Christian Financial Alliance: Spiritual Reasons to Get Out of Debt

Posted on August 2, 2011 by rkuban

The Christian Financial Alliance  was created to help readers.  The idea is this:  Create a panel of biblical finance gurus.  People who take seriously the call to teach the Bible accurately with grace and truth.  Once a month, we post a question with a response from our panel to provide you with well-rounded, sound, biblical advice.  For more on the Christian Financial Alliance (or to join our team) click here.

Name one spiritual reason to get out of debt.

“When you’re in debt it can become a barrier to your relationship with Christ.  As Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” When you have a large amount of debt it can cause money to become your master, at the detriment of your walk with Christ.” – BibleMoneyMatters.com

“Because it’s wise to do so. Every time the Bible talks about debt, it does so as a warning or in a negative light — debt is never presented in a positive manner. The Bible’s wisdom says to avoid debt and the soundness of that advice has been proven time and time again.”- FreeMoneyFinance.com

“While debt itself is not evil, it can be a sign pointing to a deeper problem in our lives.  The typical person in thousands of dollars of credit card debt gets there by being focused on consumerism and materialism rather than pursuing God’s kingdom first.  (That’s not always the case, but it is very common.)  So a good spiritual reason to get out of debt is to break that cycle of buy, buy, buy and free yourself from valuing your life based on your possessions.  For many people, getting out of debt can be a first step to passionately pursuing God’s kingdom.”- ProvidentPlan.com

“Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:23).  Avoiding and getting out of debt requires self-control (to say the least!).  Therefore, I think we learn a lot about this fruit when we start steering away from debt.”- DollarsandDoctrine.com

“Debt can hinder our ability to hear God’s call on our life.  We can have so many bills to pay that if God calls us to some type of work that pays less that what we’re currently making we may think we have a fuzzy connection.  Living free from the bondage of debt frees us to hear and respond to whatever He calls us to.” – MattaboutMoney.com

“Wonderful opportunities to serve the Lord are jeopardized when debt obligations demand our constant attention.  It’s awfully hard to purchase airline tickets and the supplies needed to go on a missions trip when monthly payments for the Visa and line of credit consume most or all of our income above the basic necessities.  Imagine how great it would be to hear of a need for help and be able to pay cash – not only to visit that country to work – but to generously give to the individuals who stay there serving the Lord when we return home!  Financial freedom from debt not only releases us from repayment bondage but it allows us to answer God’s calling when asked to serve Him.” -StewardshipWeekly.com

“I think that for me, the reason to get out of debt is so we can accomplish God’s calling in our lives.  For several years now I have been un-employed, we have moved several times to participate in ministry, and we couldn’t do that if we had debt.  I don’t believe that God’s will for many of us is just to live in a comfortable house, with a job, nice cars, and clothing, that prevent us from going on missions trips, giving to Japan or elsewhere.  I believe in not carrying debt so that if God asks me to get up and move or give to those in need, I can.  So that I am not a slave to the bank, I can serve God in whatever it is He would ask of me.” -DiscipleshipGuy.com

“One huge spiritual reason to get out of debt is to be able to use God’s resources for other people.  If you’re owned by a bank, it’s hard for God to use you.  Getting out of debt is quite possibly one of the best ways to see God carry out miracles in your life.” – FreeMoneyWisdom.com

For more on the Christian Financial Alliance (or to join our team) click here.

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And the winner is…

Posted on August 1, 2011 by rkuban

By random selection, scientific, and technological process…I had my wife pick a number and the winner of The Root of Riches is…Michael.  For the rest of you, grab a copy at crown’s site here.  It’s a great book and I highly recommend it.

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Free Book Giveaway: The Root of Riches

Posted on July 27, 2011 by rkuban

For those of you who remember, I recently interviewed Chuck Bentley, CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, regarding his new book: The Root of Riches.  (Read interview here.) It is a great book.  So much so, that dollarsanddoctrine is giving away a free copy!

