In God We Trust

I write this knowing it will not be received favorably by all, but what is life, if not a testimony? This is an area of life where I’ve had faith, I’ve been obedient and I’ve been blessed. This is a testimony of God’s provision. In His provision, He expects faith. He also expects stewardship, which we often overlook.

The child of two hard working teachers, I enjoyed the benefits received. I enjoyed them so much that when I entered the workforce myself, I was shocked. Co-pay? Deductible? Premium? 18 years old, with husband, child, rent, etc, I was welcomed into the private sector with a BANG!

Life continued. One thing did not change. No matter how far my career progressed, I still had to pay for benefits. What did change was the cost. Each year I paid more and benefited less! I had a pit in my stomach, each time I saw the cost of my benefits increase more than my rate of pay. I thought, “How long until we can’t afford to live?” Each year, I reminded myself, “God is bigger than insurance,” I spoke this many times in many ways. “God is bigger than the stock market.” “God is bigger than the real estate market.” It was a necessary reminder when panic set in.

Many years ago, I felt God said to me, “No matter how much money you make someday, I want you to live like you make very little. You may have to live on very little someday.” Spoken to me personally, that can apply to many, especially considering the effects of economy on daily living.

Eventually I did receive a substantial salary. I did get to where I could say, “I work hard. I can treat myself to…” I did get to where I could make a larger purchase using disposable income only. God’s word to me was as clear then as the day I first felt it.

We didn’t live on beans and rice or without any luxuries, but what we bought, we bought with cash after we researched, bargained and waited to get the best value. My peers drove upscale cars. I drove used, with 100K+ miles. My peers lived in $300K - $1M homes. I shopped for years to land a 2 bedroom condo believing God said to spend no more than $100K on a home. Needless to say, I was not the one to host social gatherings with my peers!

Eventually, I felt God was leading me away from my job. My husband works every bit as hard as me, but in a field that compensates differently than mine. My job contributed about 2/3 of our household income and all of our benefits, so we dismissed the idea of me leaving. As time went on, it became increasingly clear that I was being called to leave, so we looked at how to make that happen.

Years earlier we attended Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University and began some financial disciplines. We adhered to those practices pretty well. Never having used credit cards, our only debt was a student loan, which we eventually paid off, and our mortgage. Most disposable income provided by my salary was budgeted to our mortgage every month, so it was never available for us to spend. Our payment was under $700. We paid approximately $2000. It was my goal to pay off our mortgage in 7 years.

This lifestyle, made it possible for me to leave my job and for us to live on a fraction of our former income. We made changes to our cell phones, cable plans and nonessential budget lines, and made a fairly smooth transition to our new lifestyle. Before I left my job, we funded our missions, vacation, Christmas, and other budget lines for the rest of the year so they’d be fully funded without compromising the new budget.

Since this step of faith, God has provided greatly. Not only have our needs been met, but we still enjoy many nonessentials. We are even about to remodel two bathrooms and travel to Europe. God is amazing. He is too good to us.

I believe In-God-We-Trust. He will provide. We often focus on what we “deserve”. I “deserve” nothing, yet he provides everything I need and more.

Faith is a gift. So is stewardship. If my income increases, does my lifestyle need to? We can take a $5000 bonus and turn it into a $20,000 debt. We buy a car we can’t pay cash for or “improve” our home. What would happen if you were asked to live on a fraction of your income? Are you prepared? Could you pay your current household bills? Could you support your lifestyle? Do you have debt that could not be paid? Do you have savings for emergencies?

My guess is most of us are living beyond the means of a reduced income, and even beyond the means of our current income. We’re spending more than we make. We’re acquiring debt. We are spending in the now, not investing in the future. In essence, we manage our personal finances in the same manner that our government manages our public finances.