Series: Stewardship
Category: Core Seminars, Money, Work & Vocation, Giving
Detail:
Spending
PRAYER
I. Introduction
Good morning and welcome to the Stewardship core seminar. In our first three classes, we learned that we’re stewards, not owners, of all that God’s given us. Then last week, we began a mini-series on how to steward our money, and we talked about giving.
So to be faithful stewards of the wealth that God’s given us, we’re called to give some of it away. But what about the rest? We could save it, but we’ll talk about that in the next class. In today’s class, we really want to know how we should spend it.[1]
So to get us started, let me ask you a question. How does following Jesus change how we should spend our money? [Not selfishly; Wisely; Generous]
The answers to that question are important because they reflect Jesus. And so our spending decisions will look different from the world.
II. Spending Decisions
Now there’s lots of things to spend money on. Some things are sinful. So it’d be wrong to spend money so that we can get drunk or engage in sexual immorality. But what’s not sinful is within the realms of Christian freedom. In fact, the Bible actually expects us to spend money on ourselves. In 2 Thessalonians, Paul tells us to “earn the bread [we] eat” so that “we [won’t] be a burden” to anyone.[2] We’re to spend money to care for ourselves.
But what does it actually mean to “care for ourselves”? You and I might have very different views of how this looks. One of us may shop at Whole Foods, the other Safeway. One of us buys a house in the suburbs, the other rents an apartment in the city. One of us enjoys resting by traveling internationally, the other camping. Is one of our spending decisions better than the other? Is shopping at Whole Foods or Safeway more godly, more biblical? How do we know?
Well, God’s Word is true, and in it, God tells us everything we need to know about life. But it’s not exhaustive in the details. What I mean is that Scripture isn’t going to tell us which grocery store is best. Yet, it does provide principles for living and making wise decisions. And we can apply these principles to our own life situation. That means that you could shop at Whole Foods, and I could shop at Safeway, and we could both be making the best stewardship decision based on our different lifestyles. Our lifestyle determines our spending decisions [repeat]. But what is a lifestyle?
III. What Is a Lifestyle?
While the word “lifestyle” isn’t found in the Bible, God’s Word speaks plenty to the way we should live. And it also tells us how to live given our various life situations. For example, Titus 2 gives specific instructions for young men and old men, young women and old women. Each life situation has different responsibilities and challenges.[3] But whatever our station in life, God calls us to faithfully steward our spending in a way that brings him glory.
So for our purposes today, we can define “lifestyle” as the spending habits that you’ve established in light of your various circumstances and pursuits . How we spend will largely be determined by these things.
There are some life circumstances that we don’t have control over. In God’s divine wisdom, we were born as a boy or a girl. We might have one, two, or no parents. This would affect how we were raised and taught. Some of us grew up in areas with opportunities for education and wealth. Others grew up in areas that lacked basic necessities. God also gave us different mental, physical, and emotional capacities. Even after growing up, we’ve encountered other life experiences that God wisely and lovingly ordained for us. We didn’t choose any of these things, but they all affect our lifestyle.
At the same time, our lifestyle is also made up by God-glorifying pursuits. These have to do with decisions we make as stewards. We have freedom to determine how to best steward what God’s given us. So if we have an aging parent, we could decide to pay for an addition to our house to better care for them. If we have a knack for making a profit, we could start our own business. If we don’t have much wealth, we can be faithful by spending what we do have on our needs, not wasting it.
So when it comes to spending the wealth God’s given us to steward, there are a lot of factors to take into account, but there’s also a lot of freedom.
Questions or Comments?
IV. How Do I Spend Money Wisely?
So how do we spend money wisely? When we spend, how do we know whether we’ve done so faithfully?
Occasionally, God will speak supernaturally. “Elijah, live by a ravine, drink from the brook, and the ravens will feed you. ”[4] Okay…enough said. But for most of us, God doesn’t deal with us so directly. Instead, we need to search the Scriptures, pray for wisdom, get counsel, and use the good sense God’s given us to “seek first his kingdom” (Matt. 6:33). That’s our primary goal.
The Apostle Paul writes in Ephesians, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is” (Eph. 5:15-17).
With that goal in mind, here are three prudential principles for how to spend money wisely:
Prioritize your spending
As stewards, God’s only given us a finite amount to spend. That means that we can’t buy everything we want. It’s either this or that. And wealth is usually accumulated over our lifetime. We don’t get it all at once, and we don’t know how much we’ll get or need in the future. So we need to prioritize our spending to use our wealth wisely.
