WILLOW Magazine, Volume 15, Issue 1 Ministry Connections: Stewardship by Dick Towner How Complicated Is Financial Stewardship? Some things in life really are complicated. I read recently about the Hubble telescope and the article talked about stars that are thousands of “light years” away. Given that light travels about 186,000 miles per second, I have a really hard time grasping how far the distance is that it travels in thousands of years! And the fact that there are millions (billions?) of galaxies in the universe — that’s just incomprehensible to this simple-minded guy! In the spiritual realm there are some pretty complicated things too — at least for me. Like the Trinity being three-in-one. I think I sort of understand that, and I’ve read what some of the experts say about it. But down deep inside it’s still kind of a complicated mystery to me. My experience is that a lot of people believe the area of personal finances is really complicated and kind of mysterious. And I guess it can get complicated if you let it. But at its core, it’s really pretty simple … really, it is! In Good $ense we put it this way: There are five financial areas in life — earning (how most of us get money) and the four things you can do with money once you have it. You can give it away, save it, pay debt with it, or spend it. That’s fairly straight forward. Then the Bible, excellent economic textbook that it is, indicates what we should be in each of those areas: Be a diligent earner — work as unto the Lord; work is a pre-Fall blessing Be a generous giver — experience the joy of giving and reap what you sow Be a wise saver — save a little bit on a regular basis and let compounding work Be a cautious debtor — stay out of debt on depreciating items Be a prudent consumer — moderation and contentment are the key. Again, pretty clear directions. Theodore Boer in his book, Three Simple Rules, breaks it down even further. His three simple rules are: 1. Spend less than you earn — Duh! What’s to not understand about that? 2. Save now! Buy later — deny the urge of immediate gratification 3. Know debt — “know” (understand) debt and have “no” debt on depreciating items I don’t think it’s complexity that makes finances difficult for so many of us … though that can be used as a rationalization for inaction. I think the difficulty lies in the fact that following those straightforward and pretty simple rules is countercultural and takes discipline. On this side of discipline lays anxiety, shame, conflict and financial crisis. On the other side of discipline lays peace, freedom, and joy. I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit you have the discipline to take those simple but sometimes difficult steps to manage your finances in a wise and God-honoring way. Good $ense provides the training and tools to help you do that. Check us out at www.goodsenseministry.com. Dick Towner is the executive director of the Good $ense stewardship ministry for the Willow Creek Association Top