How Can I Make Every Dollar Serve a Mission?

Let me ask you a question. Get to the end of the day. Do you ever wonder, where did my money go? Really think about that.You work hard, but unfortunately your spending doesn't always reflect your faith or more importantly, your values. What if it didn't have to be that way? What if every dollar had a purpose? What if your spending could serve something bigger than you?Well, today we're going there. Let's talk about how to make every dollar a part of your mission. That's what we're going to talk about on today's show.

This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence.

Welcome back to Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph and it's always my honor and privilege to walk this path to you.We continue on our path of asking that vital question, how can I become a financially confident Christian? And we're continuing our series today, beyond the budget, looking to find financial freedom through intentional living.If you've been following along, that's exactly what each of these episodes has been in this 30 day series. Now, if you missed yesterday's show, we explored how decluttering, we talked about that junk drawer.We specifically talked about how decluttering can bring peace and even financial return. So if you missed it, I'm going to encourage you to go check it out.Well, today we're going to start with a super bold question and you got to have to really dig deep for this one. Ask yourself this, is my spending aligned with my faith? It's a tough question, but ask yourself, is my spending aligned with my faith?Well, let's find out today. So let's start off with a little honesty. If you're like me, you give, maybe you tithe, maybe you support good causes. That's all good.I encourage you to continue to do that. But what about that everyday spending?Yeah, those little odds and ends that you spend, it's not about tithing, not about giving, just that everyday spending. Have you ever thought for a second, do you ever realize you're buying from companies that don't align with your beliefs? They just don't.Or maybe more importantly, you're making impulse purchases without even thinking twice. So you're buying from companies that don't align with your beliefs and you're making impulse purchases without even thinking about them.And the problem is it creates this quiet tension. And you know exactly where I'm going next because. Because you want to honor God. You want to. I know that's what you want. To do.But when we think about it, when we're being honest in that core of our heart, yes, we want to honor God, but our money is drifting instead of driving. And see, I could talk all day about budgeting problems, but that's not a budgeting problem, my friend. That's a values alignment issue. And guess what?Here's the best part of today's show. We can fix that, and we can fix it one choice at a time. See, here's the thing I want you to understand today. Stewardship isn't just about giving.Yeah, that's part of it. That's a big part of it. It's an important part of it. But isn't just about giving. This. This is the part that's going to step on a few toes.And if you're listening today, you're like, hey, Ralph, you're on it today. It's also about how we spend every single dollar. It's about every purchase we make. Every transaction. Yes, every transaction.Each one of those sends a message. Because we're not just holders of money. We don't just hold it.If we really want to be stewards, if we really want to live in God's calling, we're called to be multipliers of God's mission. Well, I'm going to go right to the scripture and explain where I'm going with this. Let's look at the book of Proverbs, chapter three, verse nine.And this just sums it up better than I ever could. I'm just a human being, but this is perfect. Again, Proverbs 3. 9 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.Honor Lord with your wealth. But then this part is the important part. A lot of people don't understand this, and I've talked a lot about this on this show.First fruits of all of your crops. Not a portion, not a third portion. First fruits. And see, if you read that, it's not just about giving.It's about every single dollar, I mean, every single one of them, reflecting who and what we serve. So now you're like, great, Ralph. Yeah, man. You just stepped on my toes, man. You hit me over the head with a mallet. What can I do? What's the solution?I kind of alluded to this a few minutes ago. And you've got to decide right now, today, to make your money mission driven, not drifting driven. Well, how do you do that?You align your spending with your top values. I'm going to help you start with that by just choosing one Intentional switch this week. So here's your one action item for today.I want you to identify your top two values. If you missed episode 184, I talked all about this, so I'm going to encourage you to go check it out. But I want you to identify your top two values.Maybe supporting local businesses is important to you. Maybe it's sustainability. Maybe for you it's, hey, I want to only work with Christian owned companies. Maybe it's ethical labor and fair trade.Maybe you're one of those people that's like, I want excellence, Ralph, and I want long term quality. But I want you to start by identifying one or two of those main values that are important to you.And then I want you to start doing a little research. Yeah, you're going to have a little homework to do today. I want you to look for ways your spending can align with those values.And you're thinking, Ralph, okay, I'm there, but you lost me a little bit. Here's what I'm talking about. So let's say that value is local. Local small businesses.So start to research