Dear All:
I'm a little annoyed by "professionals" such as Dave Ramsey who have what I think is in some ways a very unbiblical approach to financial stewardship. For what it's worth, I'd like to propose my ideas on how to manage money and maybe even get out of debt.
The first problem these professional Christians seem to have is that they set as a goal the accumulation of money. After studying the scriptures on this, I'm convinced that non-accumulation really makes more sense. So the foundation of my proposal is Matthew 6:33 which is "seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." We're supposed to see money and all the rest of this "stuff" as a means to an end, and the end is RIGHTEOUSNESS, not our comfort or security. If the priorities aren't right on the front end, the results on the back end will be less than desirable.
But how many husbands and wives sit down with their family financial planner and say, "well, first of all, we are seeking Christ's kingdom and His righteousness. Whatever we buy, sell, earn or accumulate has to fit in with that number one priority."
After the family is on the same page regarding the purpose, that it's for the Kingdom and not to get stuff or pay the bills and have money left over for a vacation, THEN the next step is spending control.
I'm convinced that the thing that torpedoes most good intentions and family budgets is lack of spending control, rather than insufficient income which most of us probably think is the problem. Might be a binge shopping trip or just some little but regular expenditures, but the problem is that they don't keep track of spending so they don't really know WHERE the money is going. They just know it's gone. So set up a record keeping system to track every expenditure.
Next, make priorities on spending and any activities that incur expense. Gas is approaching $4.00 per gallon, so going anyplace costs money before you even get there. Never go into a store thinking "I DESERVE this (thing)," or "it's only $_______ (some trifling amount)." Instead, before opening that purse or reaching for your credit/debit card, you need to ask yourself: "Will this advance the Kingdom? Will this promote His righteousness?? Or is this really about MY comfort???"
That's the plan. Set priorities, track expenses, and spend according to priorities. Jesus says if we put Him, His righteousness and His kingdom first, then He will provide. There's nothing in this verse about quitting your job. I've heard people dismiss this verse with contempt, as if it's saying, "Just sit around all day and trust God and then all your expenses will be miraculously taken care of." Let's quit being stupid. The verse is talking about PRIORITIES - not some mechanism for getting God to pay your bills.
This probably won't work for most people, because sad to say most people don't really want to put Christ first. They will provide "lip service" so they sound committed, but when it comes to living it out they really want comfort, fun, and the "safety" they think comes with a savings account. And if the next "bail in" harvests your savings and your retirement fund .... what then?
Mark