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Biblical Principles of Financial Planning

GOD OWNS IT ALL
When discussing financial planning, many ask the question, "What is the difference between a secular financial plan and a biblically based financial plan?" There is a one word answer: ownership!

The worldly perspective of wealth and possessions is to claim that everything is mine and therefore, it is for me to do with how I please. After all, it is I who has earned it or else ownership has been passed to me through inheritance or good fortune.

Yet the biblical perspective is the complete opposite. Psalm 24 v 1 says 'The earth is the Lord's and everything in it.'   Through the Prophet Haggai (Ch 2 v 8) '…the Silver is mine, the Gold is mine declares the Lord.'  Job 41 v 11 'Who has a claim against me that I must pay?  Everything under heaven belongs to me.'  Exodus 19 v 5 'The whole earth is mine.'  These are just a few of the scriptures where God clearly states that everything is His. To put it another way, we don't actually own anything. We own absolutely nothing. Not even the practical gifts God has given us – our jobs, our children and all we possess. If everything belongs to God then that quite literally means every thing! Now that is a very different mindset to the worldly perspective.

For us, as Christians, this means: the house we live in belongs to God – we are merely His tenant; the car we drive belongs to God – that makes us the chauffeur; the business we run and "own" belongs to God – in God's eyes this makes us the manager or caretaker.

Instead of being owners of anything, we are "Trustees".  The change from owner to trustee means a change from having rights to having responsibilities. When we gain a testimony to this fact, we begin to hold all things on an open palm rather than in a tightly clenched fist.

The definition of the word 'trustee' in the dictionary is "a legal arrangement in which a person or organisation controls property and/or money for the benefit of another person or organisation."  This is a good definition for helping us to understand our status before God.  However it falls short in that it fails to describe how God is gracious and allows us the benefit of enjoying what He entrusts to us as well. Also, ours is not a legal arrangement, rather it is based on a relationship with God as He trusts us to be wise stewards of all that is His.

In gaining a greater understanding of ownership, the out working of being a trustee will be seen in the wise stewardship we demonstrate with the resources God has blessed us with. Being a wise steward is a spiritual responsibility and therefore means that every decision we make is a spiritual one. I would recommend that if we are making spiritual decisions about Gods resources, then surely we should involve the owner, not just as a last resort but right in the very centre of our decision making process and at the beginning. This should involve inviting God into the planning and discussion meetings by prayer and listening to him when making choices and decisions. It is not about how much we own, nor is it a sin to be rich, but it is how we use what we own that matters most to God.
The best financial adviser around, without any doubt, is God. It therefore makes perfect sense to involve him in the whole process and ask for His wisdom and guidance when making decisions. He has our best interests at heart as Psalm 20 v 4 says: "May He give you the desire of your heart, and make all your plans succeed".

The main question should be "Lord, what do you want me to do with your resources?" rather than "What should I be doing with my resources?

Graham Cleveland & Jon Cobb