Our Western culture has slowly migrated from relaying on God and honoring Him by faithfully doing honest work, to working to attain enough money to be independent of relying on anyone else.
We start off with the need to feel significant, and so we identify identities that seem significant (a person that is liked, a person that is attractive, a person that appears successful, a person perceived as smart) and then we look to what around us can support that identity. This brings us to wanting to have the right cloths, cars, house, vacations, and entertainment that allow me to comfortably fulfill the need to attain that identity.
And so instead of looking to what we need based on our identity in Christ and seeking first the Kingdom and God's righteousness, we base our needs on the identity that will make us feel significant in the world around us.
Financial Freedom starts with the right perspective of giving up all of our own earthly aspirations, and seeking God's Kingdom first. This then drives how we spend our time, in humbling ourselves before the people God puts into our life, and seeing how we can be present for them, listening and loving them unconditionally. This then can drive how we prioritize our money, recognizing key scriptures to;
- Be content with God whether He supplies little or much financially to us. (Paul)
- To exercises faith by being obedient to biblical teaching and give to God, give to others in need, and set aside money for emergencies so that we are not tempted to take on debt. (Prov 30:25)
- Avoiding debt as it can cause us to spend money God has not chosen to give us yet (James 4:13), to limit our freedom as God directs our steps (bondage), and to create fear and anxiety when difficult times come, and we become overwhelmed, focusing on money and forgetting about God's calling for us.
So a key step in faith, is waiting on God to supply the means for things before I try to acquire them.
Great resources for biblical finances www.daveramsey.com