Welcome to the For the Gospel podcast, where we're all about providing sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Hosti Hinn, and on today's episode, I want to provide you with four principles for biblical money management. The reason I'm doing this episode is because a couple of episodes ago, I had Ryan Shackelford on, who's a CPA, uh CFO, and a really great friend of mine. He's a deacon here at our church who helps to serve in the area of stewardship. And that episode got a lot of great feedback. Many of you uh asking for more insights about money. And I thought I would bring out a resource that helped me many years ago. I'll never forget the beginning of marriage and how terrible I was with money. My wife and I were $33,000 in debt with no prosperity gospel offerings coming over the next hill to bail us out. And I was not much of a spreadsheet guy back then. I am now because I've learned that spreadsheets are uh one of the best friends you could ever have in life, and for financial planning, they're very important. I was miles behind my wife when it came to even just the basic ability to manage my life, manage my money, or have a plan. And I had lots of dreams. I've always been a dreamer, but I had no deadlines. And you know what they say, goals without deadlines are just that, they're just dreams. I had a lot of big vision, but no strategic next steps. And it still to this day pains me to say it, but back then I was all show, no go, all talk, no action in so many ways when it came to money management. I remember one time just missing a payment, and my wife was asking me what in the world I was thinking and why I didn't have these things on auto pay and why I wasn't even sure when it was supposed to be due. And I just said, it's fine, we'll just pay it after, and no big deal. And she was trying to help me understand these are very important matters. She just could not believe that I didn't care about these things. And the reason was she had worked hard all her life. She had been a real blue-collar type of gal, was a server at a restaurant, put herself through a college education, had student loans, had to pay those and make her own car payment and all that. And I was a prosperity gospel kid who uh was used to just spending lots of money, making lots of money, uh, driving my money, and then just doing whatever. And so uh marriage was a bit of a shocker, and real life was so helpful, but still painful. Now, lots of time and trials and training, and by the grace of God, you know, we've seen our life change and we see our abilities develop, all of us as believers, right? He changes us and helps us. The Lord grows us. And one book in particular was useful in my life in helping me learn. It was and still is called Master Your Money by Ron Blue. Ron Blue is a financial planner, financial advisor, and he wrote this book with a ton of principles and practical tools in it. Along with books by Ron Blue, I also uh was given books and found books by Randy Alcorn and other faithful ministers, and I started studying money not to become rich and not to become some financial guru, but because I wanted to know what God's word had to say about what seemed to be this very important aspect of life. And wiser men spoke into my life, wiser men speak into all our lives, and that is many times what God uses to change our perspective and help us grow. And that is probably linked to the most important money principle of all. It's really a life principle for any aspect or subject in life. It's not even part of the list that I'm gonna give you in this episode, and here it is. We need to be teachable people. We need to be teachable. Teachability might be even as much as just being available, we often have said, or people will say in church, your greatest ability is your availability just to show up and serve or just to be there. That is true. And equal to your availability and willing there, willing to just show up is your teachability. Are you willing to learn? Am I willing to learn? Even the most successful guys I know are teachable still in their older age because they have grown by being teachable, therefore they see it as an asset. Teachability is the asset that keeps on giving back. Teachability is what drives us asking questions from people, listening to them, and learning. Now, if you're someone without a clear budget and you have a lack of financial planning in your life, and the last episode we did on money was so mind-blowing because you just have never really studied money or thought about money in that way, or you have a habit maybe of saying, no, no, I know, I know, I know. It's I know what I'm doing, I'll be fine, but then you don't have a habit of acting, then teachability needs to be your number one priority. You need to learn, grow, you need to seek wisdom, and then put that wisdom into action. There was a friend of mine who did this for me years ago, beyond just reading the book by Ron Blue, Master Your Money, where I'll share some of these principles in a minute. There were people in my life, right around the same time that I was floundering in my first year of marriage, my poor wife, very sweetly but bluntly, wondering what in the world she got herself into, my friend Brett Ryan came along and took me under his wing and got really honest. He's the same guy who taught me that my wife was my first ministry, that I needed to pour into her, that if I'm winning the world or I'm out there doing lots of church work or whatever, but I've left my wife in the dust or my marriage isn't healthy, then I've failed in my first ministry. Well, Brett Ryan is also the guy, go figure, who would teach me how to budget. I was telling him one day that I didn't really know what to do. I was sharing how I was missing in a lot of ways, and he said, I want you to get your laptop, bring your spreadsheets, bring everything you have, your information, your bank logins, all of it, and meet me at a coffee shop. The coffee shop was called Lost Bean in Orange County, California. And