We’ve missed the last couple weeks of church because we’ve been gone, so we’ve missed the first couple installments of the sermon series at church: The Road to Financial Freedom.
I need to go back and listen to the last 2 sermons to see what else we need to be doing. Actually, I feel we’re fairly good about handling our finances: we don’t have a lot of unnecessary spending, we give as best we can, we do need to save more. We just need more income. At least it would be more helpful.
Pastor Efrem read from Proverbs 11 today. He reminded us what God’s economy is. Righteousness trumps riches (not that it’s wrong to be rich, but it’s more important to be righteous; a lot of our economic problems now have come about because those with the money have been without much righteousness). It’s not wrong to buy Prada or Air Jordans, but you must make sure your consumerism is balanced with your giving. When people see you, do they just see the new items you’re sporting or do they see your generous nature?
The main economic mantra that we hear at Sanctuary is: Give, Save, Live. When you receive your paycheck, first set aside the part you’re going to give away. The Old Testament talks about a tithe to God (10%); Jesus uses the tithe as a springboard into giving more (“Give away all you have to the poor, then follow me”). Next, set aside a part for your savings. Then live on the rest. And really live. It’s okay for me to order a good root beer with my pizza once in a while (honestly, I haven’t done that for a while).
It all comes down to, are you a slave to your money or are you in charge of it?
1 comment:
Good stuff! I've been learning/growing lots in this area, but appreciated some further perspective too.
Post a Comment