Money and Discipleship
Veronica Lee considers the way the world thinks about finances and compares and contrasts it with the way Scriptures speaks about money. She encourages us to place our trust in the God who provides all things, even the money that we seek to earn and save.
After being in the financial advisory business for a few decades planning for individuals and families in various stages of their lives, I have the chance to talk deeply with my clients and learned about their struggles, success and the constant inner question if they are doing right with their finances.
Financial Independence, Retire Early
One of the trending concepts in personal financial planning is the concept of FIRE – financial independence and retire early. This is currently in rage, and you will be told to cut spending and invest aggressively in larger amount and adopting a higher risk allocation in financial instruments. Many people adopted this because achieving financial freedom to pursue a life without the stress of work forever and allocating our time for personal pursuits or spending time with loved ones are far more worthwhile than the grind of work. Freedom without bosses that give you stress is just too good to stay in this unending rat race.
I will not be so fast to conclude that it is totally wrong to want to stop work and get out of this rat race. To be honest, we live in a demanding culture where racing ahead is the norm and not an exception. This applies to all the roles we have in this earthly life. Embarking on the strategy of FIRE is surely the answer to take money stress out as it involves clear planning and setting of well-defined goals and one can really do what one likes and maybe serve God for the rest of our lives when the target is reached.
Yet when I decided to read more about this as I need to write for this article, somehow something does not seem right. If you read only on the how to but did not read the personal account of someone who embarks on this path, you may think you have found the answer to live happily. The truth of the matter is finance planning is a moving target simply due to inflation and increasing expenses as our loved ones grow up or age up. It can consume us totally as we need to constantly eyeball the spending patterns and the investment returns, especially in times like now with massive changes in the world of investments, as well as the rapid pace of change in jobs that used to be secure but are no longer so as many of what we do can be replaced by machines.
The one obvious outcome is, in our pursuit to reach the stage of financial independence, we become very hard pressed to conserve our savings and time to reach the target in the decided time frame. During this period, we cannot spend the time to rest and have sabbath, nor spend time with our loved ones and the community of friends, and serving God will be the last thing on our minds. Even enjoying the simple pleasure of having a good meal will seem to be wasting resources. We are running on the assumption that we can hold back now and make up later when we reached the goal of financial independence. The mantra will be: soon but not now.
There are success stories of using FIRE but even when one reaches the target then the question is: what is next? The truth is that the pursuit of wealth as a predominant focus is like drinking salty water when one is thirsty and it simply makes us thirstier. Wealth becomes vanity and toil for the wind. We fill the need for more financial resources at the expense of living the abundant life that we are promised in the Word of God right now.
Financial Dependence, Rest in God
So as a follower of Jesus how do we order the management of money?
I suggest that we embark on this journey as part of our growth as a disciple of Jesus. The Bible throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament are filled with insights of how we should manage the gift of money by God. The acknowledgement that the earthly treasures we enjoy come from God will help us not to fall into the trap thinking that all that we have is because we are just better than the rest and the hard work we put in caused us to be such a success compared with our peers or even those older than us. Scriptures is filled with examples of the rich (once again being rich is not the problem) being unwilling to let go and their non-stop accumulation of the next level of wealth. Jesus spends much of His teaching on earthly wealth management and yet He told us He knows the number of hairs on our heads, and He is the one who dresses the lilies in the field and the birds in the air. This teaching should make us humble and dependent upon the Lord as the giver of our needs.
Therefore, does it mean we simply leave it to God and spend as we wish or live whatever we like as led by the desires of our hearts now, as some who subscribe to the buy now and pay later (BNPL) concept as opposed to FIRE? May it never be!
First, we need to remember that we are saved to be part of the holy priesthood for God, and we offer ourselves wholly as a living sacrifice acceptable to Him (1 Pet 2:5). Being the child of God, He will provide all our needs and so we do not need to be anxious about tomorrow (Matt 6:34). Our obedience to Him is first before all things.
Secondly, we are stewards of the monies that He gave us, and we are responsible in spending it not only for ourselves and loved ones but to help those in need, and most of all for the expansion of gospel work.
By holding these two reminders, we will not spend more than we earn or have and thereby save wisely, and generosity to others will be a joy for us as we share our resources. The savings we have will be invested not with a heart of impatience for quick gains but wisely and prayerfully.
Our hearts will never stop being anxious about tomorrow and we will have crisis of unemployment, big health bills or investment losses. If this have not happened, I can surely tell you, they can occur when you least expected it. They are viewed with dread and fear when we encounter them. Our trust in the promises of provision will be tested as the help from God seems remotely possible. Yet for many of us who have gone through various financial trials, we will testify that we were not left alone but God is in the midst and the outcome is better than what we expected. Knowing the Word of God, relying on Him by casting our cares on Him in prayer, leaning fully in God’s goodness, never forgetting His goodness to us in the past and the companionship of the Holy Spirit will equip us in facing the challenges beyond just money problem.
Let us all strive to live a fruitful life that is seeking the Kingdom of God first and may the Word of God be the compass we use in living each day with a heart of trusting a sovereign God who knows all and wants to give us all that we need for all our lives.