I did, I brought my laptop, we sat there, I showed him my expenses, my income, my debt, shared my goals, and let me tell you, it was a massacre. I was embarrassed, but I knew it was good for me. I knew I needed to show him the ugly, the full ugly of the financial picture and my inability to manage money and to budget and to create spreadsheets and even know what the difference between uh an expense versus revenue is and why those things need to be measured out and even what expenses are. All I thought was, oh, rent, you know, uh uh internet. There are so many other things that I needed to understand and learn about. He asked me hard questions and put me onto books that would teach me how to do this on my own. I believe strongly everybody needs that kind of moment and a Brett Ryan in their life. Now, ideally and hopefully it'll be your dad who does that. But not everybody has a father, not everybody's father knows what they're doing. I will do this for my boys one day, but not everybody has a dad who will do that. And some of you, your father didn't teach you, he did his best, but you need to talk to a financial expert, you need to talk to a proven good steward, you need to seek out wisdom and some principles and practicals as well from a pastor who knows what he's doing in this area. And let me say on that note, in the process of being teachable, don't let everyone's personal convictions become your commands, but listen and learn. Start somewhere and then plagiarize and customize according to your own unique life goals and your own unique needs. A personal example on that is we built our first budget way back when, and I remember a day when we switched to Republic Wireless for our cell phones, and we didn't have iPhones for about four years. We had these random old phones, they didn't always work, it was really terrible at times, but for $56 a month, we had these phones, and that's a little cheaper, a lot cheaper for us at that time, where every dollar counted, every cent counted, than $100 per iPhone plan. We were saving $150 a month just by not having iPhones. We were on food stamps back then for about three years. I remember that season very well. It was embarrassing at times for my wife to have to put food back at the register at the grocery store because you know she had gone over the number that was supposed to show on the register. And so that was our life. That was our budget. Uh, there was a point where I had asked for a level of pay to be competitive in the California apartment market, and that number wasn't a number that I was able to get. And we didn't have a dollar more in our budget. It wasn't like, oh, I'll go find it somewhere if I just spend less on Starbucks. I wasn't even going near a Starbucks in those days. We literally had no extras in our budget, everything stripped down. We were sharing a car and I was riding a bike to the office at the church. And so we couldn't compete for an apartment at that time. We ended up in a place with black mold. We got really sick. I had gotten a second job as a server before to make ends meet. And I decided at that moment that I was going to do whatever it took to provide a safe environment for my family. And what was my go-to? Big dreams, big goals, big thoughts, big ideas. No, the money management tools that I had been given became my go-to for accomplishing any goal. So you go back to the drawing board. And there are financial gurus out there that'll tell you one of the best things you could ever do for getting out of debt or for providing for your family or putting yourself in a better position to uh get an education or pay off your education. Seminarians do this all the time. Pastors do this, is getting a second job. These are things I learned, and the money management tools I'd been given helped me to accomplish my goal. The scriptures were my guide all along. And that's what we all need to remember. God has given us the ability to work hard. He's given us the ability to make decisions, to do what we have to do and what we must do according to scripture. And so listen and learn and be teachable, but then filter all that practical wisdom, even on this podcast or from your own pastor or ever from me, filter it through scripture. Pray, think, and do what God would have you do according to his word. It's so important that when we're talking about money and budgeting, that nobody's convictions become your commands unless we're talking about what's commanded in scripture. So the stories that I share, the stories that other people share, they're meant to encourage you, they're meant to guide you. But look, you want to own a nice car, that's not a sin. You want to choose to do Republic Wireless like we did and not have iPhones so you can save money because you need to right now, that's a good choice, and that's gonna be good stewardship, but that's your choice. Uh you want to move to another state to be a better steward of your finances or engage in other opportunities. If you're a man who's gonna get a career there or a job, you must understand that is one of God's mandates for you as a man to provide, to strike out, to cover, protect, and to sacrifice for your family. And so you prioritize being a provider and make sure in the process you prioritize the local church for the glory of God. That's not a sin. That's really wise. And there are many situations in which we simply need to make decisions that are in line with scripture and not let man pleasing or man's pressure dictate what we do. And why do I bring that up? Well, one of the biggest pressures is consumerism. The pressure to buy things, the pressure to have things, the pressure to keep up with the Joneses. So, friend, do do what the Bible has to say, do what you know you ought to do, assess your motives, why are you doing it, and then press onward. Money management is a tool that God has given you in your tool belt to be a good, wise steward. From Ron Blue's book, he gives four principles for money management. And he uh lays out