So, I’m going to talk about money on this blog every now and again, possibly even several times a month. It really depends on how much new/interesting stuff I think I have to say.
You may ask, ‘what could you possibly have to say about money that is new/interesting?’ Well, I’m glad you asked. The honest answer is, probably, not a whole lot. I actually wrote out a pretty long post, looking into the details of our own financial life. But, I ended up deleting the entire thing. Why? Because, before I even talk about how we spend our money, I want to talk about why we spend our money.
Matthew 6:21- For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NIV)
Your treasure, or money, is tied directly to your heart. If someone or something holds
your heart, you naturally want to spend money on them/it. And, if you constantly put money into something, it is eventually going to hold at least a piece of your heart.
Right now, our main concern as a family, as far as money goes, is getting out of debt. There are a boatload of reasons to dump your debt as quickly as possible but here are the main reasons we’re getting rid of ours.
- We are called to be good stewards of our money. To us, paying exhorbitant interest on things we can’t afford, or even just interest in general is not the best use of our money. There are a few exceptions to this like buying a house or a car you need to get to work.
- Whether we like it or not, money is tied to our future. We want to put our kid(s) through college, help to take care of our parents if they need it, and to take care of ourselves as we get older.
- And this is the most important, and the reason I quoted the verse above. Yes, we want financial security. Yes, we want to be good stewards. BUT, in our mind, everything that we own and all the money we make does not belong to us. Everything, down to our very lives, belongs to Christ. Our reason for being debt free is so that we can give and help others. Whether that be supporting causes we care about, helping out friends and family, or any number of other things. More money in our pocket, simply to have that money or get more stuff, is not the right motivation. We want to be free of debt so that we will be free to give. In that giving, we want to be truly living.
Ok, didn’t mean to sound like a motivational speech there. But, it’s our heart. I view financial responsibility as a crucial part of being a Christian, being a father and husband, and a member of society. While it is widely accepted to have and use debt in our economy, I choose to be weird.
My wife and I are not out of debt yet, but we’re on our way. In coming posts, I’ll write about where we are in that journey, how we got here, and where we’re going. If you’re out of debt, AWESOME! Tell me about your journey to get there, either in the comments or by email. I would love to hear about it! If you’re not, maybe some of what I write can inspire you and offer some practical things you can do to get rid of your debt.
Either way, I hope that all of you enjoy what we have to say. And know, I’m writing this because, if more of us were free of debt, I truly believe we could make an amazing difference in our world.
More to come.
Luke David 