To View the Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fdL57IXkQNk
SHOW NOTES
Imagine that your life is like a wheel with eight spokes. A wheel will keep moving if one of your spokes is broken, but if multiple spokes are not balanced, your wheel will collapse. In a balanced life, each spoke supports one another. They work together to create a balanced life. In this series, Tim and Kimberly are covering the eight categories they recommend balancing in our lives: our minds, our emotions, our spirits, our bodies, our social lives, our finances, our unique purposes, and our homes.
Welcome back to our series on living a balanced life. Last week, Tim and Kimberly shared the fifth area in our lives to find balance: our social lives. This week they are continuing the conversation by discussing how to find balance in our finances.
Understand money's limited value. Kimberly reads a quote by an unknown author that says, "I will earn money ethically, manage it biblically, and share it generously." Money does not have intrinsic value; it only has instrumental value. We can use money to buy material items, we can invest with our money, or we can share our money. But that is all. How much money we have or don’t have does not define who we are intrinsically. Our value and worth is not attached to our money.
Understand the corrupting power of wealth. First Timothy 6:9-10 says, "But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” When you attach your money to your value and purpose in life, you will lose yourself.
Understand the life of income finances. Most of us live off of incomes finances, or money paid regularly from a job we hold. Some live off passive income from previous investments, but not most. If you know what your monthly income is going to be, live within your means and stop impulse purchasing. Make a budget and stick to it. Don’t be influenced by the world or by the Joneses next door.
There are few things in life that impact us as dramatically as financial stress. Financial stress is one of the top reasons for divorce, and even if it doesn’t cause divorce it can cause increible tension in a marriage. Tim and Kimberly’s top tips for reducing financial strain is to reduce your debt and stick to a budget. When you do these two things, you are able to enjoy the freedom God has provided in your life.