the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, 14 through 30, and and does highlight that even though that parable deals primarily with Christ's return, there are some basic principles in it that can be applied to money management. They tend to summarize what the Bible has to say about money and money management. And he lays out the first one, which is that God owns it all, and he talks about Matthew 25, 14, and uh again it will be like a man going on a journey who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. And then Ron begins to unpack the principle in which God is very much a man who owns it all, if you will, like that man, he's God who owns it all, and he has given to us what is his. That's the first principle, really. If you're gonna manage money faithfully, the first thing you need to realize is I am a steward, God is the owner, I am responsible for managing what he is given. So now think about the pressures, the uh opinions of other people, the thoughts and opinions or feelings that you even have, the things maybe you do just because you saw it done that way. A steward thinks about pleasing the master, no one else. A steward has responsibilities. And while the steward may receive some benefit, their main goal is to be faithful in stewarding what the owner has given them. Ron Blue lays out three implications of this truth, which is again, God owns it all. And the first implication is that God has the right to do whatever he wants whenever he wants it, whenever he wants what he wants. So if God owns it all, the first implication is he has rights. How does that change the way you manage money? Well, now, whatever God says is what you and I should be doing with our money. The second implication of God owning it all is that not only is my giving decision a spiritual decision, meaning giving to the Lord's work and taking God's money and putting it back into his kingdom work, but every spending decision is now a spiritual decision. Ron says there's nothing more spiritual than buying a car, taking a vacation, buying food, paying off debt, paying taxes, and so on. All of these things are linked to our responsibility to use God's resources faithfully. You ever think about money that way? Every spending decision is a spiritual decision. That changes the way we spend our money. The third implication of God owning everything is that you can't fake stewardship. You can't fake stewardship. Your bank account, or in the old days, your checkbook reveals what you actually believe about stewardship. You could say, Oh yeah, yeah, no, I agree, God owns it all. But you can't fake stewardship. Your bank account, my bank account, reveals whether or not we really believe he owns it all. Number two, he says, the principle of we are in a growth process. You need to think of money management as a growth process. You're always learning, you're always growing. He says that money is not only a tool, but it's a test. We're always being tested. God is stretching us, he's growing us. When you're in a tough season, like the season we were, you just need to ask, you know, God, what do you want me to learn? We don't need to be whining or complaining. God, why are you doing this to me? We need to ask, God, what do you want me to learn? And I remember, again, back then in the season we were in, God wanted me to learn the value of hard work. He wanted me to learn the value of sacrifice and discipline. He wanted me to learn to be a servant and how to get a second job. He wanted me to learn what it meant to be a man and a husband, to lay myself down. It wasn't the church's fault for not paying me a big salary. It wasn't my wife's fault for wanting to be home with our baby. It wasn't my parents' fault because they didn't send me prosperity gospel money anymore because I had gone against the theology at that time that a lot of our family members held. It was no one else's fault. In fact, there wasn't even a big fault in any of it. God, in his sovereignty, allowed us to go through a season where I learned things that now are lessons that have shaped me for the rest of my life. So for you, what is that? Are you in a tough season right now financially? What is he teaching you? Maybe God wants you in his divine providence. He allows this to happen in your life because he wants you to reassess all of the extras. Or he wants you to stop comparing yourself to other people and just focus on what he's given you today. Or he's training your dependency. All of our situations are opportunities to learn. Money's not only a tool, it's a test. We're in a growth process. You're growing, you're learning. And maybe at various times, like me, you have failed the heart test in those seasons, or you've been frustrated, or you have failed in God's use or the use of God's money and to be faithful with that. What was your response to that? Did you learn? Did you grow? Did you confess your sin? Did you receive his mercy and then move forward? We're in a growth process. When it comes to money, you have a chance and a new chance at that every single day to manage God's money better than you did yesterday. And so even right now in this podcast episode, if you feel conviction or you're kicking yourself because of the past, don't confess your inadequacies, your sins, and your weaknesses to the Lord, and then move forward. Tomorrow is a new day. His mercies are new every single morning. You're in a growth process. Number three, the principle that will help you with money management is the amount is not important. The amount is not important. I really appreciate his bluntness here. He says there's much controversy today about whether an American Christian is more spiritual on one hand by accumulating much, that's God's blessing, or is more spiritual by giving it all away, that's you know, God's martyr. He said, I believe both are extremes and not reflective of what God says. Neither he neither condemns wealth nor commends poverty, or vice versa. The principle found in Scripture is that he owns it all. Therefore, whatever