One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

-Luke 16:10-13, ESV

Recently, we looked at the need for Christians to step out in faith to give sacrificially when their churches embark on projects to build the Kingdom.  This is above and beyond the tithe, which we have previously seen is still commanded.  But in the current economy, even the tithe may seem out of reach.  As abysmal inflation causes stagnant wages to fall short of meeting even the bare necessities, how can someone barely making ends meet ever be able to tithe, much less give above and beyond that?  This post takes a practical look at personal finances to offer a biblical path to go from drowning in the financial storms of life to standing firm, able to endure them while being generous. 

Finances in Scripture

As always, we must begin with Scripture, which has much to say about personal finances.  First, money is a tool, so we cannot allow ourselves to be dominated by it, whether we are seeking it or lacking it.  The rich young ruler’s possessions had become his obsession, so he was unwilling to part with them when they became a hindrance to following Christ.  This temptation is great, so Jesus said it is extremely difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom.  Many fail the test of wealth, therefore we must reject prosperity theology that makes Jesus the means and wealth the end.  But we must also reject poverty theology that despises wealth.  Remember, it is not money itself but the love of money that is the root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).  We are to neither desire overabundance nor destitution but adequate provision.  We must pray with Agur: “Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the LORD?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:8-9).  In Jesus’s teaching on money, He emphasizes stewardship.  We are to be faithful with whatever He gives us, using and controlling it, not letting it control us.  Many people in our day are controlled by money through debt: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).  And since we are exhorted not to be dominated by anything (1 Corinthians 6:12) and to seek freedom from slavery (1 Corinthians 7:21), we should avoid debt entirely or free ourselves from it as quickly as possible.  Debt prevents us from caring for ourselves and our families as we ought, supporting the local church and building the Kingdom as we ought, and preparing an inheritance for our children as we ought.  These are the primary objectives of our money, so we must align our budgets to reflect that. 

Freedom from debt is certainly easier said than done. Our society has so successfully marketed debt as a necessity that many Americans are drowning in debt, seeing no way to live without it: car loans, credit cards, short-term financing, the highway robbery known as payday loans, and student debt.  So many Americans are living paycheck-to-paycheck that a minor disturbance—even high inflation—can be enough to swamp the boat.  Too many Americans are too busy bailing water out of their sinking financial boat to focus on where the boat is headed, meaning they are unable to prepare for the future or build the Kingdom.  So if you are in this position, it is vital to figure out how to get the boat sitting high enough in the water that you can set a long-term course.  While that may seem impossible, it is doable, even in this economy. Fortunately, there is a very practical, Scripture-based method, which I will summarize.  This is taken from a course that I would highly recommend: Financial Peace University, which is based on 7 “baby steps”.  I will focus on the first three, which are the most important: get some money in the bank, quickly pay off all non-mortgage debt, and establish an emergency fund.     

Step 1: Put $1,000 in the Bank and Establish a Budget

Returning to our boat analogy, the first step is to get enough water out so that the next moderate wave will not swamp the boat.  This means putting $1,000 in the bank.  If $1,000 is unattainable, then $500 will suffice.  The point is to have something saved up so that you will not have to go into further debt just because something unexpected comes along.  You may wonder where this $1,000 is coming from, especially if you feel like you are drowning now.  It will come a dollar at a time as you take control of your finances with a budget.

While some may think that a budget is too restrictive and controlling, it is actually a very effective tool to help you control your money.  In my sermon on giving, I applied 2 Corinthians 10:5 to money by saying that we need to take every dollar captive to obey Christ.  That means we need to know where every dollar is going, which can only be done through a budget.  Start by listing all sources of income and how much you expect to bring in from each source during the month.  Along with this, list all payroll taxes and other deductions, then calculate your net income for the month.  Next list all expenditures: giving, saving, housing, utilities, food, transportation, clothing, healthcare, other personal needs, recreation, and debt payments.  For large expenditures that do not happen monthly, divide their cost evenly over every month.  Once you add your estimates for each item, add them all up and subtract from your net income.  The result should be zero, so that every dollar is allocated somewhere.  As the month progresses, record your actual expenses on each item and adjust your budget as needed.  Your first month’s estimates will be inaccurate, but after a few months your budget will match your actual expenditures well. 

Armed with this information, you will begin to see areas where you can make cuts.  You will likely also be surprised by how much you are spending in certain areas: a $6 coffee every weekday looms large at $120 a month.  The same shock may come when you add up things like delivery and streaming services.  This likely won’t get anywhere near $1,000 though, so you will need to commit to living as frugally as possible.  Reducing things like Starbucks and Door Dash should be pretty straightforward, as is eliminating all but one or two streaming services.  After that, some personal sacrifice will be required.  Shopping habits will have to change, thrift will become the priority, and temporary gratification will have to take a backseat to long-term focus.  Even at this stage, it is important to give to the local church.  A tithe may not be possible yet, but give what you can and commit to increasing it as you are able until you can fully tithe.  This will require more sacrifice, so it is important to set that amount wisely.  Cults coerce people into giving beyond their means, but that is unbiblical.  At this stage, the important thing is not the amount but establishing the habit of giving to the local church in all circumstances and being wise stewards of the resources God has given you.  This does not mean that there can be no recreation or “cheating”.  Just as every strict diet and exercise routine must have some cheating built in, every budget needs to have some money set aside for recreation and to “blow”.  Though this level of discipline will cause these steps to move quickly in most cases, it is still more distance than sprint, so you will need to catch your breath from time to time.  But as you make these changes, before long you will reach that $1,000 (or $500) mark. 

