Money Woes? Let’s Chat About Why It’s a Sin

What if I told you that worrying about your finance is more than unwise, it's actually a sin?

That's what I want to talk about on today's show.

Maybe you're like most people.

You're sitting there at night, you're stressing over your bills.

Maybe you're one of those people who hasn't planned well for retirement.

You're thinking, how am I ever going to retire, Ralph?

Or like so many of us, you get that unexpected bill in the mail or that tire blue on the way to work, or any of those unexpected expenses, and the first thing that happens is you start to worry.

That's what I want to talk about on today's show, that I really feel like worrying about your finances.

That anxiety is actually a sin.

Now you might be saying, ralph, you've lost your mind.

Now you've gone off the third rail.

Bear with me a little bit today.

I want to go right to the Bible.

I want to go right to the Book of Matthew, chapter 6, verses 25 to 34.

This is Jesus speaking himself.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you'll eat or what you'll drink, nor about your body, what you'll put on.

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap nor gather in the barns.

And yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

And which of you, being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life?

And why are you anxious about clothing?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.

They neither toil nor spin.

Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

But if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, what shall we eat?

Or what?

What shall we drink?

Or what shall we wear?

For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and yet your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

And all these things will be added to you.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself sufficient, for the day is its own trouble.

What a great Bible verse.

But it sums up exactly what I'm talking about today, and that's financial anxiety.

Let me read one more.

This is from Philippians, chapter four, verses six to seven.

And it says this, do not be anxious about anything.

But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Now, I'm going to go back to what I said at the beginning.

Is financial anxiety a sin?

Well, let's talk about what sin is at its very root.

Sin at its very root is missing the mark of God's design.

Now, that's pretty bold.

It's pretty provocative, isn't it?

So, Ralph, what you're saying is God did not design you to be financially anxious.

That's exactly what I'm saying.

And why are you anxious?

Here's something bold, but I want you to hear this.

Today, financial anxiety reveals your misplaced trust.

You're placing your trust on money.

You're placing your trust on stuff, on possessions.

Where you're not placing it is on God.

And you gotta understand that.

Now, look at what I want to be very clear about this.

I'm not saying to feel concerned or to feel responsibility.

That's not sin at all.

That's not at all what I'm saying.

If you feel responsible for your finances, that's a fantastic thing.

If you have concern for your finance, if you want to plan ahead for your finances, those are all positive, good things.

But it becomes sin when fear rules our hearts, when it becomes all we think about, it's all consuming.

And when that fear overshadows our faith, that's the biggest problem.

Most people today don't have a fear problem.

They have a sin problem.

And why do they have a sin problem?

Because they've lost their faith.

They don't believe that anymore, that God's going to provide for them.

And here's the problem.

This is why it's an epidemic.

Let me talk for just a minute about the cost of financial anxiety.

Because I see it all around me.

I see it every day in everything I do.

It's got a huge emotional toll.

There are people I talk to every day in my counseling practice, my accounting practice.

They tell me they have sleepless nights.

Ralph, I can't sleep.

I'm irritable all the time.

I live in this constant state of fear and this constant state of broken peace.

And that's just the emotional toll.

Well, think about the spiritual toll.

I've kind of alluded to this all along in today's show.

But a spiritual toll is this.

It weakens our trust in God because we have to say to ourselves, God, I don't trust you anymore.

I got to be focused on this.

I got to figure out how to do this.

You're not thinking God's already done it for you, and it fosters this idolatry in money.

So many people are worshiping at the altar of the almighty dollar.

That's where they're finding their security.

And the problem with that is it completely undermines God's plan for your life.

It undermines what God wants from you.

It undermines the peace that God wants you to live in.

And here's the most sinister part of it all.

And this is the biggest problem.

I see this why I want to do this show to.

When we allow financial anxiety to take over, it has a huge relationship toll.

I've seen so many marriages break apart and fall into complete disaster because of financial anxiety.

I've seen families break apart, broken into all kinds of pieces.

And unfortunately, I've seen business partnerships that were thriving.

These people were doing a great thing, working together.

And then all of a sudden, they lost their focus a little bit and it all started to focus on that financial anxiety.

