Biblical Wisdom for Money in Marriageনমুনা

1 Timothy 6:10-12 shows us that a “craving” for earthly things can stand in the way of pursuing faith. Sometimes we crave control over money a lot more than we crave either unity in our marriage, or our pursuit of holiness. Today we need to look at how united our marriage is when it comes to money.

Separation does not help in any area of marriage. You cannot work on your sex life if you consistently sleep in separate bedrooms. You cannot grow together spiritually without taking time to connect spiritually. The same is true with money. Separation with money sets you up for problems, and goes against the principle of managing the money together.

Do you have to both operate out of the same bank account? I don’t think you absolutely have to, but why wouldn’t you? Nancy and I have always shared one bank account. We both have access to the money. We both know what is coming into the account and what is going out. Maybe it was easier for us to do that since we married young, and hadn’t really established our own finances as singles before that, but that does not change the fact that it has worked well for us and in all of these years of marriage, we never considered doing it differently.

I believe that God wants married couples to become one in every area of life, as we see clearly in Matthew 19:6. That includes our money. When we do not intentionally pursue unity in marriage, we can unintentionally become the one tearing our own marriage apart.

I have counseled a lot of couples where money was a problem. If their money is separate, that is usually a big part of the problem. That does not mean that a couple with one bank account won’t have money problems, but sharing one account does mean that they are in it together.

For some of you this is a foreign subject. You may have been hurt financially in a previous relationship. There may be a lack of trust in your current marriage. I get that. I would just ask that you begin praying about unity in your money and see where God leads you. “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving,” as Paul says in Colossians; a reminder to carry on with intentional ongoing effort.

It may take time, a lot of baby steps, Christian counseling and consultation with a financial planner - but I promise you it will all be worth it! Leave behind the stress and strain as you move forward in unity.

Today’s Challenge:

If your finances are divided in any way, begin seeking God’s wisdom together and follow His lead. Take time to understand each other’s past with handling money.

Going Deeper:

Set aside time to begin talking about long-term financial goals for your marriage. Once you have them in place, make a plan for reaching them.