18 November 2010 by Barb Julian.

Wisdom about money…Sounds great.

What if you have always had enough money available that you could pretty much do what you wanted and when you chose, then are in a riff, an accident, a bankrupt company?

Now the feeling of urgency may appear in trying to manage the costs of daily living that were never questions before.  Adam Hamilton gives some spiritual advice that assures us that even if we have made bad judgments, squandered money, been profligate, and wasted our opportunities, God remains steady and faithful toward us.

But why is our challenge to become wise so often contingent on an experience of being down so long it looks like up?  We named credititis and affluenza as diseases with which we are very familiar.  We know the enemy, and as Pogo used to say:  He isus!

Wisdom is underpinned by knowledge, experience, values, and personal commitment.

Hamilton gives principles in Enough for breaking through to wise planning of finances:

• Put God first in your life, honor him and pay your tithe (in response to his goodness in your life) and offerings, first
• Know what you spend on and set limits via a budget, and continue to track expenses
• Live below your means
• Plan for contingencies and have an emergency fund
• Pay off credit cards, use cash and debit cards for purchases; use credit wisely
• Practice long-term savings and investing habits.

Even with effort, maintaining the same home or habits may prevent results that demand decisions for simplifying, letting go, changing plans, and walking new paths.  We are fearful, anxious about the unknown, feeling oddly different, embarrassed that we are so dependent upon others’ opinions of us.  Friends, God is already there.  He accepts us as his beloved children, and wants us to be content and fully engaged in his plan of reconciling the world.  The way was modeled.  A bridge across the great divide between heaven and earth was Jesus’ ultimate responsibility paired with love poured out for others.  It’s the way of the Cross…it is radical and purposeful spending.

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12 November 2010 by Barb Julian.

      Adam Hamilton admits to believing he needs, and knows that he wants, the newest technological “toy”.  He is able to buy, has a credit card in his pocket, can purchase now and pay later, and so succumbs to both “affluenza” and “credititis” (definitions on pp 15 and 16 of Enough).  One of Pastor Hamilton’s key staff members in charge of raising funds for the programs of the Church of the Resurrection admits to never wanting to shop and spend, so tends to save so much that too many like him would stifle the local economic scene.  Neither “cheap-itis” nor “affluenza” produces contentment.   Neither produces freedom of the kind we celebrate this week…living in a land where liberties of speech, action, assembly, belief, worship, and personal welfare are deemed worth defending.   Neither offers hope, extends a hand, nor models a positive, balanced way of living.

How did we come by this sense of urgent, must do, must have, right now, behavior?

Is the world really different than in prior generations when patience, deliberate planning, and intentional priorities informed financial decisions?

Hamilton suggests the issue is spiritual.  He offers that we are turning further and further from the God-centered way that marked earlier generations….that our wholeness in the image of God is broken and distorted, so we are separated from God, which is sin.  According to Craig Gay:  “The most serious indictment we must level at contemporary consumer behavior is that it is ’spiritless’.  It betrays a decision to sacrifice all noble and truly human aspirations at the altars of comfort, convenience, and safety.”  Hamilton would add pleasure—just trying to feel happy, at any cost, in this rough and tumble, rude and uncertain, vulnerable and anxiety producing, accelerating and depersonalized world.

So, what can be done to get off the merry-go-round?

–Turn around, walk away from the materialism and walk toward God, that’s repentence.

–Re-turn daily to dedicate our lives to being Jesus followers.  Followers, disciples of the Way.

–Appropriate the truth that relationships are what sustain us and don’t rust or wear out.  Allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, recalling Jesus’ Way for our times,  until we seem to be re-lit from within…sense a calling to be more than we thought we could.   We are called to Jesus’ simplicity, faith-fullness, and lavish generosity.   We are called to be purposeful, seeking ways to make things better, with our gifts, time, talent, presence, and witness.    When we accept Jesus’ gift of freedom and forgiveness each day, pray, and seek to grow, the Holy Spirit speaks (sometimes in just a whisper) wisdom to ours about what God is calling us to be and do.

What does call look like with regard to our financial resources?  With God’s help we critically listen to what Madison Avenue is telling us, then reject most of it for the satisfaction and restraint of deciding for ourselves.   We buy what we can pay for without incurring new debt, we take responsibility for overspending and make a specific plan to pay off our debts, we make sure that there are funds set aside for emergencies, and we cultivate the habit of simplicity and living below our means.  With discipline, we are transformed, rightly focused,  and freed to be generous and open handed, giving hope, touching others, and letting God’s light shine through us into the world.

God delights when we are free to choose, like Jesus.

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5 November 2010 by Barb Julian.

    This week many small groups and individuals begin discussing the book Enough by Adam Hamilton. 

Stress.

Anxiety.

Fear.

     Is this your state of mind as you experience financial meltdown, 10% unemployment, flat salaries, and more trillions of national debt?   What are we to do?  How are we to behave in the midst of all of this upheaval?

     Adam Hamilton has an interesting perspective that I wonder if any of us share.  While he acknowledges the truth of many church members suffering, he says he believes the causes of the financial crisis, though many, are fundamentally spiritual issues and not financial ones. 

    This first week is meant to pique your curiosity about why he might make such a counter intuitive statement.  Surely with all of this seemingly opaque regulation and government and bad decision making someone must be to blame.    We are dead certain that someone must be to blame.   Yet, we seem to have the “Cheshire cat” syndrome a la Alice in Wonderland.  Do you recall how it smiled like a fool and crossed its arms in front of itself when asked for “which way Alice had gone”,  pointing in both directions at the same time….without taking any responsibility.  

    Is there anything, is there something, we can do to relieve this pressure cooker environment? 

    You are invited to take a deep breath, slow down a moment, and to share in the discovery of Scriptural truths that earlier generations knew.  Hamilton’s effort is to guide, encourage, and inspire.   Are you willing to take a chance?   What if the joy and contentment in life do come from seeking simplicity and generosity as you pursue your purpose in life.  Are you willing to re-consider what the good life is?  

    Is money morally neutral?  Is whatever we do with it?

    Jesus speaks of attitudes about and relationships with money, and often.  Sunday, Pastor Matt is beginning a series on personal financial habits that reflect our spiritual maturity, spiritual discipline, and response to God’s generosity toward us. You hear it don’t you:  praising God, growing disciples, and serving the world.

    Come on in, make yourself comfortable, open the eyes of your heart, and  join in the conversation.

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