God’s Word is full of prioritizations. So we’re called to worship God above all else. We’re called to choose good over evil. And we’re also called to prioritize our spending. Proverbs 24:27 says, “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” A farmer must eat to do his work and so he must provide for what’s necessary first before he moves from a tent to a nicer house. But a fool spends on his pleasures instead of his needs. “Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich” (Prov. 21:17).
So if we’re to prioritize our spending, how do we do that? What comes first? Well, after the giving of our firstfruits, our spending should be on our needs. After all, this is what Jesus taught his disciples to pray for: “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). [5] He’s saying, “God, would you take care of my needs today?” Those needs are those things that we need to survive, such as food and water, clothing and shelter.[6] Paul writes, “But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim. 6:8).
If we prioritize by what we need, this begs another question: “How much do I need?” Do I really need to fly home for Christmas? I could just take a bus?” But that doesn’t provide us with much of a framework for decision-making. This is because it makes the cost override all other factors that should be considered, which isn’t wise. And if you take it to the extreme, such questioning will eventually put us one step in the grave—"I’m still breathing so do I really need to eat today?”
So how do we answer the question of how much do I need? Well, this is where we need to factor in our lifestyle. Our lifestyle must take into account our current life circumstances—the obligations and responsibilities we already have.
These obligations and responsibilities certainly pertain to caring for our families. For those of us who are married, we’re to spend money caring for our spouse. “Husbands should love their wives as their own bodies” (Eph. 5:28). They’re called to nourish and cherish their wives. Wives, also, are to be oriented towards their husbands for their good (Prov. 31:12). Parents are commanded to provide for their children (1 Tim. 5:8), and adult children are called to care for their aging parents (1 Tim. 5:4). Family members spend money to support each other.
These obligations and responsibilities will also pertain to financial commitments we’ve made whether that’s payment on a loan or to a savings plan or keeping a promise we made.
As we said earlier, our lifestyle determines our spending decisions. This is particularly helpful when determining our needs. So if we get a paycheck, we give and spend on our needs, but what’s next? Sometimes God gives us more than we need. This leads us to our next principle…
Strategize your spending
Remember that our lifestyle doesn’t just include obligations; it also includes godly pursuits. Paul writes, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light…and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:8-10). We don’t want to just survive in life—we want to thrive and use our money to show how amazing God is, as he gives us opportunity.[7]
Strategizing our spending is more than just trying to not spend. As I mentioned earlier, God expects us to spend money on ourselves. It’s okay to take a vacation. It’s okay to spend money to go rock climbing or play golf. It’s okay to dine out. These all have physical, emotional, and mental benefits. Some of us need to hear this. We have a kind Master. 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “God…richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Let’s just remember to give thanks to God.
At the same time, what we’re doing in strategizing is spending in a way that will help us best honor God with what he’s given us. Most often this will have to do with building relationships to honor God. With that extra money, we can give more to help spread the gospel. We can use it to invest in a discipling relationship. We can encourage others who are downcast or needy. We can provide good things for our family.
God has blessed each of us differently. So take an inventory of what ways you can use your lifestyle the best for kingdom purposes by how God’s made you, gifted you, and blessed you.
What are some ways that you’ve tried to make strategic decisions or seen others make them?
As you start to strategize your spending, there are two practical things that you should consider.
First, recognize that our lifestyle spending is largely impacted by a few big decisions. Let me give you three: 1) where we live; 2) whether we’re married and/or have children; and 3) what we do for work. Take where you decide to live, for example. Where you live is going to determine your cost-of-living, your commute, and how much you’re involved with people and activities.[8] So make these big decisions seriously and prayerfully.
Second, recognize that time and money are often interchangeable. We use our time to work to make money. In the same way, we also spend our money so we don’t have to use our time to work, such as when we call a plumber to fix the sink. What this means is that the job you choose and where you decide to live have very real impact on the time you can spend with others. Money can turn into time; time into money; and both can build into relationships.
Recognize how your spending might impact others
This isn’t one that we naturally think about when it comes to making financial decisions. While we have tremendous freedom in how we spend money for God’s kingdom, some decisions may not be in the best interest of others.
For example, some parents give their children anything they want. While this may seem generous, the parents may actually be teaching their children to be lazy or undisciplined. While our heavenly Father is generous to his children (Matt. 7:11), he only gives those things that are good for them (James 4:3). But parents can also be stingy which could lead their children to resent them or be greedy and selfish.
