CONFLICT
I was in wal-mart the other day and saw a kid melt down because he wanted to get something but his mom would not let him. At first I thought how embarrassing that looks and then how thankful I was that I never did that as a kid (...right).
I realized that this was a conflict that was caused by money. It causes conflicts across the board: teenagers and parents, married couples, little kids in toy stores...it is messing stuff up all over the place.
CONFUSION
Money also causes confusion. I think that 2 groups that have a major role in people's confusion is the local church and the educational system.
It is strange that a senior can graduate from high school and can dissect a frog, knows the Pythagorean theorem, and can tell you the symbol for Sodium but cannot balance a checkbook or recognize a good interest rate.
It is so funny that major outlets of teaching will ignore the most practical thing people need to know. And when I mean ignore it, I mean never bring it up period. Then when someone is faced with financial decisions they are hit flat in the face without any experience. Maybe that is the reason why more people will declare bankruptcy than graduate from college this year. It is because we’re confused.
Money is dangerous stuff, you better know how to handle it. Jesus talks a lot about money, but most of the time he is warning us from it. Put yourself in a position to win with money. It really does matter. Are you controlling your money or is your money controlling you?
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Free Money!!!
If you like free money and have some time you can fill out surveys from these places. I usually do not do these surveys just because I don't have the time but I saw these on Hustler Money Blog and wanted to share.
Most of these places are pretty legit, I know the first one pays out a lot. Anyway, worth a shot if you find yourself with some free time and want a little spending cash.
Copy and Paste the link:
- https://fun.mysurvey.com/join.cfm?r=2786801
- http://www.acop.com/information.aspx
- https://www.surveysavvy.com/ss/ss_index.php?action=join
- http://www.greenfieldonline.com/TrafficUI/MSCUI/Page.aspx?pgtid=12&rsid=CD7265&rcid=2844&ptid=4&utcoffset=5
- http://us.lightspeedpanel.com/index.html
Friday, September 7, 2007
Giving God Control Part 3
This is my last post on Giving God Control by following what He says through scripture. There are so many other verses we can talk about but I have narrowed down a few as they are fresh bread to me
Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
This sounds very un-Jesus like, but we can take it very practically and I believe it to be wisdom that we can take in our daily lives. The context of this passage is Jesus sending His disciples out to preach the Gospel. His advice was not to go where the wind takes you and THEN you will be provided for; he's saying "I have already provided with you what you need, don't get ripped of."
Practically speaking this means that we are called to read the fine print. It is wisdom to not put yourself in a position that you will be taken advantage of. I'm laughing right now because recently I did this and it was so obvious that it was my fault because I put myself in a position to be taken advantage of. Another practical example is debt: HAVE YOU READ THOSE CREDIT CARD CONTRACTS!! If you did you would see things like "We reserve the right to change the account terms for any reason" In other words, "Dear Customer - You have NO rights!"
Bottom line, Jesus says make every effort to not be taken advantage of, be shrewd as snakes. However, the verse also says be "innocent as doves." I was about to leave that last part out but I do not want anyone to misunderstand this passage of scripture. While we are making sure we are not taken advantage of, we are also called to NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS. I know this is a no-brainer but it needs to be said because I know first hand of people who got the first part of that passage down but trample over people in the meantime.
Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of the Talents
Man I am not saying it is wrong to try to make money. In fact I say the opposite. What I really harp on is what you do with that money once you get it. Like my example yesterday, when you get stuff be missional with it. Our lives are 100% Jesus, not 98% Jesus and 2% HDTV.
I am an advocate of investments and in Matthew 25 the Parable of the Talents shows that Jesus is too. A talent in this example I believe is a days wages, maybe more. God gave us "talents," it is wisdom to turn them into more talents. It is simple. Do not bury them, this is what is known as hoarding. Live with an open hand. Yes it allows money to go out of your hands, but with an open hand it is also easier for money to go into your hands. When you are tight fisted neither is possible.
Along with that parable, the guy who sits on what God gave him is punished, the guy who multiplied his talents(money) is told he did good. And I honestly believe this is not supposed to be because we can have more "stuff" because after all you cannot take a u-haul with your hearse. But I believe that it WILL advance the Kingdom by doing so. Its as simple as living on mission in every area of your life and that includes your money.
Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."
This sounds very un-Jesus like, but we can take it very practically and I believe it to be wisdom that we can take in our daily lives. The context of this passage is Jesus sending His disciples out to preach the Gospel. His advice was not to go where the wind takes you and THEN you will be provided for; he's saying "I have already provided with you what you need, don't get ripped of."
Practically speaking this means that we are called to read the fine print. It is wisdom to not put yourself in a position that you will be taken advantage of. I'm laughing right now because recently I did this and it was so obvious that it was my fault because I put myself in a position to be taken advantage of. Another practical example is debt: HAVE YOU READ THOSE CREDIT CARD CONTRACTS!! If you did you would see things like "We reserve the right to change the account terms for any reason" In other words, "Dear Customer - You have NO rights!"
Bottom line, Jesus says make every effort to not be taken advantage of, be shrewd as snakes. However, the verse also says be "innocent as doves." I was about to leave that last part out but I do not want anyone to misunderstand this passage of scripture. While we are making sure we are not taken advantage of, we are also called to NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OTHERS. I know this is a no-brainer but it needs to be said because I know first hand of people who got the first part of that passage down but trample over people in the meantime.
Matthew 25:14-30 Parable of the Talents
Man I am not saying it is wrong to try to make money. In fact I say the opposite. What I really harp on is what you do with that money once you get it. Like my example yesterday, when you get stuff be missional with it. Our lives are 100% Jesus, not 98% Jesus and 2% HDTV.
I am an advocate of investments and in Matthew 25 the Parable of the Talents shows that Jesus is too. A talent in this example I believe is a days wages, maybe more. God gave us "talents," it is wisdom to turn them into more talents. It is simple. Do not bury them, this is what is known as hoarding. Live with an open hand. Yes it allows money to go out of your hands, but with an open hand it is also easier for money to go into your hands. When you are tight fisted neither is possible.
Along with that parable, the guy who sits on what God gave him is punished, the guy who multiplied his talents(money) is told he did good. And I honestly believe this is not supposed to be because we can have more "stuff" because after all you cannot take a u-haul with your hearse. But I believe that it WILL advance the Kingdom by doing so. Its as simple as living on mission in every area of your life and that includes your money.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Giving God Control Part 2
To compliment us talking about the heart yesterday, I wanted to point out a few things that scripture speaks on that is on the practical side.
Proverbs 21:20 "In the house of the wise there are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."
Scripture actually says saving for a rainy day is cool; and rainy days are coming. Let me also clarify; most of us are suffering from a disease in which we need more and more stuff for ourselves. That is not what scripture is saying is okay, in fact let me just clear it up, that is wrong. An example of this is when Joe gets a big screen tv. The issue isn't that he spent money on the big screen tv, the issue is why did he get the big screen tv.
Let me use a friend of mine as an example...they bought a big ole 55 inch HD TV. The reason why he got that is so that he would have a reason to invite people (ie co-workers, college students, and everyone else) to come over and watch a big football game or basketball game and use it as a ministry tool. God has been glorified through his TV and that is cool.
Another friend of mine has a sweet boat; the reason why he has that boat is for ministry. It is the heart behind this stuff that matters, it is not just an excuse to get more stuff. That is the difference. It is not a numbers issue, it is most definitely a heart issue.
More coming tomorrow on giving God control by practical application of Scripture.
Proverbs 21:20 "In the house of the wise there are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."
Scripture actually says saving for a rainy day is cool; and rainy days are coming. Let me also clarify; most of us are suffering from a disease in which we need more and more stuff for ourselves. That is not what scripture is saying is okay, in fact let me just clear it up, that is wrong. An example of this is when Joe gets a big screen tv. The issue isn't that he spent money on the big screen tv, the issue is why did he get the big screen tv.
Let me use a friend of mine as an example...they bought a big ole 55 inch HD TV. The reason why he got that is so that he would have a reason to invite people (ie co-workers, college students, and everyone else) to come over and watch a big football game or basketball game and use it as a ministry tool. God has been glorified through his TV and that is cool.
