When you hear someone say "financial goals," what comes to mind?
For a lot of people, it's paying off debt, growing their savings account, investing in the future, or even a giving goal. Whatever it is for you today, I want to challenge you to think bigger …
Because I don't think God gave you whatever resources you have simply to survive.
That's not the way it works in any other area of our life, so why would money be any different?
Think about it – from the beginning God gave commands to rule, subdue, have dominion; to be fruitful and multiply.
Why? Certainly not because we were supposed to either hoard everything for ourselves or barely scrape by. Instead, we are called to use our resources for His Kingdom and His Glory.
And just like in the parable of the talents, we'll be accountable for everything we've been trusted with.
Which, by the way, also means enjoying our money. I'd recommend you meditate sometime on Genesis 2:9 where God creates trees that are "pleasing to the eye and good for food." Yes, God wants us to live a little with the resources He's given us, too!
The bigger picture
I believe that good money management is actually an act of worship and a way that we can participate in the Great Commission.
Consider Paul's words to Timothy: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others." (2 Timothy 2:2)
In other words, pass on the resources God has given to you to others who will continue to pass it on. Continue until the whole world is changed by the way that you trusted God with the resources He gave you.
Can you see how God has so much more in mind than pinching pennies and counting down the days till your next paycheck? You might think this is a stretch to apply to our finances, but do not discount these principles!
If this is the same God who "will supply all your needs from His glorious riches" (Philippians 4:19), then you better believe that the fullness of your purpose is tied to all your resources, including finances.
This is why managing money matters …
Listen, I love to hear when people are able to save more, start investing, or pay off debt. It's a need … but it is not our calling.
We've seen firsthand how managing your money well could be the difference between …
- Being stuck at a dead-end job vs. getting the financial freedom you need to start a business that changes the world.
- Barely being able to give vs. helping eradicate child trafficking in the world by giving more than you ever imagined to organizations on the front lines.
- Or scraping together your last dollar for bills vs. showing radical hospitality that builds deep, significant, eternal relationships (that go on to change people, families, neighborhoods and beyond–in the name of Jesus).
I'm convinced that God has infinitely more than we can ask or imagine planned when we show up to our financial fight and trust Him to provide for a God-sized goal.
Investing in what lasts
Here's what I want to leave you with:
"Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials – gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person's work has any value." (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)
Our goal here at SeedTime is NOT simply that you would have financial success. Our goal is to help your financial decisions withstand the "exchange rate of Heaven."
Don't be deceived. It's easy to succeed at the wrong things when it comes to managing your money; to amass a lot of wood, hay, and straw here on earth and pat yourself on the back.
Instead, make a decision today to invest in what will last and work for your own "well done good and faithful servant" moment.
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