Introduction:

·   Most people avoid change like the plague.

·   Most of us have a firm perspective on money and finances, but it can change

What are our faulty perspectives when it comes to money, finances, and stuff?

·   I will always have a job making good money.

·   I need money and stuff to achieve internal significance and self-worth.

·   The money I have invested and saved will always be there for me.

·   Money and stuff will always make me happy.

·   Getting money and stuff is always better than giving it away.

Where are you in respect to money?

·   Some of you are drowning in debt; you are in pain.

·   Some of you will begin to softly change your heart to resemble the heart of God.

·   If we understand God’s perspective on money, there are enjoyable benefits.

·   You can tell what your perspective is by how you spend your money.

·   Does this revealing story show that you’re a wise money manager or not?

-Illustration: Charles Dickens wrote: “There is a wisdom of the head and ... a wisdom of the heart.” We are talking about your heart.

-James 1:5

·   The bottom-line perspective problem is this: I am an owner of my stuff!

·   The new perspective is this: Everything belongs to God, and we are stewards of what God has given us.

-Psalm 24:1

There are people you respect with God’s perspective on money.

·   John D. Rockefeller’s plan was: “When you get money, give 10 percent away. Then, save 10 percent for yourself and your future. Finally, have fun spending the 80 percent.”

·   Financial counselor Ron Blue lists five things Americans do with their money:

-Spend it so they can really live.
-Pay monthly bills and consumer debt.
-Pay taxes.
-Save what they can.
-Give what is left.

·   God’s plan is that when we get money, we do three things with it:

-Give back to God.

-Give to myself by saving for the future.

-Give to myself now.

I give, so I can really live!

·   The contrast is to spend so I can really live, but the Bible transforms our heart.

-Proverbs 3: 9–10

·   Giving to God first allows us to express our thanksgiving for the privilege of earning what we have earned.

·   Giving to God first teaches us to put God first in our lives

·   Giving to God first graphically reminds me that I am a steward and not an owner.

·   Giving to God first strengthens my faith as I watch God bless my life beyond measure.

-2 Corinthians 9:6–8

·   Giving to God first helps me find the right perspective on money.

·   Giving to God first means I get to be a part of God’s work.

I should save what I will need.

·   Most people pay bills and live only for the now, spending as much as possible.

-Illustration: Eighty-five percent of Americans retiring in 2003 at 65 will have less than $250 in cash savings. The average professional athlete will finish his or her career $200,000 in debt.

-Proverbs 6:6–8; Proverbs 21:20

-Illustration: A person making $35,000 a year for twenty-five years who saves 10 percent at an 8 percent return will accumulate $277,000 in savings.

·   You can choose what your future will look like.

I should pay debt and bills.

·   Jesus, Paul, and Rockefeller would all say of the last 80 percent, “Have fun with it!”

·   You do have to pay taxes and bills, but you’re getting the benefit.

I can spend and enjoy what is left.

·   God is not some cosmic killjoy.

·   If you do it God’s way, have the right perspective, and stay out of debt, the 80 percent is yours to spend.

-Psalm 37:1–5

·   God wants to give us the desires of our heart.

·   Do I want more and more stuff, or do I want the inner satisfaction of knowing I am making a difference and honoring God with my financial life?

-Illustration: Dale Carnegie said: “Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get.”