To enter the drawing all you have to do is go here- add your name, email address, and write “giveaway” in the subject line.  I will announce the winner soon…  You have got nothing to lose and everything to gain!  Sign up before its too late!

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When Discontent Is a GOOD Thing

Posted on July 19, 2011 by rkuban

(This is a post I wrote for onemoneydesign.com)

I heard a sermon the other day that got me thinking about discontent in a different light.  When researching for my second book: Christ-Centered Contentment, I stumbled across 100 different perspectives on subject.  But, not once did I come across the following thought:  Discontent can be a good thing.  What!?!  How!?!

When it comes down to it, discontent (which is spiritual in nature) is often an ill condition of the heart.  For this reason, it is spoken against so strongly in Bible and churches across the world.  When we have all that we need in Christ (2 Pet. 1:3), and we read verses like…

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,’ so that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?’ (Heb. 13:5-6, NASB)

…it is hard to rationalize discontent in the life of a Christian (other than attributing it to sin and self).  God is for us and God is with us.  How could anything we lack compare with this?  A Christian can learn to be content in all circumstances. (Phil. 4:11)  These are some of the key points I discuss in my book on contentment, and I am not straying in anyway from those beliefs.  However, I have been challenged to add another layer to my definition of discontent.

Discontent is a motivator.  It can be a powerful force to bring about change.  There are plenty of examples of this in day-to-day life: 

  • We might look in the mirror after stepping out of the shower or putting on those pants that used to fit last season, and find ourselves discontent with our health. 
  • We might be up to our neck in bills and feeling more lost and behind with each passing month, and find ourselves discontent with our finances. 
  • We might find ourselves struggling to connect and struggling to keep the romance alive with our spouse, and find ourselves discontent in our marriage. 
  • We might admit that we distant from our Savior and are having our relationship with Christ growing cold and stagnant, and find ourselves discontent with our walk. 

In all of these places, discontent can be a springboard for positive change.  While I don’t think I am ready to move the word “discontent” on to a list of virtues, I am beginning to see that God often uses discontent to draw us to Himself.  Ultimately, we are discontent whenever we try to define ourselves, our life, or our satisfaction in anything other than Him.  In a matter of speaking, discontent—and most importantly, our reaction to it—can be a good thing.  Discontent has a power to drive us to change.  It has a power to drive us back to the only places our hearts and souls can find true contentment.  Discontent can drive us back to God. 

In conclusion, I still don’t believe discontent is a good thing in the life of a Christian.  It shows that we are defining ourselves by things other than Christ.  However, I recognize that it can be a powerful tool God uses to convince us to allow Him to enter into the places where we are discontent.

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When Putting Yourself First Means Putting Yourself Last

Posted on July 12, 2011 by rkuban

This is a post I wrote for onemoneydesign.com.

Putting “Me First” is the worst financial move a Christian can make.  Jesus clearly said, “The last shall be first, and the first last.” (Matt. 20:16, NASB)  The phrase itself is a little bit enigmatic at first (and definitely speaks far deeper than finances), but closer inspection reveals the wisdom of God.  We have a tendency to put ourselves first.  Big surprise I know, but we must begin to realize that our natural tendency is to make ourselves numero uno.  

Putting ourselves first —or perhaps I should say paying ourselves first—while it might sound a little arrogant, it seems like the path to finding the most enjoyment in our financial life.  Spending our money on ourselves seems like a logical way to get the most satisfaction from our finances.  The Bible says otherwise.  Observe this passage from Haggai:

“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!  You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” (Hag. 1:4-6)

The people of God lived in luxury at the expense of the Lord’s house.  There is nothing inherently wrong with luxury or “paneled houses”, only when our pursuit of such things leaves the Lord’s work “desolate”.  The Lord’s response is something I think a lot of American Christians, if they are completely honest, can identify with.  He responds to their self-centered “Me-first-economy” by saying that their hard work reaps little harvest, their food and drink doesn’t satisfy, their clothes aren’t warm enough, and their financial life can be wrapped up in the phrase: easy come, easy go. 