Another friend of mine has a sweet boat; the reason why he has that boat is for ministry. It is the heart behind this stuff that matters, it is not just an excuse to get more stuff. That is the difference. It is not a numbers issue, it is most definitely a heart issue.
More coming tomorrow on giving God control by practical application of Scripture.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Giving God Control
Giving God control of your money doesn't necessarily mean to give away all your money. It is very clear through scripture that the way we handle our money is an indicator of our hearts flat out.
If we are not giving to the poor but giving to Clemson football, we can fight it all we want but it is an indicator that you care more about Clemson football than you do homeless people. It's not me saying it so please do not be mad at me, but money is just an indicator.
Jesus wasn't lying when he said in Matthew 6, where your treasure there your heart is. Our hearts are connected to our money. When you invest in a stock and you see those 3 little ticker symbols go across the screen your heart jumps up and down with them. With giving your finances to God we are biblically mandated to give some away (in old testament after the harvests and tithing it comes to about 27.33%). But, usually a tithe in scripture is referred to as a minimum 10% of all your increase.
We are also biblically mandated to provide for your family (we won't really argue against that, it is what most people use to argue hoarding). But scripture doesn't stop there, it says lots of practical things about how we handle our money.
Tomorrow we will talk about basic practical steps that scripture teaches us about money. But I wanted to talk first about how our heart is connected to our money. And if we have an attitude of "I will do what I want cause its mine" this is the same rebellious heart that spawns other sin issues.
If we are not giving to the poor but giving to Clemson football, we can fight it all we want but it is an indicator that you care more about Clemson football than you do homeless people. It's not me saying it so please do not be mad at me, but money is just an indicator.
Jesus wasn't lying when he said in Matthew 6, where your treasure there your heart is. Our hearts are connected to our money. When you invest in a stock and you see those 3 little ticker symbols go across the screen your heart jumps up and down with them. With giving your finances to God we are biblically mandated to give some away (in old testament after the harvests and tithing it comes to about 27.33%). But, usually a tithe in scripture is referred to as a minimum 10% of all your increase.
We are also biblically mandated to provide for your family (we won't really argue against that, it is what most people use to argue hoarding). But scripture doesn't stop there, it says lots of practical things about how we handle our money.
Tomorrow we will talk about basic practical steps that scripture teaches us about money. But I wanted to talk first about how our heart is connected to our money. And if we have an attitude of "I will do what I want cause its mine" this is the same rebellious heart that spawns other sin issues.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Two Column Budgets
I received an e-mail saying:
"I am trying to do my first budget but I am having trouble with it because I get paid in the 15th and the last day of each month. While my bills are due at different times during the month. Any advice?"
My suggestion is to have a two-column budget. The first column represents the first paycheck of the month and the other represents the second paycheck of the month. Place the amount that you are bringing in out the top of each column and spend (plan) every dollar on paper for that pay period.
If your power bill is due on the 5th that is the first column. But then cell phone is on the 19th that is the second column. Then adjust categories that have some flexibility (like clothes can be budgeted on whichever pay period has some room.)
I encourage you to keep it up. It takes practice and you will constantly be getting better at it. It is extremely hard at first but most things in life that are worth doing are like that.
"I am trying to do my first budget but I am having trouble with it because I get paid in the 15th and the last day of each month. While my bills are due at different times during the month. Any advice?"
My suggestion is to have a two-column budget. The first column represents the first paycheck of the month and the other represents the second paycheck of the month. Place the amount that you are bringing in out the top of each column and spend (plan) every dollar on paper for that pay period.
If your power bill is due on the 5th that is the first column. But then cell phone is on the 19th that is the second column. Then adjust categories that have some flexibility (like clothes can be budgeted on whichever pay period has some room.)
I encourage you to keep it up. It takes practice and you will constantly be getting better at it. It is extremely hard at first but most things in life that are worth doing are like that.
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Coupon Time
I got these from www.hustlermoneyblog.com
There are some pretty awesome coupons in this batch. If you had an upcoming purchase I recommend saving a little $ by printing one of these out.
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