Makes Cents

"Money, money, money. It's a rich man's world" say the lyrics of the Abba song. I don't know that's it's a rich man's world or that "Money makes the world go around," as Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey sing in Caberet, but I do know that wise application of it certainly helps in living in the world. A good budget will certainly go a long way. You need to know what you have, where it's going, what your goals are and still save for emergencies with what the Lord blesses you. Now you know I am horrible with math, budgeting, balancing and the like, but I can definitely tell you who is good at it: Dave Ramsey.

Ramsey has a class called Financial Peace University that I am going to recommend you both take together. The class teaches you how to manage your money, beat debt and build wealth. It teaches you to pay in cash, have emergency funds in savings, how to invest and budget. It's a fabulous class. Your Daddy and I commented that we wish we would have taken a class like this when we were first married rather than when we were in our 40s, but regardless, even at our late date, it certainly helped us. In Luke 24:28, Christ says, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?" Planning is key. The slogan for the class is "If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." It teaches you how to build credit, without a credit card, how to give, spend and plan. It's a wonderful course. It is costly to take, but it is worth it. You can take it online or even do a home study, but we recommend taking it in a small group because of the feedback and advice you get. There is more information at daveramsey.com/fpu.

Money is not the goal. It is not the be all, end all. Having loads of it is not the answer to all problems. Daddy said in worship Sunday that Jim Carrey once said, "I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of, so they can see that it's not the answer." The answer is Christ. The goal, focus, the be all end all, is Him. Scripture tells us that you "cannot serve both God and money"(Matt. 6:24). 1 Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." And in Hebrews 13:5 says, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." So serve God, do not love money, and be content.

Learn to make good financial choices. In the long run, it will be such a blessing to you both. And getting a head start in the wisdom of it before you get married, makes cents ... ahem, sense.

Discussion: Do either of you know how to budget? What do you think of credit cards? Would you be interested in taking an FPU class?

Prayer: Lord, you have blessed us indeed with what we have. Help us to be good stewards of it. Lord, where we have opportunities to learn about managing the resources you have given us, open up the time and finances for us to invest in that learning. We love you, Lord, and pray you bless us to be a blessing to others. In Jesus, Amen.