This is a really challenging passage for the contemporary church to reflect on.  How much have we focused on “our house” before “the Lord’s house”?  I know that we don’t live in the old covenant with the Temple of the Lord, but how real is this principle today?  There are so many of us that have so much, yet reap so little—that consume so much to so little satisfaction.  How many of us might feel like we are putting money into a pocket with holes, finding ourselves at the end of the month scratching our head wondering where our paycheck went?

While there are a multitude of reasons for this effect, I think one of them is that God’s kingdom lies somewhere far down on the list of our financial priorities.  We do not give first.  We must consider our ways:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!  Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,’ says the LORD. ‘You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.” (Hag. 1:7-11, NASB)

While it might seem self-contradicting, the following principle is true: when we put ourselves and our satisfaction at the top our list, we lose every time.  We “look for much, but behold, it comes to little.”  The first will be last.  We must begin putting God first, and by doing so, actually do what is best for ourselves.

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Christian Financial Alliance: Defining Biblical Generosity

Posted on July 6, 2011 by rkuban

The Christian Financial Alliance  was created to help readers.  The idea is this:  Create a panel of biblical finance gurus.  People who take seriously the call to teach the Bible accurately with grace and truth.  Once a month, we post a question with a response from our panel to provide you with well-rounded, sound, biblical advice.  For more on the Christian Financial Alliance (or to join our team) click here.

In your own words, define biblical generosity.

“Biblical generosity is giving that is a result of a transformed heart.  We give because God loved us first and because we long to love, live and give as He did.  We want to grab hold of the abundant life in Christ – of which giving is an important part.  We are told by Jesus himself that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  By giving we are also able to help release the hold that money can create on our hearts.  “Instruct those who are rich in this present world…to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share…so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” (Tim. 6:17-19)  We are told that our heart can’t serve two masters, and by being generous with what God has given us we’re able to release it’s hold on our lives and truly serve Him.  “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7)  To me giving generously in a biblical manner leads to happiness, fulfillment and to loving others as Christ first loved us.” – BibleMoneyMatters.com

“Loving your neighbor by using money to make his life better in some way.” – FreeMoneyFinance.com

“Generosity, in my own words, is being spirit led for giving decisions.  If we feel that God is leading us to be generous in a certain way with our money, we should act on this in faith.  This requires us to not be overly attached to money, but always remaining open to God’s plan.  After all, we’re called to manage it for him.  The best way to release the hold on money is to stretch your faith and give to God first out of every paycheck.” – OneMoneyDesign.com

“Biblical generosity is fueled by a passion for sharing God’s love with the world.  It’s about realizing the great gift we’ve received from God through Jesus Christ and desiring to pass that gift on to others (in a variety of ways – not just money).  It’s cheerful, freewill, and sacrificial and is motivated purely by love.” – ProvidentPlan.com

“Biblical generosity is extending the goodness of God and grace of Jesus Christ to the world by living a life of pouring out–of putting the needs of others above ourselves.” – DollarsandDoctrine.com

“Biblical generosity is seeking first the kingdom of God.  It is accepting and adopting a new mind with which we evaluate what makes sense and what is a good financial decision.  It is the desire to love God and others – even when others can’t understand those choices.  Biblical generosity means acknowledging the blessings of God in our lives and giving him full ownership over everything we have.” – MoneyHelpForChristians.com

“It blesses God when we are generous.  It’s an act of worship; it’s a way we can show love to others; it develops character within the giver.  When we give freely, we can experience the joy that comes from it and be blessed in our own life as we bless others.”-FaithandFinance.com

“To me, there is one very straightforward passage in scripture that tells us what Biblical generosity looks like, those verses are found in Luke 10:25-37.  It’s the story of a Samaritan (who was hated by the Jews), stopping alongside the road, and helping and providing for a Jew, someone that socially despised him.  This is the present day equivalent of a well known political nemises, the star player on a sports team that just beat your team, or someone from a different religion as you.  And what Jesus is asking you to do is this, stop what your doing, help them out, and provide for their needs.  There is only one way that we are able to meet the scriptural example of being generous.  We must love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31), and we must be willing to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44).  If our life, not just our answer, looks like this, then I think we are living a Biblically generous lifestyle.” – DiscipleshipGuy.com

For more on the Christian Financial Alliance (or to join our team) click here.

