I know that we have moved onto Debt this week but I want to quickly revisit our topic from last week.
Have you ever said something like this?
“I’d love to tithe more or give more to the church, but I just don’t have enough money left after I take care of all of my living expenses.”
I think that if I took a poll, almost all of us have used a phrase similar to that.
Psalms 24:1 says “The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains.” What part of “all it contains” do we not understand? How much does that leave you and me? Nothing! Nada! Zilch! Zip! Zero! The big goose egg! Not even a whiff! We don’t own anything so why do we think we can tell God that we don’t have enough left to give Him? Is it not all His anyway? Think about it. He only asks that we give him 10%. How hard is that? A dime for every dollar? If I asked you for a dime, would you miss it? Most likely not.
We have to change our stinkin’-thinkin’. Before we can make major changes in our financial lives, we have to first begin by accepting, and then putting in to practice, the idea that “God does own all”. (A topic for further discussion is that “Everything we do has spiritual meaning”)
When we acknowledge God’s ownership, every spending decision becomes a spiritual decision. No longer do we ask, “Lord, what do You want me to do with my money?” The question is restated, “Lord, what do You want me to do with Your money?” When we have this perspective, spending and saving decisions are equally as spiritual as giving decisions.