I’ve been thinking a lot about budgeting (Luke 14:28 “"Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?”) - we need to add more sex appeal to budgeting. There’s something about going to do a renovation (which are not well-known for their ability to come in on time and on budget), building a tool shed or even a wooden deck and saying, “Wow, that worked out great! It came in on budget!”
When I talk about budgeting, it doesn’t mean specifically for a project, but projects do come to mind when I talk about budgeting.
Budgeting is when you and your spouse sit down and determine the cost of things that haven’t happened to you yet (groceries next month, for example) and execute a plan based on that.
With your spouse?
Yes, with your spouse. Acting as a team. One page, compromising, sharing.
Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Married couples are called via biblical principle to act as a team.
There’s a humbleness at play when we talk about this - and this is a huge struggle. It’s hard to say to my spouse, “Can I spend my hard-earned money on this?” - but we don’t look at money that way.
“You care for God’s money that He gives to you”:
Psalm 50:10-12
Haggai 2:8
1 Chronicles 29:11
Deuteronomy 10:4
Job 41:11
Daniel 4:28-37 talks about some of the consequences that we can experience when we’re arrogant with what we’ve been given to manage.
Keep in mind that it’s a higher standard to say to Christina, “Tina, I want to spend God’s money that He has tasked us with the opportunity to take care of, on: (widgets/magic beans/something halfway legitimate/an outdoor project), what do you think?”
It’s a higher standard still for her to say, “Is that how this family spends God’s money?” Luke 16:11, 1 Corinthians 4:2, John 3:27.
When I talk about married, Godly couples acting as agents of change in the world, I’m not talking about just money - and so many folks are willing to bring their marriages up to, but not including, money. The feedback I’ve been getting from folks who have been willing to have difficult conversations as a couple about spending habits, combining finances, spending, saving and giving together have been overwhelmingly positive.
It’s almost like God knew what he was doing - remember that if it sounds crazy and countercultural, God probably came up with it.
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