This is also important for husbands and wives to consider. Trust in a marriage can be built up or destroyed by how each spouse handles their money. If one spouse spends without consideration of the other spouse, your marriage is in trouble. It will create fear and resentment.
As stewards, we want to be careful to build up and not tear down with our spending. We don’t want to tempt or bind another’s conscience by how we spend.[9] This is, in part, what Paul means when he instructs the Corinthians to “be careful…that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak” (1 Cor. 8:9).
Questions or Comments?
V. Dangerous Lifestyles
So we can spend money wisely, but Paul warns Timothy that, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim 6:10). There are some dangers to our spending.
Living Beyond Your Income
The first danger is establishing our lifestyle in such a way that our needs exceed our income. Ecclesiastes 5:10 says, “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.” This is evidenced in Jesus’ parable of the lost son, where the younger son requested his share of his inheritance and, “set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living” (Luke 15:13).
Living beyond our income is a very American problem, isn’t it? Unless you’re in an unusual and temporary circumstance—such as a period of unemployment—God is not calling you to a lifestyle that requires an income greater than yours.[10] [Repeat ] If you can’t support your most basic obligations, he may be calling you to look for a job that pays better or find additional work, but he’s not calling you to a lifestyle that costs more than you make.[11]
Seems simple, doesn’t it? But it can sometimes be surprisingly difficult. One reason for this has to do with our desire to please other people.
For example, let’s say you make the same amount of money as a friend, but they live excessively, racking up debt and never give. You, on the other hand, are going to have to say “no” to a lot of things they do—going out for dinner, not traveling as much, turning down those tickets. The expectations of your family and friends can be a powerful force pushing you to spend more than you should. But when you spend more than you have, you’re saying something about yourself that isn’t true.
I know it’s counter cultural to hear, but you don’t deserve things your way. You don’t deserve a break today. You don’t deserve a little me-time. You gave up your “so called” rights when you became a Christian. And what you did deserve, Christ bore that on the cross. God is not calling you to need more than you make. Such living will naturally lead you into debt, but we’ll discuss that next week, Lord willing.
Living Equal to Your Increasing Income
But there’s also another, more subtle danger, and that’s when our needs continue to rise right along with our income. As soon as we get some extra money, we automatically upgrade. We buy a new car, move into a nicer home, get season tickets, take more expensive vacations. Now, again, none of these are bad in themselves, but it begs the question of whether we’re being faithful in our stewardship to God. Our Lord Jesus tells us that “one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Lk. 12:15). And James warns the rich of the misery they’ll bear for “[living] on earth in luxury and self-indulgence” (James 5:5).
I think what might help us here is to ask more questions, as we should normally do. By choosing to upgrade, are we coveting or greedy or being self-centered? Are you also giving more with that extra income? Are you giving a greater percentage? Are you able to meet your current and future obligations and responsibilities? How will this additional spending help you bring more glory to God?
Questions or Comments?
VI. How Do I Manage a Lifestyle?
Okay, so you’ve determined your lifestyle. What’s the best way to manage your money? Answer: Use a budget. Jesus said, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it” (Luke 14:28)?[12]
A budget is a tool to help us plan our spending. To budget, we simply estimate how much income we’ll receive and then decide where we’ll spend it. Each dollar God’s given you should have a biblical job description. Now there’s plenty of practical instruction out there on how to budget so we won’t get into that here.
But what I want us to see is that a budget is more than just a financial tool. It’s also a tool to help us be content.[13] It helps to restrain overspending and to ensure we’re spending faithfully on our lifestyle circumstances and pursuits. Budgeting also helps us to not worry because it helps us see the big picture of how God is providing for us. For example, if we must pay $10,000 to replace our furnace, it might cause us anxiety, but if we accounted for it in our budget, then we don’t need to worry.
A budget also serves as both an indicator and determinor of what we value. It’s an indicator because it helps us to exam our life and see where our money goes.[14] Are we being rich towards God and his purposes? And it’s a determinor because we actively choose where we want to use our wealth. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21).
Now it’s true that a Christian and an unbeliever could have the same exact budget. Does this mean that the Christian is being an unfaithful steward? That depends.
