Counseling Through Your Bible Handbook (30 page)

— Knowing exactly where it goes (budgeting).

— Knowing how to save (regardless of your income).

— Knowing how to put your money to work for you (safe investment planning).

— Knowing how to plan for your future (retirement planning).

— Knowing when and where to give money to God and to others.

Return
the first tenth of your earnings to God—this must be a commitment!

Many assume that tithing was taught only in the Old Testament. However, Jesus gave full endorsement to the principle of tithing.

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone”

(L
UKE
11:42).

Reserve
a percentage of your earnings for saving.

A wise steward plans ahead by establishing a habit of saving.

“He who gathers money little by little makes it grow”

(P
ROVERBS
13:11).

Respond
to the needs of others.

When you allow God’s heart to have freedom in your heart, your attitude toward giving will change so that He will use your giving in the lives of others.

“He who is kind to the poor lends to the L
ORD
, and he will reward him for what he has done”

(P
ROVERBS
19:17).

Resolve
to live by a monthly budget.

Step #1:
Determine your
total monthly income:
add up your salary, dividends, trust income, interest, or any other sources of fixed income.

Step #2:
Determine
spendable income:
subtract your tithes and taxes.

Step #3:
Determine your
fixed monthly expenses
(look at the prior year’s expenditures; divide yearly totals by 12 for approximate figures) and your
discretionary expenses
(money spent at your discretion).

Your total expenditures must not exceed net spendable income.

Step #4:
Determine if you have a deficit or surplus lifestyle.

— Refuse to live your life deluged by debt.

— Debt is bondage to another.

— Debt dishonors God.

— Debt reveals lack of self-control.

— Debt brings God’s judgment.

Principle #4: The Law of Giving

Give confidently
to God that which He has commanded (Malachi 3:10).

Give regularly
to the work of the Lord (1 Corinthians 16:2).

Give sacrificially
by giving up some of your own desires (2 Corinthians 8:3).

Give cheerfully
, not reluctantly or under pressure (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Give generously
to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:11).

Give compassionately
to those in need (Romans 12:13).

Give secretly
without letting others know (Matthew 6:1).

Here are some conditions on which successful prayer depends:

— Is your request within the will of God?

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us”

(1 J
OHN
5:14).

— Have you confessed and repented of any known sin in your life?

“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer”

(P
SALM
66:18-19).

— Instead of desiring your own will, are you willing to accept God’s will with a submissive heart? Pray as Jesus prayed:

“Yet not what I will, but what you will”

(M
ARK
14:36).

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God
.
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

(P
HILIPPIANS
4:6-7).

“Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler”

(P
ROVERBS
6:5).

Make an inventory of your assets:

— What do you own?

— What is the approximate value of the things you own (car, house, property, insurance policy—large items)?

Identify your income:

— How much money do you make?

— How much time per week do you work to obtain this money?

— Do you have any investments?

Describe your debts:

— What do you owe?

— When is it due?

— What interest rates are you paying on each debt?

Approximate your monthly bills:

— What do you pay for utilities, gasoline/transportation, food, phone, clothing, insurance, entertainment?

Be introspective:

— Why do you live the way you do? Is it for career advancement, to impress friends or family, or to live comfortably?

— Were you brought up living this way?

— How do your friends, family, and coworkers live?

Consider what you could do without:

— Do you have expensive items you don’t need that, after the initial purchase, have high maintenance costs?

— Do you pay others to do something that you could do yourself?

— Do you eat out when you could eat less expensively at home?

Look for what you can substitute:

— Can you substitute less-expensive items for premium products or services you currently use?

Reconsider gift giving:

— Do you disregard budgets and savings plans during holidays and gift-giving occasions?

— Can you give fewer and less-expensive gifts?

— Does it mean that you love your friends and family any less if you live within your means?

— Would your loved ones want you to go into debt to buy them presents?

List future expenditures:

— What future expenses do you anticipate?

— Are you looking to buy a home, pay for a daughter’s wedding, or replace a vehicle?

Consider future career changes:

— Are you considering going to school or starting your own business?

— How will these plans change your financial situation?

Prepare for family changes:

— Are you expecting a child?

— Are children leaving the home?

— Do you have elderly parents in poor health?

— Prepare for how these changes will affect your finances.

State your future financial goals:

— Financially, where do you want to be five years from now? Ten years from now?

— What are realistic expectations?

Pay extra on your debts:

— Which debt has the highest interest rate?

— What amount of money can you pay each month on that debt?

Stop feeding your debt:

— What lifestyle habits contribute to your debt?

— Have you stopped using credit cards and started paying cash?

Change your lifestyle:

— What items can you do without that you really do not need?

— What expensive assets can you sell that would be financially profitable to sell?

Establish a savings plan:

— How much money are you setting aside for the future?

— Are you preparing for retirement and major emergencies so that when they come, you do not find yourself in debt again?

Establish a giving plan:

— How much should you plan to give to God?

— How much money are you setting aside to help those in need?

“I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing wealth on those who love me and making their treasuries full”

(P
ROVERBS
8:20-21).

The Bible has predetermined your purpose as well as your money’s purpose—it’s all for the glory of God!

—JH

Philippians 4:19

Hebrews 13:5

Luke 12:15

Deuteronomy 8:17-18

1 Timothy 6:10

Proverbs 22:7

Luke 16:10-11

Matthew 6:20-21,24

1 Peter 1:7

For additional guidance on this topic, see also
Decision Making, Depression, Fear, Hope, Self-worth, Stress Management, Worry
and other related topics.

F
orgiving isn’t easy…especially when you don’t
feel
like it. You have the pain that penetrated too deep, and now resentment has taken root. As you think about your offenders, you choose to live in a “ditch of demand” lined with stones of spite and boulders of bitterness. Yet God commands us to forgive…
just as He forgives us
. Colossians 3:13 says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

—
Forgiveness
is dismissing a debt,
¹
dismissing your demand that others owe you something.