Spending too much is not the problem. It is only the symptom to a much deeper issue.
One can work on a budget in order to reduce spending, to pay off debt, and to start saving money for emergencies or retirement. Going on a diet or having weight loss surgery may help you lose weight. But that is only short term. These methods don’t work until a deeper issue is addressed.
Most people think we just need to change our behavior. Maybe learn how to control our behavior by controlling our emotions and emotional reactions to events in our lives. To do this we must first change our thinking patterns. These are all true, but our core beliefs must be addressed. When we begin to learn who we are in Christ and what that means, our paradigm begins to shift. We begin to find true lasting contentment.
One Story of Many
How do you hit a brick wall? Well, there are many ways to get to that point. Here’s one story.
Over the years a friend of mine has been spending like money grows on trees. Their children are lavished with anything they want. On Christmas Day the large amount of gifts look as if it is the Trumps’ living room. That might be a little exaggerated but there are expensive gifts everywhere. When a Toyota works just fine and is really all they can afford, they still buy the Mercedes, and not a used one.
Income is provided by the backbreaking labor of one spouse, while the other is spending like there is a money tree in the yard.
When the cash flow is good, spending goes higher. An inheritance arrived and a new house was purchased. Private schooling began, when public schooling was adequate.
There was no thought of education or retirement savings. It was simply pushing forward to keep up with the Joneses. They are searching for contentment and comfort in things that are only short lived.
The college tuition bill came in late July and they began to panic. The drama began. They were in dire straits and not sure what to do. While all of this was happening, they still paid $250 per month for lawn maintenance and $125 every two weeks for the cleaning lady. And they continue to eat out every meal and let the kids continue their expensive activities.
Somehow, they made it over that hurdle so now time they just keep plugging along. They can’t let the Joneses get too far ahead of them.
Who am I?
Trying to address this issue by changing behavior has not worked. Understanding one’s emotions and trying to fix that will not work, either. My friend recognizes that they spend more than they can afford but they don’t care. They feel they must keep up with the lie. How do they stop now!! Well, we can change the way we think about spending and the importance of savings, but that is not true contentment.
As a believer in Jesus Christ, understanding who we are is key. A paradigm shift occurs when we understand out identity in Christ. So many people live putting their dependence in themselves, other, and their material wealth. They are still wrapped up in the world, the American Dream. The formula we put on the American Dream. We are not our job. We are not the kind of car we drive, the clothes we wear or the house we live in. We are not our friends. We are not the restaurant we frequent.
Are we slaves to our belongings? Are we slaves to our lifestyle? No, we are children of God. We are sons of the almighty. We are heirs of God. We have been justified and redeemed. We are freed from sin’s power. We have died and Christ is now living in us. But yet, some still can’t see this and still live in bondage.
It is only when we realize that our identity lies in Christ that we can be free from bondage!!!
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