Everyone wants to be prudent with money, but not everyone is clear about what that really means. This series takes a closer look at how we handle money and what shapes our financial decisions. It explores how the Bible offers a better way to manage money, avoid the traps that lead to stress or regret, and see success from a perspective that brings real peace and purpose.
Money can do good, create opportunities, and provide for the people we love. But holding it too tightly will cost us dearly. Being smart with money requires us to first come to terms with the dangers that it can bring. Before we can manage money well, we need to understand what it can do to us.
1. Share a time when making or keeping money caused you to neglect something or someone that mattered more?
2. In what ways have you seen the pursuit of money change someone's character over time? How do you see any of these tendencies in yourself?
3. Proverbs 30 warns that having too much can cause us to disown God. Where in your life do you notice that money has made you feel less dependent on God? What is one thing you can do to dethrone money and reorder your life around God instead?
We live in one of the most prosperous nations, with more resources, more options, and more comfort than any generation before us. Yet the feeling of having enough remains out of reach. Being smart with money requires us to understand this paradox: why does having more leave us wanting more still? No financial strategy will ever be enough until we reckon with why enough feels so hard to reach.
1. When was the last time you complained about not having enough money to get something? Would someone who is needy consider that a necessity or a luxury?
2. Is there a specific amount of wealth that you believe would finally make you feel secure? And if you actually reached that amount, do you think you would truly stop worrying about money?
3. Can you honestly say that you see yourself as managing God’s money? What would change about how you handle it if you knew that one day you would have to give God an account of how you managed it?
We spend a lot of time thinking about how to make our money work harder for us. Being money smart means that if there is a better place to put our money, we should act on it immediately. In one of his parables, Jesus shows us a better way to invest. Find out how you can make the best financial decision of your life.
1. When you make financial decisions, how far ahead do you typically think? Why is planning only for this life not enough?
2. What makes investing in someone's eternal future more worthwhile than other uses of your money? Who are the people you are in a position to invest in?
3. Think about how you allocated your money this past year. How much went to lasting things versus things that will not outlive you? What is one adjustment you want to make so that you invest in things that matter in eternity?