Lets get Biblical, Biblical

For those of you new to CMM, let me give a brief recap. Christian Money Mountain is a Christian Finance Blog I started in December of 2008. Over the past few months I've written posts on money management, debt reduction, and even my Valentine's weekend. I try to do it all from a biblical perspective, because I believe the Bible is the written word of God, and we should try our best to live by it. I haven't always made all the right decisions about money, and I bet you haven't either. But with God, its never too late to start again. Today, we're gonna look at 4 BIG principles to being successful with money in God's eyes.

1. Everything is God's - God created the world and everything in it. He created you in his own image. He's responsible for giving you the ability to do whatever it is that you do. And the money you have is not your own, it's His, He's just letting you borrow it. Some of you may be thinking only 10% of my income is His, but that's incorrect. 100% of everything in your life comes from Him. We should be good stewards of His money. That means we need to look at every financial decision as a spiritual decision. Because when we waste money, we waste what God has given us.

2. Time = Money - Money doesn't grow on trees. You remember your parents telling you that. Every dollar we have is earned through time and effort. Whether you're on salary or you get paid an hourly wage, the company is paying you for the time you put in. How does this apply? Think about some of the stupid purchases you've made in your life, now think about the time and effort it took to acquire that item. You've taken a portion of the alloted days God has given you in order to get that piece of junk. When you realize that everything you purchase takes a portion of your life, it should make you more careful in how you spend what God has given you.

3. There are no independent financial decisions - You will never have enough money to buy everything you want. Even Bill Gates and Donald Trump have limitations in their buying power. That means when we buy one thing, we're sacrificing something else. Those who spend their money on junk are limiting themselves in areas of greater need or interest. Husbands and wives often disagree on what is wasteful. To my wife buying $20 playstation games is a waste of money, but she didn't think twice when she needed a $100 curling iron. Our perspectives are unique, and we have to work through these differences in our marriage.

4. Patience is the key to financial maturity - Since we have so much that we want and only a limited amount of resources, the only way to get ahead is to deny ourselves some of the things we want now. If we don't have that discipline, we'll always be in debt. And unless you spend less than you earn, you will never be free from debt, no matter how much money you earn. That's why our government is facing the biggest deficit ever. Despite taking in more than a trillion dollars from taxpayers, our government manages to spend hundreds of millions more than that. You must have a determination to delay short-term gratification and to live within your means.

If you apply these 4 principles to your life, you will never have a problem with materialism. You will have debt under control and your finances in order. This will give you the freedom to follow God's will for your life, whether it be through your dream job, giving to a needy family, or being a stay at home mom.