Thinking about money

I have been thinking a lot about money lately. Not as in, “I need money”; in the past few months, the L-rd has made it abundantly clear that He is fully able to provide for me. What I am thinking about is more along the lines of how believers should steward their finances.

I have been reading several personal finance blogs lately with that question in mind. As I browsed discussions of “money hacks” and debt reduction, I picked up some great tips and advice, especially on frugal living. I’m learning some practical strategies for managing money. Yet this alone isn’t enough. Living frugally/spending wisely in and of itself is great, but I need my economic lifestyle to have a greater purpose.

When I moved to the International House of Prayer, one of the first things I learned about is the Sermon on the Mount lifestyle, a.k.a. the fasted lifestyle. The fasted lifestyle is based upon the simple notion that Y’shua wanted us to take the Sermon literally. What does this mean? To fast time, energy, food, our words/status, and money; to give, serve, pray, bless others, etc. The IHOP-KC glossary defines it thusly:

Voluntarily choosing a lifestyle of simplicity which limits various things in life: food, money or accumulating things, status, recognition, etc. While the rewards are primarily internal and spiritual, they are eternal (Isaiah 58; Matthew 6:18, 9:14–17; 1 Corinthians 2:10).

Y’shua says in the Sermon that we can’t serve two masters. If we are selfish with our money and value it above our relationship with the L-rd, that’s not going to look good on our permanent record, you know? But if we realize that all wealth belongs to the L-rd anyway and we freely give it away to bless people, not worrying about whether we’re going to have enough to eat, He’ll take care of us and we will have treasure in heaven.

Learning to live based on heaven’s value system is tough. Like really tough. A lot of people around here talk about how hard it is to fast food. But the stewardship of money isn’t something I hear often discussed around IHOP, considering how big of an issue it often is to those who live here. Probably the only exception is when I hear people say, “I really need $xxxx.xx by next Wednesday for (car repair, hospital bill, or other irregular expense).” This is often followed a few days later by, “The L-rd totally gave me $xxxx.xx!!!”

That’s cool; I love the way G-d provides for big things in our lives. But what about day-to-day finances and planning for the future? Does fasting money overlap with tithing? What is the balance between learning not to worry about money and saving for our kids’ college education? Do we need IRAs if we think Y’shua might return in the next few decades? How can we as believers live the fasted lifestyle well, regardless of how big our paycheck is (or isn’t)?

Readers, I’d be interested in hearing your perspectives on this issue. I’ve run into some people who barely have enough money to buy groceries and don’t believe in having savings accounts, and others who want to make lots of money so they can sow it back into the Kingdom. (I fall into the latter category, though the groceries have occasionally been an issue. ) I might expand this post into a series based on response. So, comment away!