 Biblical principles that apply to each one of us in regard to our personal finances, regardless of the current economic climate.
1. Prioritize
Take some time out and think about the birds in the air and the lilies in the field.
What!? Have you lost you’re mind!? I’ve got kids to feed, bills to pay, and I could get laid off from my job at any moment, but you want me to think about birds and flowers?!
Honestly, it’s not my idea. In Matthew 6, Jesus said,
Look at the birds of the air…
your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
Observe how the lilies of the field grow; …
not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these…
Do not worry then…
your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
We’ve all heard the old adage, “Take time to smell the roses.” Well, I believe Jesus wants us to do just that. Take a step back, away from your troubles, and think about what He is saying to you today.
When we are consumed by matters of life, our focus is shifted away from the Father. We forget that He is here. We forget that He is in control. We forget that He has promised to supply all our needs. We forget that His promises are sure and we forget that He has never failed.
The Father wants us to bring all our troubles to Him. He wants to hear of our pain, our fears and our worries. Take it to Him, ‘casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you’ (1 Peter 5:7).
Then, just spend some time with Him in His Word and in prayer. Remember who He is and what He has done. No matter what is happening in your life today, choose to seek God first and choose to say with Habakkuk,
Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. (Hab 3:18)
2. Be a Good Steward
What?! I don’t have much right now and now you’re telling me how to use it!?
Good stewardship is not my idea. It is a Biblical principle that does not change with the financial forecast. This is a discipline we need to exercise every day, whether our 401K is doing well or not.
In order to be a good steward, we need to begin by recognizing the Source of all we have. In Deuteronomy 8:17-19, God gave warning to the children of Israel to remember that all they had came from Him. We are reminded again in James 1:17,
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
All that we have came from God, as a gift to us, and ultimately, it all belongs to Him.
The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains,
The world, and those who dwell in it. (Psalm 24:1)
In Matthew 25, the parable of the two servants reveals how God’s response to what we do with the things He has entrusted to us. One servant was called “good and faithful” and the other “wicked and lazy.”
We need to ask God for direction in each financial decision we make. Do you really need that new outfit in Macy’s window this week? Can you do without eating out every week? Do you really need a brand new car right now?
The above questions are just generalizations, but the idea is that we must put God first and follow His leading.
How we use the money and other possessions God has provided reveals much about where we are in relationship to Him.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:34)
3. Don’t Rob God
What!? You mean to tell me I have to keep giving to the church when times are so bad?!
Again, this is not my idea. It is a command. Consider what God says in Malachi 3:7-8,
Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts.
But you say, 'How shall we return?'
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!
But you say, 'How have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings.
Some folks would argue with the application of the above verses, saying, ‘Well, that’s Old Testament. That doesn’t apply to me.’ Well, 2 Timothy 3:16 is quite clear that it does apply, but, we’ll see what the New Testament has to say on this issue of giving.
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper… (1 Cor 16:2)
The KJV puts it this way,
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him…
For some of us, giving as ‘God hath prospered him’ would go above and beyond a tithe. Jesus said,
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. (Mark 12:17)
God doesn’t want the leftovers, either. He wants the ‘first fruits’ (Deut 18:4). This means, when you get your paycheck, take out what is God’s first, then budget what’s left, not the other way around. If you don’t set aside for the Lord first, by Sunday, you’ll find you’re guilty of robbing God.
Some of us have forgotten that giving is a both a command a privilege that God will bless. He’s not asking you to give what you don’t have. He’s telling you to give part of what you do have – that He gave you. We know that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7).
Another thing many fail to realize is that God blesses obedience, including in the area of giving.
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--
pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard
of measure it will be measured to you in return. (Luke 6:38)
So then, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, how are we to respond to the current economic situation?
1. Prioritize – seek God first, all the time.
2. Be a good steward – use what God has given you for Him.
3. Don’t rob God – give to Him and give to Him first.
Back to THINK articles
HOME
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB
http://www.lockman.org
