As we continue with Wellness 2020: I Will with God’s Help, we have entered what I call “Money March.” The intent is to be thoughtful about how we spend our money this month. It can be easy to lose track of our spending. For a lot of folks, it can be eye-opening to see just how much we spend on various areas of our lives.  

One of my credit cards gives me an annual summary in January. It shows all of my spending for the previous year, broken into several categories. Their breakdown isn’t entirely accurate because the system doesn’t always know how to classify each expense, but it successfully categorizes most of them. It shows, for example, how much was spent on groceries, eating in restaurants, on fuel, and several other areas. In one sense, it’s not that big a surprise because we try to live within a budget. Nonetheless, our budget is monthly, and to see the year-end totals can and does grab my attention.  

Financial counselors will often give this sort of homework to those who are trying to save money or get out of debt. The point they try to make is that with small, regular changes, the savings can add up dramatically. The person who stops for Starbucks on the way to work every day might not worry about spending $3.50 each time they swipe their card, but when they see that it’s $1000 a year, it puts it in perspective.  

In the same way, steady small amounts saved or given away add up, too. There are some programs, for example, that will round up purchases to the next dollar and invest it for you. We don’t notice thirty-four cents here or seventy-two cents there. Still, over time all those little fractions can add up to a significant amount of money, which in turn generates additional income (last week’s markets notwithstanding!). This month is about intention with our finances in both directions, knowing what we’re spending and also striving to save and give generously, too.  

There is an old rule of thumb used by folks like financial guru Dave Ramsey, which suggests that we strive to live off of eighty percent of what we bring in, saving ten percent, and giving ten percent away. Attempting is the key, because many people who aren’t already at those levels can’t manage it overnight. Instead, we set the goal and chip away at it a little bit at a time. Eventually, with attention and intention, we can get there. Admittedly, folks in the middle class are having a harder and harder time saving anything, but hard does not mean impossible.  

One of the philosophical, (and theological for that matter) aspects of money is deciding what role it plays in our life. Do we control our money, or does it control us? Do we live only to accumulate more, or are we generous with what we have? Do we live in fear of running out or not having enough, or do we trust that God will care for us as promised? Each of these dynamics is deeply personal and often shaped by our experiences, those who we learned from at an early age, or simply because we’ve never stopped to think about it.  

Preachers have long said that we can learn a lot about a person from what their checkbook (or credit card statement) says. It will show us what is most important. There, in black and white, we can literally measure the priorities in our lives. We can, for example, put the Starbucks expenses (or dining out, or car payments, or club memberships) up against our charitable giving to the church and other organizations. When we do that, what does it say? Do we like what it means? Does it even matter? On the latter, I can say that it does. Just like a few cents here, or a cup of coffee there adds up, so too, do donations of all sizes when it comes to doing God’s work.  

In Money March, we’re each invited to spend a bit less, save a bit more, and be generous with what we have to help others. It’s not a process designed to invoke guilt. If you feel guilty, pray about it and ask God to guide you away from the guilt – that’s not the game we play. It is, instead, an invitation to be intentional and approach the gift of our financial blessings as such. We can choose how to use what we have for the things we think are important, instead of feeling as though we have no control or never have enough. 

Chances are most of us have more than we think, and can do more than we do. It’s a process. Baby steps, friends. It’s also the life we’re called to as followers of Jesus, and stewards of God’s treasures. They are entrusted to us so that we can live, yes, and also so that others will live through our blessing as well. Based on how much Jesus had to say about finances, it’s one of his central teaching points, if not the central teaching point.  

Tom+

Almighty God, whose loving hand hath given us all that we possess: Grant us grace that we may honor thee with our substance, and, remembering the account which we must one day give, may be faithful stewards of thy bounty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. BCP p. 827

 Photo credits: Money, free use via pxfuel.com; piggybank free via Flckr.com