What Does The Bible Say About Money?

Almost everyone agrees that the Bible contains great advice about life, from improving your marriage to getting along with your boss at work.  But does the Bible really say much about money?  Does it really give us advice that we can apply to our own life in today's world?

The Good News is Yes!  Absolutely!  We believe the Bible is as relevant and helpful today as when it was written, and God has a lot to say about money.  Did you know money is mentioned in the Bible over 800 times?  God must be pretty serious about this subject to talk about it that much. 

In fact, Jesus says in Luke 16:11, "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"  It appears from this verse that God uses money as a test of our management and stewardship skills before entrusting us with spiritual things.  See more below.

Money in the Bible
1. Proverbs 13:22  "A good man leaves an inheritance to his childrens' children" indicating that God wants us to make a difference, financially, in our family tree.
2. Proverbs 21:20  "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."  This gives us an idea of how God wants us to save for a rainy day, to set something back for safekeeping.
3. Proverbs 22:7 states that "The rich rule over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender."  Really?  The Bible discourages debt?  Does God really want me to pay my debts off and avoid debt?
4. Luke 14:28  "For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it."  Does Jesus really want me to save up and pay for the things I buy?
5. Matt. 6:24  "You cannot serve both God and money".

If money is this important to God, why are there so few Sunday school classes on this topic?  Why don't we see lots of small group studies on "Managing Your Finances" or "Getting Out of Debt"?  Why aren't there more sermons in this area?

There are many reasons, but the top reason is that most people don't realize how much of a problem managing money is for the average family.  Look at the statistics below:

Financial Statistics

1. Marital Problems - 37 percent (the highest rate) of marital problems derive from financial situations
2. Cash Flow - 70 percent of all consumers live paycheck to paycheck, meaning they run out of money before the end of the month
3. Savings - The average family would have to use a credit card to pay a $1,500 unexpected expense (ex: home or car repair).
4. Retirement - Nearly half of all Americans (46%) have less than $10,000 saved for their retirement.
It is a problem that affects everyone, inside and outside of the church.  In fact George Barna says that the fastest growing churches are teaching about marriage, child rearing, finances, and careers.  Money is a serious subject, and God is serious about money, which is why we should study closely what he has to tell us.

Finally, there is something to guide us!  A study to take God's wisdom about money and help us apply it to our own lives. It is called Financial Peace University.

Seven Ways to Destroy Your Marriage

 I saw this post the other day from Perry Noble and decided it was worthy of repeating here. Remember, these are ways to destroy your marriage... As in these are things you don't want to do.

Want to absolutely destroy your marriage?  Here are seven ways that always work!
#1 – Refuse To Communicate
Talk about the person and not to them because doing so will be awkward…this will assure destruction!  And, the silent treatment is really an amazing weapon when it comes to refusing to communicate, don’t worry about the fact that five year olds do it…just own it!
#2 – Refuse To Listen
Interrupting my spouse during conflict to immediately correct them and then trying my best to make a stronger point always helps tear a relationship to pieces!
#3 – Always Assuming The Absolute Worse About Your Spouse
As soon as I hear (or even think about) something negative about my spouse it is absolutely essential to carry that thought to its fullest illogical conclusion.  Don’t EVER ask for an explanation or clarification as more open communication will lead to a stronger marriage!
#4 – Make Sure The Goal Is To Win The Argument Rather Than Actually Settle The Dispute
If you realize you are wrong about something you must allow pride to dominate your thought life, thus unleashing a barrage of accusations that actually have nothing to do with what the original argument/discussion had to do with in the first place!  Win at all costs, even if it means saying things that hurt and wound deeply.
#5 – You Must View Your Spouse As Your Enemy, NOT Your Friend
You cannot see your spouse and you as being on the same team if you want a great marriage, you must view everything as some sort of game and make it a goal to compete with them and not actually complete them.
#6 – Focus As Much As Possible On Their Inadequacies & Shortcomings
You’ve GOT to talk about how much they are “not meeting your needs” and how they need to “step up and do better” as often as possible.  By all means do NOT take a look at yourself and what you could do to improve the marriage.  Everything MUST be blamed on them and you’ve got to see yourself as flawless and perfect.
#7 – Do NOT Have Fun Together
Heck no!!!  You need your set of friends and your spouse needs their set.  Don’t have mutual friends.  Don’t have date nights.  Don’t do anything fun as a family.  Make sure that when you are out on a date as a couple you spend as much time on your phone with someone else as possible because communication with your spouse will do nothing except make your marriage stronger.