Money Problems

Money Problems: Only for the poor?
Why are there so many people in the midst of money problems today? Is it really because of high living expenses and the gap between the “haves and the have-nots” driving people to live outside of their means? "Robbing Peter to pay Paul" is the way that many households are run, and one crisis can tip the scales from solvency to disaster.

Many seek financial counseling for answers, and some who take that route do find solutions which help them begin to live within their means. It is also true that financial problems are not entirely confined to those without what is deemed as adequate financial resources -- for many with larger incomes also find themselves in the same boat of living from paycheck to paycheck.

Money Problems: Stewardship
Correcting money problems is a matter of being a good steward of the resources we have and allocating those resources in a manner that brings benefit rather than burden. This is a learned skill and begins with the choice to be the master of money rather than allowing money to master us.

We do not break the bad habit of debt through earning more money, but rather we break any habit by replacing it with a better one.

Therefore, in order to correct money problems we must change the way we view and use the money we already have through self-discipline. How do we find the self-discipline it takes to correct our money troubles?

Every freedom we have comes with responsibility, and income is no different. How we use what we are given determines our contentment with what we have, for money does not bring happiness nor contentment. So if we seek to satisfy the desires of our hearts with things then we will always need bigger and better things to satiate us.

Money Problems: Biblical view
The biblical view of money (and indeed the marshalling of our resources) is that we use it for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). Rather than seeking to gain more and more of what the world has to offer we need to seek after the things of God, and He in turn will supply all of our need.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33). "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19).