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One of the Great Lies of Leadership

Posted on June 27, 2011 by rkuban

(This is a post I wrote for onemoneydesign.com)

“Leadership” has been a trendy genre for the last 20 years or so.  Now, while I enjoy reading on the topic, I have to admit most of the material out there on leadership isn’t anything new.  Principles of leadership (at least good principles of leadership) are pretty timeless.  Therefore, this post is designed to show one of those timeless keys of good leadership–and perhaps more importantly–the human tendency to avoid that very principle!  I start with a story from the Old Testament.  The background is this.  Rehoboam has just come back to take the throne, and he meets up with the people:

“The whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him: “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.” Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.” (1 Kings 1:3-5, NIV)

Faced with a tough decision, Rehoboam heads in the right direction:

“Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who had served his father Solomon during his lifetime. “How would you advise me to answer these people?” he asked. They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.” (1 Kings 1:6-7, NIV)

But, before the going gets good, he changes course:

“But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him. He asked them, “What is your advice? How should we answer these people who say to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?” The young men who had grown up with him replied, “These people have said to you, ‘Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but make our yoke lighter.’ Now tell them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist. My father laid on you a heavy yoke; I will make it even heavier. My father scourged you with whips; I will scourge you with scorpions.’” (1 Kings 1:8-11, NIV)

The end result?  Not quite what Rehoboam hoped for I am sure.  There is division, rebellion, and war.  Far from putting the people in their place like he had hoped.  There a lot of lessons one could take from this passage (like the fact that strong-armed tactics never result in effective long-term leadership, or the reality that pride will always stand in the way of good leading) but I chose to focus on the main principle:  Good leaders are never alone.  The biggest lie of leadership is this: We tend to think of leaders as these lone wolf, superhero types.  Like Superman sitting in his fortress of solitude, single-handedly carrying the weight of crime fighting all on his own.  We idolize great leaders and in so doing, make them more than men (or women).  We tend to think they, in and of themselves, lead us on to a brighter tomorrow.  The real reality of leadership looks more like this:  You can never lead further than the people you have around you.  The people and influences you have around you is the secret to your longevity and effectiveness as a leader.  The best leaders are surrounded by good people who encourage, re-inforce, and extend their leadership.  If you want to be a good leader, begin to find people and influences to surround you in this manner. 

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Chuck Bentley Interview: Finding “The Root of Riches”

Posted on June 16, 2011 by rkuban

What if everything you think about money is wrong?  Chuck Bentley, CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, is getting ready to release a new book: The Root of Riches:  What if everything you think about money is wrong?  I had the honor of sitting down with Chuck to discuss his heart, purpose, and hopes for his new book.

The title lures you in (because after all, who would want to be wrong when it comes to money!?!), but the honesty with which Chuck writes keeps you turning pages.  In the hectic, dog eat dog, loudest voice wins world of finance, Chuck Bentley humbly integrates his own personal journey in a conversational and convicting challenge of our cultural norms.

Dollars and Doctrine: The first thing I noticed about the book was your authenticity.  Overall, the book had a very personal touch—convicting rather than condemning.  Any comments as to why you approached the book in this manner?

Chuck Bentley: To be honest, it is very much a reflection of my life.  I felt like I had fallen prey to the world’s definitions of being rich.  And, I think there are many who fall into the same trap—even among Christians.  It is something I believe many people struggle with, though at times we hide it.  And, because it is something we prefer to keep hidden, I knew I had to be vulnerable and share my own shortcomings and mistakes so people could identify with it.  If I could show my own struggles, then perhaps people could benefit from my transparency.  I think people relate to failure more than success.  So, I had to share enough of my own story to make that connection.

