Simple Money, Rich LifeSample

LETTING GOD DO WHAT HE DOES BEST

As much as I enjoyed learning how to write cursive and how the Dewey decimal system works, I would argue that knowing how to earn, save, and manage money is as important as any subject we learned in school. Yet most of us have received little to no financial education, so most of our beliefs about money come from those who have no business teaching us about it. But let’s face it: The world’s way of handling money has failed us. It’s time for a new approach.

Over the past fifteen years, I’ve found a life-changing financial philosophy in the words of nineteenth-century theologian and evangelist John Wesley (from a sermon called “The Danger of Riches”):

I gain all I can (namely, by writing) without hurting either my soul or body. I save all I can, not willingly wasting anything, not a sheet of paper, not a cup of water... Yet by giving all I can, I am effectively secured from “laying up treasures upon earth.” Yea, and I am secured from either desiring or endeavoring it, as long as I give all I can.

What the Bible says about money, along with Wesley’s words, have served as the primary inspiration for my personal financial formula:

Save all you can. Earn all you can. Give all you can. Enjoy it all.

But you need all four parts in this formula to work together. The power is in their synergy. As we save all we can (reducing expenses), earn all we can with the gifts He has given us, it allows us to have more to give, and thus make a greater eternal impact. And then enjoy it all, because we have the opportunity to enjoy all three (saving, earning, and giving) so why not? Here’s the good news: as you and I do our part, God will show up and do His. And—no surprise—His part is the big part. The key is to put ourselves in a position that will allow Him to do what He does best.

God, thank You for being my provider and my treasure. Help me to make the most of the financial resources you’ve entrusted me with so I can make a greater eternal impact. Amen.