What I’m Reading This Summer
My summer reading this year consists of a book on Biblical money management and an accompanying advisor course. This is all relatively new to me, and I am only beginning to wrestle with some of the ideas I'm encountering.
And I use the word wrestle intentionally.
Ten years into marriage and ten years into my professional life as a financial advisor, I can see how my views on money—and my advice around money—have evolved. In many ways, it's been a beautiful progression. In other ways, I can see places where my thinking has drifted out of alignment.
I'm sharing a few concepts that have challenged me recently and some of the questions they’ve raised.
1. Our Management of Money Is a Mirror
What we do with our money may provide the clearest picture of what we truly value.
Most of us have an idea of what we value. We value our families. We value our leisure. We value our health. We value generosity. We value our faith. But what would someone conclude if they examined only our bank statements and credit card transactions?
Would our spending patterns support what we claim to value?
Money has a way of revealing what our hearts are attached to. The question isn't whether our money reflects our values. The question is whether it reflects the values we intend it to.
2. There Are Four Uses of Money
One concept I've found to be helpful, while obvious, is that every dollar can only be used in one of four ways:
Give. Live. Owe. Grow.
You can give it away. You can spend it on your lifestyle. You can use it to pay debt and taxes. Or you can save for the future. These four uses occur simultaneously and compete with one another.
Imagine a pie divided into four slices. If one slice gets larger, another slice—or several slices—must become smaller. Increasing lifestyle spending may reduce giving. Accelerating debt repayment may reduce investing. Increasing savings may mean less for living.
Every financial decision is ultimately a decision about how those four slices will be divided.
3. The Paradox of Prosperity
More money brings more choices, and more choices often bring more complexity.
We tend to assume that more money creates more freedom. In some ways it certainly does. But it can also create new responsibilities, decisions, and headaches that didn't previously exist.
Story Time
I lived this one over the past month.
I drive a nice mid-sized SUV, and the front right tire developed a slow leak. After several weeks of fighting off with the Costco air compressor I took it to a mechanic. He dunked the tire to try and locate the leak but found nothing.
A week later, I discovered a screw in the tire and brought it back for a repair. The tire was plugged—good to go.
Except it wasn’t.
The following week the tire was doing the same thing. What’s my next move? By now I know all the possible issues – rim leak, valve stem, air allergy?
Decide to go to a tire center. Specialists—they’ll fix this. Their conclusion? The plug wasn't holding and the location of the hole wasn't fixable. I needed a new tire.
While replacing the tire, one of the mechanics accidentally gashed the steering wheel. The tire was going to cost a few hundred dollars, but because of the damage they waived the charge.
Now I have a new tire, no leak, and a steering wheel to remind me of it all every time I make a turn.
Reflecting on the entire saga the thought crossed my mind, What if I didn’t own a car at all?
4. Giving Breaks the Power of Money
Money has a certain gravity to it.
When we have it, we tend to want more of it. We tell ourselves there is a number that will finally feel like enough. Yet that number has a habit of moving.
We've all heard the quote often attributed to John D. Rockefeller. When asked, "How much money is enough?" he reportedly answered, "Just a little bit more."
While we may smile at the quote, most of us recognize some version of that impulse in ourselves.
This is one reason giving is so powerful.
It loosens our grip on resources and challenges the assumption that our security is found in our account balances. It pushes back against the natural tendency to accumulate more and more while convincing ourselves that generosity can wait until later.
If we’re wondering whether money has any pull on us, our level of generosity may be the first place to look.
In Closing
One last tidbit I learned: Jesus spoke about money and possessions more than any other topic recorded in Scripture.
Was Jesus simply acting as the ultimate financial planner, dropping timeless wisdom about budgeting, debt management, and investing?
Not quite.
In the Sermon on the Mount, he tells us exactly why he focused on the subject so often:
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:21)
Follow the money and it will show you what the heart beats for.
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