What Your Family Spending Says about Your Family

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus proclaims . . .

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

This is as true for families as it is for individuals.

Mike Brown recently posted, "How Do Americans Spend Their Monthly Income?" a study of the spending habits of Americans aged 18 and up. 

​As you would expect, Millennials have higher student loan payments, but -- surprisingly -- Baby Boomers have nearly twice as much credit card debt! As far as general debt is concerned, it's interesting to note that -- overall -- Generation X spends more in monthly miscellaneous debt, living expenses, and housing payments.

Check out the report to see how your family compares to your generation's spending?

​But then take the additional step to ask the following questions:

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• Does your family have any idea what it spends? If not, are you being as intentional and premeditated as you should? Luke 14:28-30 teaches, "For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’" If you're interested in becoming more premeditated, check out "25 Days to Becoming a Premeditated Parent." Though the course covers various parenting topics, it discusses finances as well.
• Why does our family spend as much as it does in any given category? Do you spend what you spend because you want God to be glorified? Is the Lord pleased by your monthly spending. This is a huge and absolutely necessary question every family must answer. I Corinthians 10:31 tells us, "​Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." We must not conveniently ignore our spending when trying to live a life that's pleasing to the Lord.​
• Does your family make it a priority to give to the work of God? Truth.Love.Parent. believes every family should have a regular habit of giving to their local church, but it's equally valuable to invest in God's work through para-church ministries. Speaking of the churches in Macedonia and Achaia, Paul reports that they were pleased to make contributions for the poor saints in Jerusalem. And in Romans 15:27 he goes so far as to say, "They were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things." Paul makes the connection that Christians should be willing to support those who minister unto to them. If your family is not financially investing in the ministries that have spiritually invested in you, consider what the Lord may be calling you to change. You can learn more about supporting Truth.Love.Parent. by clicking here.
• Does your family have unsafe debt? What do I mean by "unsafe debt?" There is debt that is appropriate. In fact, those who proclaim that Christians should never have any debt have their own debt. For example: all of your monthly utilities are "safe debt." The electricity you're using in your home hasn't been paid for; you're borrowing it from the electrical company until you pay it off at the end of the month. But that kind of debt is not unsafe. Though this is not the place for a comprehensive discussion on debt, I would argue that certain monthly payments on appropriate vehicles and housing and education are safe as as long as they are paid off on a monthly basis without hindering other important monthly expenses. And when it comes to debt in general, your family needs to carefully and proactively review your debt and have a plan for reducing it. Remember what God says in Proverbs 22:7 . . .

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

Where your family's monthly spending is, there your family's heart will be also.

What does your spending say about what you love? Too many of our bank statements proclaim that we love ourselves, our comfort, our vanity, and our sin. God forbid! Let's rededicate our spending to God in the New Year. May our monthly spending reveal that God has our hearts.

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AMBrewster

This guy is the Executive Director and podcast host of Truth.Love.Parent. Learn more about his life and ministry here!