I hope you have read Keith’s article “It’s Gonna Cost You” where he clearly expresses his position on money. It is a good starting point for talking about money.

The love of money is often a secret sin. People can sometimes pick up on symptoms when there is a serious problem, but the sin can be just a subtle as it can be obvious.

AbleKeepers has put together a worksheet to help you evaluate your spiritual health when it comes to money. (You may download a copy for your personal use here.) It is not a complicated budget sheet. It simply asks for you to look at your expenditures over the last month (or preferably year) and group your spending into seven categories. It even defines those categories for you.

1. Housing - Mortgage/Rent, Power/Gas, Water/Sewer, HOA Fees, Insurance, Repairs, Trash

2. Essentials - Groceries, Cleaning Supplies, Hygiene Products, Medical Insurance, Clothing

3. Convenience - Internet, Cell Phones, Delivery Fees, Auto, Auto Repairs, Auto Insurance, Fuel

4. Leisure, Pleasure, Amusement, Entertainment - TV, Hobbies, Movies, Vacation, Eating Out, Subscriptions

5. Savings - Emergency Fund, Investments

6. Income Taxes – State, Federal, Social Security

7. God

Some of you will look at items under Convenience and Leisure, Pleasure, Amusement, Entertainment and want to argue that they are Essentials, but I want to point out to you that more than half the world considers cars, internet, cell phones, TV, etc. luxuries. Here in America, we think of them as necessary – but they are not.  Even Americans considered them as luxuries just 15 years ago.

So how do I measure my love for God?  How much should I be giving to God?  

A simple measurement is to compare what you spend on convenience, leisure, pleasure, amusement, entertainment with what you spend on God.  You could give a tithe and not show any love for God. You could give double tithe and not show any love for God.  

I have a multi-week lesson plan that deals with what New Testament Giving should look like.  I will not try to cover all of that here.  Maybe It could be a series for the future, but here is a summary:

Show me how you spend your money, and I will show you what you love.

How much do you spend on hobbies, internet, TV, magazines, cell phones, DVD’s, book/music clubs, yard sales, etc.? How much do you spend each year on vacations or weekend trips? How much do you spend eating out?

None of these are wrong in themselves but do you give God at least as much as you give yourself?

How much do you spend on Housing compared to what you give God? Housing is a need – but how much do we need? That could be another topic of discussion.

Coming soon – Savings