Finances [Man Talk]

It has taken way too long, but I'm finally getting around to the man talk on finances.  Ricci and I are right in the middle of the Radical sermons/book so I may have a Finances part 2 talk afterwords.  We're reevaluating our financial situation right now. In the mean time I wanted to talk about the basics. I'm going to use "man" language so if you're a girl reading this, don't be offended.  There's no swearing, I just not gonna sugar coat anything.  Man Talks are meant to be honest whether or not they make you feel good.

  As a Christ-follower, we are called to tithe.  I think a lot of people are not properly explained what this means, so I'll attempt to break it down here.  Tithe literally means a tenth (or ten percent).  If you receive income, you owe God ten percent back through the church.  This helps provide for the needs of the church and the pastor.  When I say "owe" I mean that ten percent is the baseline minimum that we should be giving.  If you don't tithe will it keep you from salvation?  Will God send plagues to eat your flesh?  Um...that's silly.  I mean God has the power of plagues so He could do it if He wanted.  And honestly if you are unwilling to give God back ten percent of what He has trusted you with, you might want to really question your salvation, but finances tend to be more a question of obedience and your attitude toward God.
Note: I'm going to talk about our family's finances a little here. Not with numerical detail but in regards to things God has laid on our heart and how we've responded.  None of this is to brag, but just an attempt at transparency and what God has done in us.

See, God gives us everything we have to begin with.  Our jobs, the money from those jobs, the food, clothes, cars, places to live we pay for with those jobs, etc.  We don't own any of that stuff.  The Bible says that you and I are stewards of it.  God has trusted us to use those resources wisely.  When you shift your thinking from "God why do I have to give you my stuff?" to "God thanks for everything else you provide us with!" it makes it a lot easier to give.

This is where we start to really be tested. Ready?  When you see that God is still providing for you in spite of that ten percent, He will often challenge you to give more.  This is what we call "offerings".  He commands us to give ten percent to the church, but often he wants us to give more.  It's very easy at this point to once again say, "No God.  That's my 90%. You said you only needed 10%!"  How selfish of us!

We cannot outgive God. Try it.  Ricci and I give our tithes from the gross on our paychecks (before taxes, etc.).  I don't say this to brag, just to share our conviction.  The point of the tithe is like the first fruit offerings from the Old Testament.  God wants our first and best, not the rejects and leftovers. God then laid on our hearts to give a higher percent than ten for every paycheck.  It made us nervous.  It made me sweat a little, because we don't make that much when you count up the cost of rent,utilities, etc.  But we obeyed, and you know what? God provided for us.  He gives us enough to live on.  Another reason we give tithes and offerings on the gross is so that if there's a tax return we've already given God his share on that.

I had this idea that "Hey since I've already tithed, that money back is ours to spend how we like".  We were thinking about getting a nice new computer.  Ours is getting old and Ricci could use the new one for some blog design and photography processing. God laughed at me.  I didn't think that was very funny.  I had already given God his due and more right? Shouldn't we get to spend this on whatever?  Apparently not.  God laid a cause on our hearts that used most of that money.  At first we were frustrated but God totally blew us away.  Besides providing for our needs (this wasn't really the question since we were going to buy a computer), He allowed us to help someone out and in turn be encouraged and blessed in spirit beyond what we could have hoped for.

Some of you may be saying, "After I pay all of my bills, I don't have ten percent left over for God." There's a couple of things wrong with this picture:

First I don't know that God demands we give out of our gross (though you would then have to tithe from your tax return or the money you owe the IRS), but if these are part of our first fruits to God (besides our hearts, attitudes and other intangibles) then we have to make tithes and offerings non-negotiable. No question, we do it.  The easiest way to do this is to give tithes and offerings as soon as you get paid.  That way what you're left with is what you get, and you don't have to worry about spending what's God's.  Sometimes Ricci and I forget the check book at home or something like that.  We're not the perfect example.  But we make it a point to remember and not spend our money down to the point that we cannot give to God.  Factor it into your budget so that it's already taken out of your expendable money.

The second problem with the previous statement: If you've given God what's his and then paid your bills and you're finding that it's hard to make ends meet, you might need to reevaluate your spending.  I'm not saying it's always easy.  Sometimes God will put people in situations where we have to rely on others to help us.  But before you put yourself in this category look at what you're paying for.  So much of what we spend the money God has entrusted to us is unnecessary.

Going out to eat? please. Cable? come on. Internet? not essential. Cell phones? you could go without it if you needed to.

There are other things too, but there's no way I could write everything here. I'm not saying these things are bad or sinful, just that you wouldn't die if you gave it up. Sometimes we are doing great and then God asks us to give to something up.  If you can't afford it, chances are you're going to have to sacrifice something.  We recently had to give up netflix.  We didn't want to.  I drug my heels. But the Holy Spirit kept telling me to get over it.  That's just one example, but you kinda get the idea.

These aren't just suggestions for married people either.  In fact if you're a single guy and you don't tithe now, what makes you think marriage will change that?  You need to be an example to others and if a godly woman looks at you and sees you aren't tithing, she should move on because you are not showing her that you can lead your family in the area of finances.

So in closing:
Give God what's His: At least ten percent, but possibly more.
Make giving non-negotiable.  It's a command so do it. Simple.
If you're giving properly and the ends don't meet, see what you can cut.

 I could give lots of other advice on saving money, but that's a whole other subject.

Orevwa (Haitian for goodbye)