Scripture doesn’t ever speak to the morality of money, as being good or bad in itself. Instead, it speaks to our motives for spending money. Cain and Abel both brought sacrifices, but only one was accepted (Gen. 4:3-5). In the same way, the Christian and unbeliever could both spend money on a bike, but the motives are extremely different.[15] The Christian buys the bike in light of being a faithful steward, giving thanks to God. The unbeliever buys the bike with no view of God but for some selfish end. James 4:3 says, “When you ask [God], you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” In the end, the difference in spending is based on the motive behind the spending. Remember that “without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb. 11:6).
Questions or Comments?
VII. Financial Transparency
Have you noticed how complex and challenging many of these spending decisions are? Before we end, let’s consider what it means for us to get counsel and to give counsel when it comes to spending money. Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”
A. Getting Help
Here’s a telling question: Who in our church do you speak to about how you spend your money? It’s strange, we’re willing to be open about a number of sinful struggles but rarely talk about our money. Why would you be transparent about everything else in your life except your money, especially when Jesus taught so much about it? Well, it’s good and wise to bring others into our lives to see where we’re spending and giving.
B. Being a Help
But even as we need to reach out to others, we also need to be a help to others. We want to help each other grow in love for God rather than love of money. But we need to be careful in how we help. One of the biggest dangers is that of wrongly judging others.
We’re so quick to judge the financial decisions of others, aren’t we? We often assume that everyone else has our reasoning, our motives, and our circumstances. And so we quickly apply moral categories to things that are merely differences in preference.[16]
Let me offer two ways to help us avoid wrong judgments of others’ spending:
Don’t assume their motives. When someone does something that you don’t understand, don’t opine on why they did it. You don’t know their heart. You may ask them, as your relationship allows. But if it doesn’t, then just drop the matter, pray for them, and assume the best, as Paul tells us to in 1 Corinthians 13.[17]
Examine your own motives.[18] Paul writes, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently ” (Gal. 6:1). Also, make sure that you’re speaking to them in humility rather than with a proud heart. None of us use our money perfectly. We’re not to work to conform our brother or sister to be like us, but to be like Christ!
VI. Conclusion
So that’s a few thoughts on how we can spend our money to the glory of God. In 2 Corinthians 12:15, Paul tells the church, “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls.” As stewards, let’s follow Paul’s example and both spend and be spent in the name our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s close in prayer.
PRAYER
[1] However, we’ve broken out giving, debt, and savings in other classes so we’re largely dealing with what’s left with our spending.
[2] Also, see 1 Corinthians 9:7-10.
[3] In Luke 9:3, Jesus sends out the disciples and tells them to take nothing, preparing them to trust him for when he leaves. Then in Luke 22:36, Jesus tells them to take a purse or bag and sword because he was leaving, and they were going to be opposed.
[4]
[5] The rationale for this request is explained in the next verse (v. 9) to keep from being tempted to sin: “Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”
[6]
[7] Or even just buying a couch so that people can sit on it. It’s not a basic need, but it is useful and helpful for living.
[8] Each place Joseph lived required a radically different lifestyle from the others.
[9] It wouldn’t be wise for you to take your friend to a mall and make clothing purchases for yourself with your credit card. Such purchases might make your vulnerable friend stumble. It may wrongly influence them by working to legitimize such purchases they’d be tempted to make. See Romans 14 for more instruction.
[10]
[11] To Steve Martin, it’s complicated and confusing, as he asks: “Well let's say I don't have enough money to buy something. Should I buy it anyways?” The spokesman tells him: “It's in the book. It's only one page long.” “If you don't have any money, you shouldn’t buy anything.” And Steve Martin’s left scratching his head. (Saturday Night Live, Season 31, Episode 12 (http://snltranscripts.jt.org/05/05lbuy.phtml)
[12] With regards to budgeting, we need to know our finances and where our money goes, which is what we do when we budget.
[13]
[14] [15] Dissimilar circumstances may dictate different responses. Luke 22:35-36 says, “Then Jesus asked [his disciples], “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals (Luke 9:3), did you lack anything?” “Nothing,” they answered. “He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.”
[16] A new wife grew up with parents who spent freely on groceries. A new husband grew up with parents who spent freely on music lessons. They get married, and the husband is appalled at the wife’s grocery spending; the wife is appalled at the husband’s expectations for educating their kids. Both quickly accuse the other—in their hearts at least—of being selfish and ungodly. But in reality what’s happened is that both have merely assumed their own family’s habits. Is it OK to skimp on food to fund lessons? Or to eliminate lessons to buy better food? Of course. It just shows us the danger of becoming judges in our hearts.
[17]
[18]