he chooses to entrust you with, hold with an open hand, allowing him to entrust you with more if he so chooses, and allowing him to take whatever he wants. It's all his. That is the attitude he wants you to develop. And whatever you have, little or much, your attitude should remain the same. Friend, the amount is not important, might be the toughest one of all for us. That means you don't look at your bank account, I don't look at my bank account, and find either great spiritual security and joy because I have a lot of money, you got a lot of money, or we don't also find great spiritual security because I've got a little money and you've got only a little money. The idea that because you live on less or I live on less, or we don't spend on that, and I don't buy that, and I can't afford that, is not uh indicative that you are more spiritual than anyone else. Just because you give away this or that, or you've you know sold your house to do this and give that away, or you chose I'm gonna sell my car, give the money to the church, and I'm gonna ride a bike everywhere, I'm gonna walk everywhere. Look, you could sell your shoes and walk to church and bare feet. That does not make you more spiritual than anyone else. The amount is not important. You could be a very financially wealthy person and have your eyes fixed on Jesus as a big, generous giver who keeps getting given more and gives more again and again. And friend, you are right where God wants you to be. And some of you, you could be in a season of little, and God has you right where he wants you. He's training your dependence, or maybe you're already there. You're so joyful, you're not worried about all that you don't have, you're just excited because you have Christ and He has you. The amount is not important. God wants you to develop the right attitude so that in little or in much, your heart belongs to Him. The fourth and final principle is faith requires action. And what Ron Blue is not saying is that in order to be saved, you better do something. He's talking about money. Money, meaning this. If you have faith in Christ, if you have believed and trusted in Christ by faith for salvation, then what do you do? I mean, James teaches this really clear. Faith without works is dead. Jesus says it to his disciples in John 14: if you love me, you will obey me. We know this as evidence of our true faith when the heart changes, the behaviors follow, not the other way around. And faithful stewardship means action. Faith requires action. So if you say that you are a believer, then do you take action like a believer would? Often we take no action, like the wicked servant in the parable of the talents, because we uh have fear of making a mistake, either biblically, financially, whatever that looks like. Uh maybe you're frustrated, you're confused, you don't know what to do, and feelings are driving your financial decisions. Uh maybe you look around and because you're competitive or you have issues with comparison, you see what others are doing, you think I could do that, I'm gonna do that, I'm gonna get this. Well, you're living by your feelings as well, not by faith. You need to trust the Lord. The same God who saved you is the same God who will provide for you. He's the same God who has entrusted you with whatever level of wealth he has, and your job is to use it faithfully as a steward. Faith requires action. If you have faith in Jesus Christ, then you and I both are not to be lazy and idle, like the wicked servant burying the talent. Here, master, here's your talent back. I buried it. It's it's here, right where you left it. Do you remember what that servant heard? He said to that servant, the master did You're a wicked, lazy servant. Faithful stewardship means we take what God has given and we do something with it for his glory. I hope these principles have uh challenged you, convicted you, maybe affirmed and reminded you of things you're already doing. Uh above all else, friend, I pray that you and me as well, we would be teachable, humble, listening, learning, growing when it comes to how we manage our money. Uh, if you're looking for a book that will help you do that in a practical way, I do recommend Ron Blue's book, Master Your Money. Uh, the forward is by Charles Swindahl, Chuck Swindahl, an old faithful preacher. And that book has a lot of practical tools, practical resources, and and biblical truth that will help shape the way you view money and give you a track that you can run on for using your money. We should all, as believers, be very good stewards and very active in putting our money to work for gospel work, and it is biblical to provide, to plan. God planned for our salvation. We should be planners in our homes. It is a biblical thing to go to Proverbs 6 6 and see the way that the ant is an example of putting away in due season. As we grow, as we work hard, as we seek to honor the Lord in our stewardship. Do things God's way when it comes to money management. For more resources and even articles and videos on money and money management, you can go to furthegospel.org and search that on our blog for a practical podcast and some great tools and advice recommended by Ryan Shackelford. Just go back two episodes from this one to an episode titled Every Christian Should Be Doing This. We talk about budgeting and practical tools for you to thrive financially. Uh, lastly, if you're not following us on social media, I'd recommend doing that. You'll get lots of resources in your feed that will filter out some of the worldliness that the algorithms are targeting you with. Enjoy for the gospel content on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. And if you haven't already, be sure to drop a review on this podcast. I hope that you will be a faithful steward. And as this year winds down, look forward to how God will use you for his glory and how you will live faithfully for the gospel in the year to come. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. For now, keep on living for the gospel.