those local markets over those big box stores. Yeah, the big box stores are convenient. A lot of times they're less costly, but they're not local to the small businesses.Maybe you buy fair trade coffee or fair trade chocolate. Maybe as you're looking at your iPhone or your Android phone, you look for faith based apps or faith based music or services of faith.And if sustainability is important for you, maybe look at sustainable clothing or reusable household goods. So first thing, name two values and then number two, research your options.And here's the easy part for this week, I just want you to pick one area, just one thing. I don't want you to try to change all of your spending overnight. You will get frustrated and you won't do it. Pick one thing.Maybe you buy your next gift from a Christian artisan. Maybe you choose a local produce stand instead of that big box store.Or maybe, just maybe, you subscribe to a faith driven platform and instead of a mainstream one. So that's the third step. Identify values, research. Switch one this week. And then I want you to reflect on what you just did.Ask yourself, how does that feel? You made that choice. You made that decision to live within your values. Ask yourself, how does that feel? Am I spending in ways that honor my beliefs?And then if you go to the next step, here's the big thing you got to do. Ask yourself, how can I make this part of my normal rhythm? And see, I love this Whole idea today, because this is what it does.It aligns your beliefs with your behavior. You're putting your money where your mouth is. My dad used to say it all time, son, put your money where your mouth is.Well, if you're putting your money where your mouth is, not, where your values are not, what are you doing? And then every single dollar you spend is a spiritual act. It's a spiritual decision to live according to God's faithful stewardship.And if you do it right and it's in your values, you make money a tool for good. And when you do that, it deepens your joy in life and it gives you the ability to be intentional in everyday life. It is super powerful.So I really encourage you to check it out and do that today. Let's pray together. Father God, we just thank you for every dollar you've entrusted to us.Forgive us when we spend without thought, when we just follow convenience, Lord, instead of our true convictions, it's so much easier. Just look the other way. I don't like what they do as a company, but it's easy. Lord, forgive us when we do that, Lord.Help us to reflect you in our spending. Yes, in our spending, Lord, not just in our giving. We're already doing that or we're working towards that.But help us to reflect you in our spending, Lord, and open our eyes to see how we can support good, how we can support meaningful work, Lord. And resist, and truly resist what contradicts your truth. We ask that you would help us to make every transaction be an act of worship.Let every choice reflect our walk with you living in our values. And we ask this with confidence, Lord, in Jesus name, amen. Friend, your dollars are not just digits. They're not just digits.They're discipleship tools. They can serve a mission. So I'm going to encourage you this week today, make one value based switch.Let your spending speak to your faith and your values. And I'm just going to ask you for a favor today.I'm really trying to reach more people with this show, this show of hope and helping people master their finances better. I'm just going to encourage you, share the show with somebody who needs some help.That person might be struggling financially, they're looking for direction. Just send them a text, send them an email. Just point them to financiallyconfidentchristian.com. say something like, hey, this is a great episode.I just heard about aligning your spending with your values. I just encourage you to do that. And while you're there, how about picking up a free copy of my book. Hey, and everybody can get a free copy of this.Tell your friends. Just go to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/master and you'll get my book absolutely free. Read it.It's not very long, but it'll be super impactful to your life. Now tomorrow we're going to get real about money conversations with your family. Yeah, we're going there.A lot of people have asked me about this, so tomorrow I'm going to talk about how to really do that and how to do it effectively. It's going to be practical and and it's going to be powerful. So I encourage you to join us.So until then, stay wise, stay generous, don't forget about generosity. And let's all go out there and be those financially confident Christians. You can do this. I have confidence in you, have confidence in yourself.Stay financially savvy. God bless you and you have a great day today.

Thank you for joining us today on the Financially Confident Christian show, where we're breaking the cycle of financial shame with confidence and faith. If you found value in this episode, a simple click to subscribe means you'll be invited right back for our next conversation.And remember, financial challenges don't have to be overwhelming. Just Ask Ralph this show is a production of Ask Ralph Media and is supported by Saggio Accounting Plus.The information shared in this episode is based on data available as of the date of release. Saggio Accounting plus and Ask Ralph Media, Inc. Are are under no obligation to update this content if circumstances change.Please note that applying this information to your personal situation requires careful consideration. This episode is not intended to serve as financial, tax or legal advice.Always consult your trusted tax advisor or attorney before taking action based on anything we've discussed.