Financial Harmony

Financial Harmony

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:4 (NIV)

THERE IS NO QUICK ROUTE to financial unity, but each couple can and must find a way to achieve it. The process requires talking, listening, understanding, and seeking a new way—not my way or your way, but our way. We must try to understand the reasons behind our partner’s feelings and thoughts.

For example, say a wife wants to build up five thousand dollars in a savings account. Why is that so important to her? Possibly because it gives her emotional security. With that money safe and readily available, she knows that her children will not go hungry, no matter what emergency may arise.

Now imagine that her husband is an investor who wants to make his money work for him. He feels it’s a waste of resources to keep any more than one hundred dollars in a savings account. Perhaps he feels that he is not being a good steward if he does not make wise investments. That’s a worthy perspective.

Until this couple understands each other, they will find themselves arguing over what to do. But once the husband understands the emotional impact on his wife when they only have one hundred dollars in savings, then he can stop arguing and accept her need for security.

The solution? He can use whatever is available beyond the five thousand dollars for investments. Now the argument is over, and both are having their needs met. Learning to work as a team and consider others’ needs and interests, as Paul challenges us to do in Philippians 2, leads to financial harmony.

Lord God, I pray for grace to understand my spouse better when it comes to financial decisions. Please help me to see the need behind the request. Remind me to consider my spouse’s interests, not just my own, and to be selfless enough to accommodate them.

Money