The Lord has been opening my eyes up one step at a time to teach me and share with others the real practical solution to materialism. The greed that has subtly seeped into most christians' life is real and evident. The Bible refers to Greed as Idolatry. But sometimes we just need taught on how to get rid of this greed, this overindulgence into material things. We fall into a delusion and the deception that comes with greed and materialism and we are blind on how to get out or that we even need out.
As a person who has been financially responsible for 8 children at a time I can speak on this with much experience. The fact is that when it comes to budgeting for our families with a kingdom perspective we have to start at the bare minimums. We must take out any and everything that we don't need and believe it or not this will hurt! Any lifestyle change will cause us to suffer, however it will be temporary and the rewards after the initial shock are huge. But isn't that what the christian life is about? Lifestyle change? Suffering? We need to cast off the American Dream and begin to look at the Kingdom Reality.
The true fact is that any family living in the United States can EASILY live off of 2000 dollars a month. Now, this being said, it may take a couple of months maybe in some cases a year to make this change. There could be alot of factors such as selling your luxurious home and buying something more moderate. It may be just simple behavioral changes that when dealing with an entire family may take some time for everyone to adjust. However, if your the leader of your family then you need to set the example and make it happen.
My wife and I don't have a choice when it comes to this. As we enter ministry we know there may be days and nights with no electricity. We know there may be quite a few meals that consist of nothing more than ramen noodles. There will be no more buying Eddie Bauer or North Face for me. Although take serious thought into the fact that sometimes more expensive items are much better quality and last much longer. For instance I buy Merril Hiking shoes. Sure they run about 100.00 but they will last 3-4 years and are durable and comfortable. Compared to most shoes between 20-40 dollars that are not nearly as comfortable and I am lucky to get 1 year out of them.
The #1 unnecessary money sucker in any christians budget always seems to be eating out. I guarantee if you can break this addiction everything will begin to fall into place. Not only will you see an increase in your budget surplus, but once you master this money sucker the rest usually are easier to conquer. Try at first stopping the "Sit down" restaurants that are not only more expensive but also include the 15% tip or more. Then work your way off of the fast food restaurants although this can be hard with a busy schedule proper planning can make this happen. (With as much traveling as we do this does become difficult for us, but still in the process of working on it)
Budget:
Mortgage or Rent- Limit to 800.00
Vehicles- Limit to 200.00
Insurances- Limit to 200.00
Food- Limit to 220.00
Fuel & Energy- Limit to 400.00
Misc- Limit to 100.00
Phone- Limit to 80.00
Then you say "But we can't do this its unreasonable", "What about vacation money?", "What about cable?". Well its not unreasonable. Firstly, I just got back from Haiti and if you follow this budget you will still be living like a king compared to the majority of those here on earth. Secondly, vacations can be cheap if you plan them right, and the budget can still be shrunk down so for instance keep your mortgage to 700 that gives you an extra surplus of 1200.00 a year that can be spent on vacation if you so wish it. And as far as cable goes Sorry, but you definitely don't need that!
The reason for this is to give money to further the kingdom or maybe its changing jobs so you can spend more time yourself in ministry. Whatever the reason it is important for christians to begin thinking this way. We need to be focused on the spreading of the Gospel, the reconciliation of creatures with their creator, and stop being pulled into this world by materialism. Give more to your church, find a ministry to give to, and begin looking for other opportunities for you to give of your time and money. I realize this won't be easy to do. However, it is necessary that we not only give more of what has been already given to us but also keep ourselves from being distracted from the things of this world and focus on Jesus Christ.
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