The DNA of Wise Financial Decisions

God owns everything and we’re merely stewards of the resources he gives us, but that doesn’t mean our role is passive.

The role of a successful steward is active and requires a lot of smart decisions. How do we do that? How do we find the DNA of wise financial decision making?

DNA is a set of genetic instructions God has given cells to use to build the body, like the code to a video game or blueprints for a house. DNA makes a good analogy for financial decision making because it helps us focus on the inputs that lead to our financial outcomes or goals. We need to understand the three building blocks that work together to achieve wise biblical financial actions.

Imagine those three elements of DNA as the sides of a triangle. __We’ll call the base “motivation” for making good decisions with our money— with God’s money. __Motivation is the fuel that gives us the energy to carry through with wise financial decisions even when they seem hard. Actually, there are three motivations, each starting with the letter P to make them easier to remember:

1. Our position - we are managers, He is the owner. Psalm 24:1 reads, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” I Cor 4:2 tells us, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful.” God owns it all!
2. Our purpose - to be generous. 2 Corinthians 9:11 says, “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
3. Our perspective - eternity. Matthew 6:19-21 reads, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Author and speaker Ken Boa often says, “To deny earthly pleasures now, we need to believe that the eternal treasures at God’s right hand are more satisfying than anything else.” That makes up the motivation base of our triangle.

The second side of our financial DNA triangle is our wiring. God made each of us with a unique temperament that impacts how we behave with money. Temperament is part of our personality but personality is also shaped by family of origin, life experiences and other factors.

Most often we marry someone with a different temperament from us. Larry Burkett often said that if both spouses were the same, one of you would be unnecessary! Some of us make decisions quickly. Others take more time and need to do a lot of research.

Some of us tend to oversave, while others would give away everything we have. Some of us make analytical decisions and others rely on instinct or “gut”. When we understand our wiring in light of the other two sides of the triangle, we are more equipped to make and implement wise financial decisions.

The third side of the triangle is made up of the skills that we bring to the decision making process. We might understand the motivation or the why; we might know how our wiring impacts our decisions, but if we haven’t been trained in financial transactions, we will not be able to implement wise financial decisions.

To recap, the three sides of the triangle that make up the DNA of wise financial decisions are motivation (our position, purpose and perspective), wiring or temperament, and skills.

Building financial skills is often thought of as drudgery, but when we understand why we need them it can become an adventure to learn something new, apply it, and see positive results.

You can also listen to the related podcast on this topic.