In America, we max out our budgets. Every dollar we earn is spoken for before the direct deposit hits our accounts, which leaves no room for saving and investing in the future. Most importantly, that kind of financial strategy leaves no room for God.
Not many of us put an entry for “God” on our budget spreadsheets. We may leave room for giving our 10 percent to the church, but then we act as if we’ve fulfilled our financial obligations to God once we’ve tithed.
While it’s true that God commands us to tithe, and promises blessings to those who are obedient to that command, we must remember that God owns all of our finances, not just the first 10 percent. In order to glorify God fully in our lives, we have to ensure that our finances reflect that God, not our materialism, directs how we use our money.
God promises us that if we are faithful to give toward the needs of others, He will be faithful toward us to provide for our own needs. As it is often said, no one has ever become poor by giving.
Create room in your budget.
God can do anything, of course. But he still chooses to operate within the bounds of reality, which He created. And reality says that God can’t use your money if you don’t have any. If you want to make an impact in the world with your life and resources, you need to stop spending so much and get out of debt.
Stop using the credit cards. Stop spending money you don’t really have. Evaluate your spending habits and determine which ones are necessary and wise, and which ones are unnecessary and selfish. You have to go to war with your own tendency toward materialism, and live with the knowledge that God didn’t give you money just to use on yourself.
When you’re budgeting, don’t worry about whether you’re giving too much. None of us is generous enough to accidentally stumble onto that problem. Make sure you’re seeking to give as much as possible, remembering that “Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor” (Proverbs: 22:9, NLT).
Redo your budget, and put it together with the goal of creating as much extra income as possible that can be freely used to change someone’s life and show them God’s love.
Open your eyes to the needs around you.
You may be tempted to use the excuse that there’s no one around that needs your help. That rationalization can quickly be eliminated if you start paying attention, watching and listening to the people you see every day.
You don’t necessarily have to give your money to a charitable organization (although that’s not a bad way to go sometimes). There are people at your job, or in your church, or that you hang out with regularly that are having financial trouble.
It could be a medical bill. It could be debt. An unexpected vehicle repair. People you know have real needs, and your assistance could change their lives and strengthen their faith that God cares about what they’re going through.
“Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need.” – Proverbs 21:13, NLT
Pray that God would put a cause on your heart.
At the same time that you’re looking around for needs that can be met right in front of you, you should be constantly asking God to show you what cause you’re supposed to be giving your resources to. As individuals, we can’t solve all the problems in the world. But one person’s focused and faithful contributions can make a huge impact on a single cause.
You may already know what God wants you to give toward. Stop and think for a few minutes about what problems in the world invoke an emotional response from you. Child hunger? Sex trafficking? Homelessness? Chances are, there is already something that you are passionate about and that you can start giving toward making a difference. If not, then pray.
With that said, we are called to be indiscriminate in our charity. “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). When we meet the basic needs of people, we are serving God.
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” -Matthew 25:40, NLT
Material wealth is worthless apart from its use for God’s purpose in the world. Christians are called to have a different perspective on money than the world has, which means we always have to ask ourselves how we can give before we ask how we can spend.
“Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth – except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers?” –Ecclesiastes 5:10-11, NLT
Article submitted by Aaron Colen:
Aaron Colen is a copy editor for the Dallas Morning News, a freelance sports reporter for the Denton Record-Chronicle and a published blogger. Formerly the Sports Editor for the Chickasha Express-Star and freelancer for The Sports Xchange wire service