Dollars and Doctrine: What led you to write this book?

Chuck Bentley: It all started with an experience around  I Timothy 6:10  [“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.” (NIV)].  It’s a familiar verse.  I knew it, thought I understood it, and had sort of moved on…and then one day God arrested my attention with it.  It’s magnitude and implications and relevance literally came alive to me.  I asked myself:  “Why is this verse so fresh and relevant?”  Why does this verse jump off the page?  Then it hit me, this is our culture.  That is why this verse comes alive.

But another thing, and what got me going on this book, was the word “root”.  Why did Paul call this problem a root?  If the love of money is a root that springs up all kinds of evil, what root should we be planting?  It led me to think that the root of all kinds of good is to love God and pursue His riches, true riches.

Dollars and Doctrine: Biblically speaking, how would you define rich?

Chuck Bentley: Being rich is related to what we love not what we own.  Biblically, I think it is to obey the greatest commandments—to love God and love others.  And, the reason that we are commanded to live this way is to steer us towards God.  Thinking this way inverted my whole paradigm.  I feel like I am now experiencing true riches.  It is an exciting journey.  Not legalistic bondage and empty obedience…but an exciting journey of pursuing God’s true riches.  You know, the Word tells us that money is a competitor with our desire to obey and follow God, and I can certainly say that is real in my own life experiences.  Changing my paradigm has freed me to find true riches.

Dollars and Doctrine: Looking back at the subtitle [What if everything you think about money is wrong], what do we think wrongly about money?

Chuck Bentley: That subtitle defines my experience.  I had so little biblical knowledge and understanding.  How were all these biblical truths seemingly hidden from me?  When I realized that my worldview was not biblical I realized everything I had grown up thinking about money was wrong.  The closest analogy I can think of is the Chronicles of Narnia.  The wardrobe opens up to Narnia and Aslan.  The wardrobe is a lot like the Bible.  It opens up to an entirely different world.  So much of my life, even though I was a Christian, was spent on the other side of the wardrobe.  Everything I had learned was the world’s wisdom.  A blend of self-help and my own personal philosophies that had no biblical context.  So, going back to that question [What if everything you think about money is wrong], it can really be any philosophy—big ones or small ones.  The question is a challenge to drive people to compare their beliefs with the Bible.

Dollars and Doctrine: In the book, you share how early in life your formula for success (though secret) was:  “Jesus + Lots of Money = Happiness”.  How has God transformed your formula?

Chuck Bentley: Transformation is the mystery of the heart.  My original formula was my plan for making my life good on my own terms—going back to my blended philosophies.  But, in the end, my self-worth was really defined in worldly terms.  The way that God transformed my formula was that I had to die to the world and die to my hidden equation.  That changed everything.  This is the root of the book—transformation of the heart.  This is how the Bible approaches the topic of money, by transforming the heart and renewing the mind.  Everything points to this.

Dollars and Doctrine: What did you learn in the process that you didn’t set out to write?

Chuck Bentley: Ha! A lot of things!  I would say that I learned that God compares us to trees.  It’s a theme that runs through the entire Bible, and He compares Himself to a tree.  It is something I had never noticed before, but it is all through the Bible.  The book is built around this notion—of roots and fruits, pruning, harvesting—attacking the bad roots, experiencing transformation of our inner man to yield good fruit.

The Root of Riches is scheduled to release in July.  You can read more about it (including a pre-release free download of chapter 1) here.  I would highly recommend it to anyone willing to challenge themselves to, as Chuck said, “ compare their beliefs with the Bible.”  It’s a must read for Dollars and Doctrine readers.  And again, I’d like to thank Chuck Bentley and Crown Financial for their collaboration with dollarsanddoctrine.com.

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