When in doubt, good advice is, “Do the next right thing” but you need to know what that might be. The order in which we do things can mean success or failure. Rob talks about that with Chad Clark about that.
On this program, Chad explains that when we don’t follow certain mathematical laws, which God designed, we get the wrong answer, even though we may be convinced we are “right”.
When we don’t follow those rules, even if we do “part” of the equation correctly, the answer is still wrong. Many of us unknowingly do this with our finances.
Chad explains:
We tend to focus so much on giving, saving, retirement, paying off debt, and our lifestyle, which are all great, but that’s only the addition and subtraction side of the equation. These are simply the downstream outcomes of things we need to do first.
It’s possible for us to be giving 10%, saving 15%, out of debt, on track for retirement and having everything on track financially, but we’re getting the wrong answer - even though we “believe” it’s right.
LOVE THE LORD …
Matthew 22:37-39 says, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Loving the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind has to come first! There is nothing we should treasure and love more than God. It’s out of love for God that everything else flows.
We grow in our love for the Lord by spending time with Him … in His Word, in prayer, in fellowship with other believers. It may look different for each of us. We long for more of Him.
“When we by faith set our minds on those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God , then the things of earth lose their lustre and desirability in comparison” — John Owen
How does this apply to our finances? In every way. When we set our heart and minds on Him our love for Him overflows into all of our financial decisions. Loving Him must be first and primary in our lives, and when we do that, our financial decisions may look very different from the world.
Which leads us to the second part of the Great Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.
LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
First, let's define neighbor. This can be literally the person next door, in your community, at your church, or on the other side of the world. Jesus answers the question of “who is my neighbor” in Luke 10 - the Parable of the Good Samaritan, where the Samaritan saw a man beaten on the side of the road and when he saw him it says “he had compassion.”
C.S Lewis puts it this way: Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved person's ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.
When we love our neighbor, we see them, and we’re aware of their needs and we desire their ultimate good.
1 John 3:17 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
Pray and ask the Lord, “God help me see the needs of others and help me to love them and to see how I can care for them through the power of your Holy Spirit.” There are so many people in our world in need of material assistance, but let us not just look to the material needs of our neighbors but also their spiritual needs - regardless of whether you are helping some personally, or partnering with an organization to provide services around the world, let us not only meet their physical needs but their spiritual needs as well.
On this program, Rob also answers listener questions:
What are the investment options for rolling over a TSP?
What options do you have for managing investments with Christian values?
Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website at FaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community, and even download the free FaithFi app.
