Money: Changing the Conversation
April 1, 2019
Let’s talk money and finances. If you’re like me and 70% of college students who aren’t comfortable discussing anything dealing with finances, the first sentence of this post brought stress upon you when you read it. Money is so personal and creates vulnerability within our relationships. Even spouses have difficulty talking about it; research by Fidelity Investments found that 43% of Americans don’t even know their spouse’s salary. Talking about money and finances from a general overview can be a difficult, uncomfortable topic, but as Christians, these conversations are necessary to understanding how something seemingly destructive can actually be one of the most powerful tools God has given us. The creation of money completely changed the landscape for human interaction by slowly moving humanity towards a current state of impersonal transactions mediated by its exchange. With this amount of control, a greater amount of stress arises that can take a toll on not just us, but also our relationships with everyone around us. Yet, if approached from a biblical standing, we can learn to change our view of money and finances to reflect God not only in the church but in our culture as a whole.
Even though Jessie J tells us “it’s not about the money, money, money,” I disagree with her. Growing up, I was always taught that money wasn’t important to Christians. This principle was reinforced by my parents, my school, and my church. Whenever money would slip into a class or sermon, it always revolved around the unimportance of it – telling me not to worry about it and to just leave it alone. I understood every time what they wanted us to learn, the underlying theme of the message being: “Money leads to greed, envy, and other sins that will pull you from God and others around you.” And of course, they always served this dish up with 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” I agree that money has the power to corrupt someone and can lead to all sorts of evil, but I think God, in His goodness, intended for money to be a way to glorify Him. In 1 Corinthians 10:26, Paul writes, “For the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” So how do we take these two verses and unite their meanings? The key is the first four words of 1 Timothy 6:10 – “for the love of.” When I look back at when I was taught at school or church about money, the first part was not nearly emphasized as much as it needed to be. The lack of emphasis on those words engrained in me that money was evil.
What if those lessons were different among my school and church? Instead of a constant bash on money, what if a class was offered that taught high schoolers basic financial skills needed to go into college or the workforce from a biblical perspective? Dave Ramsey is a personal money management expert who has helped millions of people better understand a biblical approach to finance. Ramsey is changing the way Christians deal with money. I highly recommend his books, radio show, and podcasts. One of the most basic principles he will tell you to remember is that you don’t own any of your personal finances – God does. As Christians, we need to be a manager of God’s money, spending or saving it in the way He desires. It is our heart behind our financial actions that determines whether money is a powerful tool for God or for evil. We should remove ourselves as the main part of God’s financial picture and allow Him to guide our spending/saving for His glory.
The importance of money also changed cultural landscapes when first created. During a Q Talk by Andy Crouch, he talks about three different revolutions that have changed society and culture forever. The first he talks about is the financial revolution, which shifted wealth from being found in relationships to being found in money. The example Crouch gives is a visit to Wawa, and he breaks down buying a snack to show how impersonal modern transactions are. When Crouch purchased his snack, he didn’t have to know the cashier’s name or even make eye contact with them; nevertheless, Wawa got the money they wanted, and Crouch got the snack he came for.
Money has been able to change culture gradually. As Crouch says, the creation of money was a trade of “personhood for power.” Instead of people finding wealth solely in relationships with the people they know, we are now able to acquire and possess wealth through money. As Christians, this is a part of money and culture that we can resist against and use as an opportunity to represent God. In a world where people can be impersonal, we have an opportunity to show God’s love by recognizing personhood over what Crouch refers to as power. This doesn’t mean you have to proclaim the Gospel when buying Chipotle or your next coffee. It’s simply taking time to talk to people. When you’re at the register, it doesn’t have to be an awkward minute waiting for the transaction to go through; you can use it as an opportunity to ask the cashier how their day is going. Make the effort to prioritize personhood over power.
Crouch, in his example of how money changed culture, only talks about interactions with a cashier, but whether we realize it or not, all our relationships have a financial exchange somehow interwoven to a degree. I’m not saying that our relationships are dependent on it by any means, but money plays a part in them, and we need to understand how it can affect us and others.
Money is the second most common reason for divorces. In 2015, the American Psychological Association (APA) conducted a study finding 64% of Americans said finances were a significant source of stress in their lives. America’s Debt Help Organization found that debt can lead to fear, panic, anger, and depression. It’s no question that stressful financial situations will hinder our mental health. Payoff, a personal loan company, conducted a financial health survey and found 23% of respondents were experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) because of personal finances. Fortunately, we serve a God who can bring us through any situation if we rely on Him. Most of us will face periods of financial stress in our lives in some shape or form that will force us to either rely on God or try and figure out how to navigate it on our own, which will cause more strife.
Another way to help combat these issues is emotional support. This ties back into the way money has changed culture and created impersonal exchanges among people. It can play a part in loneliness and be a part of people’s mental health issues. To combat the impersonality and loneliness money can bring, we need to surround ourselves with trusted individuals to be open and honest with in times of financial stress. The ability to be in trusted fellowship with people, especially when it comes personal finances, is something from God. We can use this opportunity for community to build each other up and glorify Him.
Money can be a difficult topic to discuss in any setting and is such a complex topic to try and fit into a couple of paragraphs. We must be willing to have the tough conversations to better understand the way money can glorify Him. Let’s change the conversation from money being evil to how money can grow God’s kingdom.
Sources:
https://www.moneymanagement.org/blog/2016/05/financial-stress-leads-to-symptoms-of-depression
https://www.debt.org/advice/emotional-effects/
https://www.apa.org/monitor/2015/04/money-stress
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHGwOYzUw9o
https://www.daveramsey.com/askdave/stewardship/do-what-makes-your-heavenly-father-smile
https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/make-a-plan-for-your-money
https://www.daveramsey.com/pr/money-ruining-marriages-in-america
https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/couples-retirement-fact-sheet.pdf
Written by: Andrew Reynolds
Andrew is a Junior Project Management Major, and enjoys writing for the blog because of the opportunity it gives him to grow as a writer and to challenge himself to see current topics and discussions from a view point he may not have otherwise thought about.