See, now you might be saying, ralph, okay, that's.

That sounds good, but how do I get back to that point?

Well, the first thing I'm going to encourage you to do is right from the book of Philippians.

This is my one action step for today.

You got to replace that worry with prayer.

When you start to feel that, that pool of financial anxiety, just stop right there and say, lord, I'm scared, Lord, I don't know what to do.

I don't know the next steps that you want me to take.

Lord, help me.

Just start there with prayer.

But then you got to put these things into practice.

It's not simply, okay, I'm just going to leave it all to God.

So many people, so many Christian people, they think, oh, I'm just going to leave it to God.

God will provide.

That's part of the truth.

That's part of God will provide.

But he wants you to do something bigger than that.

He wants you to practice stewardship.

And maybe for you, that means building that budget, building that intentional spending plan.

Maybe for you it's the decision to save wisely.

But here's the difference, and here's where I'm going to change your mindset a little bit today.

You do it from a place of trust, not from a place of fear.

See, if you operate under fear all the time, you're just going to live in that constant anxiety.

And I know, listen, I've been there myself.

When I was first Starting my business.

It was constant anxiety.

Would I have enough coming in to pay my bills this month?

Would I have enough coming in to pay the mortgage, to pay the car payments, to put food on the table for my wife and kids?

And that led to that constant financial anxiety, that constant level of fear.

But when I was finally able to pray about was I would have break that.

What did I do?

I put my trust in the one that can actually do something about it.

And that's where it comes.

And my final piece of advice for today, my final action step today.

If you listen to my show, I talk about this all the time.

It's time to cultivate some gratitude.

So as you're praying, start with this simple prayer.

Lord, I just want to thank you for what you've already given me.

God has given you everything you need.

A lot of people don't want to hear that.

A lot of people say, oh, Ralph, you don't get the struggle I'm going through.

No, I don't get the struggle you're going through.

But guess what?

Here's something I will tell you.

We've all have struggles, but God's provision, what he's going to give you, what he's already giving you is the antidote for tomorrow's word.

What did the scripture say?

Don't worry about tomorrow.

Tomorrow has enough worry on itself.

So I just want to encourage you today, take one of those specific anxieties that you have.

Maybe it's that I'm not going to have enough this month or I'm not going to be able to make that mortgage payment.

I keep falling deeper and deeper into debt.

Just lay it right at the foot of the cross and say, God, I don't know how to fix this.

I want to be a good steward.

I want to be a good saver.

I want to get down to the point of paying off my debt sore, but I don't know how to do it.

So just leave it for him and just release that.

But bigger than that, put your trust in him.

How about we pray together?

Lord, we just thank you for the provision that you've already given us, Lord.

And we know in so many ways that you've already provided everything we need.

Lord, we just ask today that you would help us to understand that and help us to trust you.

And Lord, I just pray for my friend listening right now.

Lord, I just ask that you would come into their life and show them how they can trust in you, Lord, and how they can find true peace and stop worshiping that idol of the almighty dollar and start worshiping the only true savior of the world.

And that's you, Lord.

Help them to gain that trust in you, Lord.

And we ask this with confidence in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

So here's my encouragement for you today.

I want you to just write down your top three financial worries.

What are those things?

I'm worried about paying off my debts.

I'm worried about a college education.

I'm worrying about retirement.

Whatever those things are, just write them down.

And then I want you to place scripture next to each one of those.

And just remember this, anxiety doesn't pay the bills.

Anxiety is never going to pay your bills.

But trust in God, the only one that you can actually trust in, provides peace that no money can buy.

And listen, I want to help you along this journey.

I just finished writing my third book.

It's called Becoming a Financially Confident Christian.

And I want to give you a free copy of that book so that you can start on this journey to moving away from anxiety, to moving away from that cycle of financial shame and step into a place of confidence.

You can get that book by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com I want to give it to you absolutely free.

You can download the book.

Just go right to that website.

That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com becoming.

And today I just want to encourage you.

Have confidence in yourself.

I have confidence in you can do this.

Just say to God, lord, I need your help.

I need to break out of this feeling of anxiety.

So God bless you and you have a great day today.