The Power to say No

This past weekend I had the opportunity to present Crown's "new and improved" Journey to True Financial Freedom Seminar. It uses a lot of new technology to present the same principles as before. And of course it is still based on the Word of God.

But I noticed that with all the new videos, PowerPoint slides and a few new jokes, the questions are the same. One of the questions that has not changed is "How do I get my finances under control?"

If I could answer that question with one word it would be discipline. That in itself is probably not too surprising. We have all experienced the frustration of not having enough self discipline to say: "we can't afford to get pizza tonight; we can't afford that vacation, or that car, or that house, etc". And then we have faced the consequences of not making those tough decisions and following through on them.

The Bible tells us this in Proverbs 13:18: "Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects discipline, but he who regards reproof will be honored" Proverbs 19:27 says "Cease listening, my son, to discipline, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." We need discipline in our lives.

So the answer to the question of how do I get my finances under control being discipline is not a big surprise. But what may be a surprise is where this discipline comes from.

Some will say it comes from jogging or other sports activities. Some may say it is part of our genetic structure or we get it from our parents or the atmosphere in which we were raised.

Jogging or other athletic activities may be helpful in developing discipline. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and 2 Timothy 4:7-8 that strict training and disciplining of our bodies is important so that we can endure the rigors of being a follower of Christ.

But the heart of the answer is that self discipline comes from a closer walk with God. Galatians 5:22-23 says "the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace…and self control". 2 Timothy 1:7 says:"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (niv).

If we go back and read a few verses earlier in Galatians 5:19-21 we will see a list of sins that Paul describes as the deeds of the flesh. Notice how many of these "deeds of the flesh" sins become evident in the way we handle money. Idolatry, strife, jealously, disputes and envy can all result from our money (mis)management.

If we see these characteristics of money mismanagement or the symptoms of a lack of discipline in our lives such as impulse purchases, sloppiness with our finances and inability of getting our finances in order, we need to look at our devotional life. We need to spend more time in God's Word and more time in prayer and develop a closer walk with God.

As we release control of our lives to Christ, we will see the fruit of the Holy Spirit become more evident. This includes self control and the ability to say no to the things we cannot afford.