Treasure II – Out: Budgeting

Why is giving (even among Christians) so low in America (per person as a percentage of their total income, Christians gave less last year than they did during the Great Depression)? There are two clear answers:

First, our spending is out of control. Howard Dayton says that “we often buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we really don’t care about. Americans are addicted to consumption and it has led to massive consumer debt as well as massive national debt. Culture has bought the lie that we can borrow and then spend our way out of our problems. When I talk about money with The Millennial Generation, I often start off my presentation with “I am a Baby Boomer, and I am sorry!” Then I show the National Debt Clock. Take a minute and what the numbers escalate, and ask yourself the question “is this what God intended for us with our money?”

Second, If we do save, it’s for all the wrong reasons. In the year 2008, Americans saved at an average rate of -4%, that means that U.S. citizens on a whole went into debt $4 extra dollars for every $100 they spent. In addition, most Americans, if they do save, save for retirement … and that is not even Biblical (I dare you to find the word retirement in the Bible!). The two things that we are told to save for are to have enough in times of scarcity so we have enough for our family and more so that we can be the church. In addition for major purchases to avoid debt and its potential bondage.

Now that we have embedded the truths that God owns it all and is a God of abundance and generosity, we can explore in this module some practical expressions of Money Management.