Money Matters: 5 Practical Steps To Keep God At The Center Of Your Finances
Managing your finances can be a point of tension in marriage, but it doesn’t have to be that way! When you give in Jesus’ direction, with his guidance and generosity, managing your finances can be transformed into stewarding your finances. Whether you’re newly married or have been together for a while, approaching your finances with intentionality and hospitality takes practice!
Money Matters: 5 Practical Steps To Keep God At The Center Of Your Finances
Here are five practical steps to help you keep God at the center of your financial stewardship:
Steward Well: During Jesus’ life and ministry on earth, Jesus taught much about money. Matthew 25:14-30 shares the Parable of the Three Servants, which teaches us that why money is so important to steward: a practice of faithfulness, wise investment and integrity, mercy and generosity. When Jesus is kept at the center of your finances, money becomes far more than money to save or spend - it is devoting all things to Jesus’ way.
Celebrate Goals: When you and your spouse continually pursue God’s vision for your life individually and together, you discover more and more what role finances has in it. Define your financial goals in the direction of who God is calling you to become. These goals should be realistic, practical, and trackable. As you set these goals, make regular space to celebrate all that God is doing as you practice generosity and stewardship for the Kingdom.
Live Simply: Jesus lived an extraordinary life on earth! During that time, he modeled a unique kind of simplicity - inviting a way of hospitality of the people he encountered. In Matthew 10, he sends out the twelve disciples, instructing them to carry nothing with them. This radical instruction was to live simply to make space for extraordinary purpose. When you prioritize living within your means and limits, you get to say yes to greater things. Set a time to have a conversation with your partner to explore what this looks like practically for you.
Practice Generosity: All is God’s, and God, in his limitlessness, invites you to live into his abundant generosity! Practicing generosity isn’t just a nice thing to do; it’s a practical acknowledgment that all you have is God’s gift to you to give back in his direction. This could look like giving to your local church, supporting local nonprofit organizations serving your community, practicing hospitality to neighbors. Acts 2:42-47 shares a beautiful image of the early church forming a community in which great joy and generosity were both the expression and the experience.
Partner Together: Finances is a way to partner well together! Have regular conversations to discuss spending and saving habits, practice rhythms of generosity, track your progress, and discover fresh ways to live God’s way!
Remember, with God as your guide and partner, you can joyfully navigate stewarding finances well together. Even the toughest challenges can be transformed into opportunities for growth and unity!