Being prepared and financially planning for your future is one of the key financial principles we learn from the Bible. One of the best examples of this comes from Luke 14.
“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?"
Luke 14:28
In Matthew 25:1-13 we have the parable of the 10 bridesmaids to learn from about being prepared. In this parable, 5 bridesmaids came unprepared for a long evening, while the other 5 came prepared with extra oil for their lamps in case they ended up waiting a long time (which happened!). The 5 that came prepared with extra oil were considered wise, and the other 5 were considered foolish.
We can approach our finances the same way that the 5 wise bridesmaids did by being prepared for the events in which we may need extra money to hold us over or pay for emergencies as they pop up.
Not only that, but there are so many large expenses we know will happen in the near or far future that we need to save and plan for, just as we learn from Luke 14:28.
So let’s take a look at 3 ways in which Christians can prepare financially for their future.
Do you know what your purpose in life is? I’ll help you out - your purpose is to love God and to love your neighbor. We learn this from the greatest commandment which says,
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:37-40
This is your purpose here on earth, but the way you will live that out will look different from the way that others live out this purpose. We are each equipped and gifted with different skills, talents, abilities, and experiences which all factor into our unique calling.
Here are some tips on discovering your unique calling.
Whatever God has uniquely gifted you to do on earth should be your number one priority when it comes to the way that you spend your resources, including time, energy, and money.
When you know that you are to become the salt and the light of the earth, you take good care of what God has given you. When you know that you have been called by God to partner with him in his grand redemptive plan for the world, it will give you a greater purpose not only for how to spend your money.
Your unique calling will give you a clear vision on how to prepare financially for the future as well as how you can honor God with your money.
So now you know that God has a bigger purpose for you and your money. You know that you need to manage your money with excellence so you can ultimately start spending that money in a way that aligns with the Gospel and God’s plan to redeem the world.
You need to learn how to become an excellent money manager and how to renovate your financial house to withstand the storms of life. There are two different paths you can take in order to learn the skills necessary to become a fantastic money manager and ultimately prepare financially for your future.
DIY ROUTE
One option is to do it the DIY route - learning from Books, Podcasts, or taking some online courses on how to budget. These are all fantastic cost effective ways to learn how to manage your money well.
The difficult part is taking these one-size-fits all approaches and figuring out how they specifically apply to your situation, and not only that, but also having the self discipline to stick with your education and new habit building.
Building a new habit can be really challenging, so here are a few quick tips to help you stick with the program you choose to take.
Tips For Taking the DIY Route
1) Designate a specific day and time each week to work on building your new habits.
2) Write down your unique calling and use it as your North Star to be sure you are always aligning yourself with that goal.
3) Understand that you will hit walls, mess up, and get fatigued at times, but don’t use that as a reason to give up. Keep going!
Work With a Money Coach
If self discipline is a struggle for you and holding yourself accountable to learning a new habit sounds too challenging, the DIY route might not be the best way to go.
The other option is to work with a money coach that has experience working with people like yourself and has a process & plan that can be molded to your specific situation.
The benefits of working with a money coach are -
They will help you stay accountable
- They will be able to take their proven process and adjust it to your situation
- You can get personalized help
And if you’re looking for a money coach, you can check out my new course
Redeeming Your Finances for step-by-step biblical financial guidance from me.
If you want to stay true to your future financial plan make sure to review your plan often and see if you need to readjust. Maybe you got distracted by how the world tells you to spend your money. Therefore, you got knocked off course a bit and need to make some changes to realign yourself with your unique calling.
Or maybe God has been calling you in a new direction which is very possible! God may redirect you to do something very new with your money. Be prepared to pivot the way you are using your money or pivot the direction you are ultimately heading in in order to follow the direction God is calling you to.
The process of building these new habits is not easy, but God calls us to be excellent at what we do and therefore we must put in the hard work so we know we are following His will for our money.
Colossians 3:23 says to work at it with all your heart as if working for the Lord and not for man. This is a truly biblical way to pursue money management - for God’s glory and not for our own.
So work hard at becoming an excellent money manager - and if you could benefit from joining a community of faith-filled professionals who are working hard to do this very thing, come join us inside of
Redeeming Your Finances.
