When we become a “new creation” in Christ through faith, God the Father begins to change our hearts and minds and souls to be more like Christ. Often His Holy Spirit uses the Bible, our circumstances, our trials, our temptations, our relationships and other experiences to re-shape us. Our relationships with possessions and our habits with money are two ways the Holy Spirit works on us and our character to become more Christlike.
The Apostle Paul explains this best in Romans 12:1-2, where he asks us to present ourselves to God through Christ, and the Holy Spirit works in us to renew our mindset to be godly:
Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (NASB)
What does it mean to be “conformed to this world” in our money and possessions mindset? In this world, money and possessions are separate from our character and our relationships. What comes most naturally to your mind when you think about your personal finances? Do you relate to any of these worldly principles?
The Old Worldly Mindset
More is always better
I will never have enough
I prepare for all I have to be taken away in a disaster
I protect all I have from being taken by thieves (including family, neighbors, government, etc.)
I need to leave everything I can for my children
I can’t take it with me, so I might as well spend it now
I can borrow as much money as I can, because by the time the debt is due I will be dead
Bankruptcy is just a reset button, no big deal
What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is mine too if I can get it without getting caught
The government doesn’t deserve any of my money in taxes
My community won’t go to hell because I don’t give any money
I deserve a raise, a new car, a bigger house, a boat, etc. for all of my hard work
If I run out of money, I will just make some more
If I run out of money, I am a complete utter failure in life
Investing is like gambling, and gambling is really investing
I can’t give money to charities, I have my own money problems, and they are mostly scams or mismanaged anyway
Let the church figure out its budget, there are a lot of rich people they can tap
It doesn’t matter if I don’t pay bills on time, just shut it all off and I will move somewhere else
I will never be rich
God doesn’t really want to bless me, He wants me to live in poverty
Anything I want is bad
Everyone has more than me
I have everything I could ever want, but I’m still not satisfied
Does this worldly mindset resonate with you? Are there any specific phrases that you know you tell yourself? How then do we renew our minds about money and possessions? What would a godly financial mindset look like?
New Spiritual Financial Mindset: Where do we start?
Start where Paul says to start – humbly ask God and present yourself as a sacrifice of worship to Him. Tell God you are open to thinking, being and doing whatever he asks of you.
Second, ask God to reveal His good, acceptable and perfect will to you. What does God ask you to do with your money and possessions? Look for it in the Bible. Begin your Bible journey with Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6:18-34) Jesus makes a distinction between seeking our wants first (called “mammon” which means “wealth”) and seeking God’s wants first (called “His kingdom and righteousness”). If we seek God’s wants first, then all of our needs will be met. Guaranteed! Maybe not how we expect, but they will be met. We cannot serve our own wants, because we will never be satisfied. Only in God are we satisfied and peaceful, not anxious.
Make a list of your needs to survive. You may have a family that you are responsible for leading. You may be single. Either way, we all have basic survival needs and when they are not met, we are very anxious, and in some cases traumatized (such as a natural disaster).
Basic Survival Needs:
Clean Water and Food
Clothing
Shelter
Transportation
Compounded Needs:
Food – locally sourced water, refrigerators and freezers to store a month of food, vitamins, plates, cups, utensils, conventional oven, range, microwave oven, tables, chairs, dishes, pots, pans
Clothing – washers and dryers to clean clothes and enough clothes for 2 or 3 weeks; irons, bedding, dressers and closets and boxes to store clothes and shoes
Shelter – housing costs (mortgage, insurance, taxes, maintenance, electricity, water, natural gas, air conditioning, heating, yard, pests), lighting fixtures, beds and furniture, toilets, showers, tubs
Communication – smartphones, Internet access, computers, televisions, speakers, desks
Transportation – vehicles, loans, taxes, insurance, fuel, maintenance, garage
Wants Disguised as Needs
Food – appliances, supplements, grills, smokers, wine closets, pressure cookers, air fryers, organic, prepared, restaurants, catering, desserts
Clothing – 2 weeks for each of every possible scenario: home, work, casual, fitness, beach, mountains, all four seasons, formal, sports, hunting, fishing, gardening, dancing, etc.
Shelter – more bedrooms than people, more square footage, more levels, more brick, swimming pools, cabanas, patios, sports courts, fitness rooms, offices, decks, hot tubs, work sheds, guest cabins, decorations, artwork, man caves, woman crafts, playrooms, game rooms, home theaters, music studios, yoga studios, outdoor living rooms, outdoor kitchens, mechanic shops…
Communication – tablets, readers, laptops, smart appliances, security systems, video cams, drones
Transportation – 1 vehicle per driver, four-wheelers, motorcycles, boats, jetskis, airplanes, helicopters
Untangling the worldly mindset web
With a worldly mindset, our needs and wants get mixed together. We think wants are needs. We spend so much on wants that we don’t have enough for needs. We accumulate so many needs that we don’t share with others or enjoy any wants. Wants are not necessarily bad. We can want good things with a proper perspective. As Christians, we filter our needs and wants through Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount. Jesus focused on two needs: food and clothing. That’s all He needed while He was on this earth, especially during His ministry years.
Renew your mindset about personal finances by untangling your worldly wants from your survival needs. Anything you have beyond food, clothing, and maybe shelter and transportation, is a blessing from God. Count your blessings and thank God for all He has provided. This is a spiritual financial mindset. There are many people in this world who do not have their basic survival needs met. You can share with them from your abundance. But it will take Holy Spirit help, willpower, self-control, and budgeting.
If you’re ready to change to a spiritual mindset about your money and possessions, a spiritual personal finance coach can help you get on track and keep moving step-by-step. Contact us for a free, no obligation Discovery Call to see if financial coaching is right for you.
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