Life HacksSample

Handling Finances

One of the hardest things about being an adult is becoming responsible for your finances. When we’re young, we usually don’t have to worry about buying everything for ourselves, making a budget, or keeping track of our money. However, once we grow up, we’re suddenly faced with bills, paychecks, debt, salaries, and all of the other fun that goes with money. Money is one of those taboo subjects that people try to avoid talking about, but the Bible doesn’t shy away from it at all. 

We can gain a lot of wisdom about money by reading what God has to say. In Matthew 6, Jesus gives us advice on how we should handle our possessions. One thing he says is “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” 

We can’t avoid money altogether in life, and having a lot of money isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. What Jesus is telling us is that we need to be careful about where our priorities lie in terms of our relationship with money. Are we so consumed with money that we lose sight of our relationship with God? Does money enslave us because of debt? We can only have one thing in our life that is our top priority — what’s yours? Is it God, or is it money and the stuff we have? If our relationship with God isn’t our top priority, our foundation will crumble. But when we learn to handle our money wisely and listen to how God tells us to manage our finances, we will thrive.

Challenge: How have you been managing your money? Take some time today to evaluate where your priorities lie. Then, take a step towards letting God guide the use of your money — maybe give to a church or local organization, make a budget to stick to, or commit to paying off any debt you may have now. For more information on managing money, check out Financial Peace University.