Early Training

Early Training

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Philippians 4:6

Jennifer, a local CPA, often meets with women from her church who either find themselves in financial trouble or are making financial decisions alone for the first time. She always begins the session with an account of the afternoon she received her first allowance. As she describes staring in delight at the two shiny quarters her mother had placed in her eight-year-old palm, the attendees can almost see the sprinkling of freckles across the nose of the little girl. But along with that childhood delight came her thrifty parent’s tough lessons about how not to “waste” her allowance.

Jennifer caught on quickly to the concept that 10 percent of the total should go to God in one form or another, either in the church offering plate or to missionaries of her choosing, not as a biblical command but as a way to say thank you to God for his many blessings.

But Jennifer had trouble with the concept of saving another 10 percent for a “rainy day.” She had a long list of things she just had to have right now. Today, looking back, she understands how it must have hurt her mother to say no when Jennifer asked for additional money for an outing with friends after she had blown her weekly allowance on the latest fad.

As her session attendees nod in understanding, Jennifer adds, “But if my mother had bailed me out each time I wasted my money, she would have taught me I didn’t have to be responsible and that good old Mom would rescue me whenever I had any financial problems.”

Then Jennifer always manages to grab her listeners’ attention with this comment: “Just as I learned to make financial decisions from my mother, your daughters will learn from you, for good or for bad.” By then, the women in her audience, whether it’s one woman or twenty, are ready to address the issues that may have contributed to their financial situations. After all, once we understand how we got into a mess, we can more readily learn how to get out. —SANDRA

Lord, financial details weary me to the point where I actually identify with the old joke that says, “My bank account can’t be overdrawn—I still have checks left.” But not paying attention to the details of my income and my spending gets me into a real mess. Help me to take a deep breath and take an honest look at my checkbook. Then help me to develop a more mature attitude toward money.

God often allows us to be in situations that are too much for us so we will learn no situation is too much for Him. —ERWIN W. LUTZER, PASTOR AND AUTHOR