Step 2: Pay Off Debt Quickly with Debt Snowball

Once that money is in the bank and the boat is sitting just high enough out of the water to avoid being swamped by the next wave, it is time patch the holes.  In other words, tackle the debt using the debt snowball method. Start by listing out all of your debts except for your mortgage and what you owe on each, then put them in order from smallest to largest.  Disregard the interest rates at this point, since this method will result in many debts being paid off so quickly that interest rates are inconsequential.  Pay as much as you can on the smallest while paying the minimum on all of the others.  Once you pay off the smallest, repeat the process for each subsequent debt, applying what you were paying on the last debt to help pay down the current debt.  Once you build momentum on this, you will pay off those debts very quickly—normally within a couple years!  But this will require a significant amount of discipline.  Dave Ramsey, who created Financial Peace University, often says that you must live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else.  In the present, this means self-denial when others embrace “buy now, pay later”.  It means being content with older or less fashionable items while others are “keeping up with the Joneses”. It means doing free or low-cost activities while your friends are posting pictures of their cruise.  And it will likely mean driving an older car that you can pay for with cash while others are driving the newest models using financing. At first, it may seem ludicrous at this stage to be buying a car with cash, but that is often a crucial component of the debt snowball.  Instead of making a car payment while the car is rapidly depreciating, buy a car that is cheap enough to buy with cash.  Such a car will be older and will likely not last long, but remember that it only needs to work for a couple years.  You can then save what you were paying in car payments until you have enough to buy something better with cash.  By the third or fourth iteration of this, you will have a car on par with those around you—with no car payment in sight!  Plus, this will help you come out of the debt snowball with a mindset shifted from debt to cash.  Instead of just paying attention to how much down and how much per month, you will be in the habit of living within your means.  And your money will be fully devoted to what you need rather than evaporating in interest.  As a boss of mine said, “don’t pay someone else to use their money, use your own money”.

Step 3: Build Up Emergency Fund

Now that water isn’t coming in, we must remove the remaining water so that even large waves will not swamp the boat.  This requires turning that initial $1,000 into a true emergency fund.  Before, we were able to minor things, but now we need to protect against things like major repairs or periods of unemployment.  To do this, we put the money we were using to pay off debts into a savings account until we have amassed enough to cover 3-6 months of expenses. Once fully funded, this emergency fund will allow you to will be able to weather even large life events without going back into debt.  In the calmer times, you can also pay down your mortgage more quickly and then be truly free of all debt.  You can also invest in retirement an children’s college funds and steadily build wealth so that you can live like no one else and give like no one else.  Finally, in both steps 2 and 3 it is possible that events will derail your efforts.  In that case, simply revert back to the previous step. If you maintain discipline and determination, you will still be able to successfully complete all three steps.

Next Steps: Set Course and Build the Kingdom

With the boat sitting high enough that it will not be overcome by the waves, it is time to set a course to build the Kingdom and align all financial choices with that decision.  We are all called to build the Kingdom in various ways, which is the compass that we must use.  Certainly this includes financially supporting the local church.  During earlier steps, a full tithe may not have been possible, but by this point it should be the baseline of generosity that builds the Kingdom.  Since God primarily builds His Kingdom through families, it also includes caring for the family now and in the future.  This can certainly include retirement, so Ramsey’s step 4 is to invest at least 15% of your income toward retirement.  Even then, we need to make sure that our plan for retirement also builds the Kingdom.  The purpose of retirement should not be to relax in luxury but to be able to devote more time to building the Kingdom: serving the church, helping grandchildren become Kingdom builders, discipling, or a myriad of other callings.  The goal is not just to have enough to support you through retirement but enough to provide your children with an inheritance too.  Scripture exhorts us to do this: “A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:22).  Leaving an inheritance for grandchildren requires preparing your children to be able to provide physically, intellectually, and spiritually for their children.  Arguably the most valuable investment toward that end is enabling their mother to stay home to raise and educate them.  Going from two-incomes to one will be a major adjustment that will take time and wisdom, but it is a worthy endeavor.  The children’s formal education is also an important consideration, so step 5 is their college fund.  In this, it is vital to discern whether they should go to college or pursue other paths.  College is overrated and far too expensive in the vast majority of cases—and I say that as someone with two college degrees.  It is only valuable for a limited number of paths, so children not taking those paths should not go to college but take on other paths such as trades.  The last two steps are to pay off the mortgage early and then build wealth, especially so you can give lavishly.  Again, this should all be guided by its impact on building the Kingdom. 

Through this entire process, we are investing in the Kingdom, and we must never lose sight of that goal.  And we must also maintain a spirit of contentment with what God provides for us in each season.  All in all, freedom from debt is possible, even in the current economy.  We should pursue it and financial wisdom in general as we should pursue everything else: for the purpose of building the Kingdom.