I’ve had a lifetime challenge with money. When I was young, I wanted some, then when I got some, I wanted more.

Always more. More money. Give me more. I need more. I want more. I deserve more.

More. More. More!

I got more and it made me angry because I still wanted more.

One of my early steps towards financial freedom was memorizing this verse: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).

Hmm. ALL. Really? This was a different formula. I read it over and over again, and I realized the verses preceding it were all about money and stuff. (Matthew 6:19-32)

Yes I was storing up a lot on earth, isn’t that the point to making a lot of money? This is what I thought I was supposed to do. This is what most everyone teaches and practices.

Then I made Jesus the CEO over my life. Slowly. It was hard, and still is. I’m really, really hard headed.

We hired a Certified Kingdom Advisor and a budget coach. They started praying for us and working with us. Things started changing, slowly. Real change does not happen quickly. We started realizing that God had given us so much financially, not to mention His grace and mercy when we were young Christians but not following His ways.

We got our financial life in order. It took saying no to a lot of things, both on the calendar, to make time to fix this mess, and of course in the cash area of our lives.

We started tithing and now we have given thousands of dollars, with no significant increase in income, to Kingdom causes and have become more and more joyful. We love giving. We love having financial order in our lives. We have no regrets about any of the giving. We are now tracking toward financial freedom and it’s a great feeling.

For me the following was and is true:

Financial Independence (tracking towards it) = Anger, fear, entitlement, discontentment (never had enough) and arrogance.

Financial Freedom = Joy, peace, confidence, happiness, gratitude, humility, generosity.

Tags

Comments are closed

Categories