21 Ways to Finding Peace and Happiness (25 page)

Part of discipline is always to know the state of your finances. Balance your checkbook regularly; if you do not, you may think you have more money than you do and write checks that will be returned, marked “insufficient funds.” When that happens, the bank usually charges at least a ten- or fifteen-dollar fee for handling. This costs you more money and only adds to the problem.

It is amazing to me how many people write checks they don’t have the money to cover. In our ministry, people have sometimes given offerings and purchased products with bad checks or credit cards that have already reached their approved limits.

This should not occur with anybody, but definitely not among Christians. We are the light of the world; we are supposedly setting an example for others to follow. We are to be excellent and show forth integrity. Obviously, writing bad checks does not help accomplish any of our biblical goals.

I realize we can all make mistakes. I have had a check returned a couple of times in my life. But it was because I just added wrong or forgot to deduct a check, not that I wasn’t paying any attention to my finances.

Too many people spend money without knowing how much they have. I dealt with one person who seemed to have no ability to look ahead. If she had three hundred dollars in her account, she thought she could spend it. She forgot that she still had not paid her electric bill that month.

Look ahead at what bills are going to be due, and consider when your next paycheck will be, before spending money just because it is in your bank account. Never run your account to zero, because there will always be something that you did not expect. Put aside money for emergencies, and you will enjoy a lot more peace.

C
OMMON
S
ENSE

Managing our finances is not really that difficult if we learn to follow some commonsense principles.

  1. Tithe and give offerings regularly.

  2. Don’t spend more money than you have coming in.

  3. Always know the state of your finances.

  4. Always plan for emergencies.

  5. Don’t waste money.

  6. Don’t spend tomorrow’s prosperity today.

  7. Let emotions subside before you decide to make a purchase.

  8. Use tremendous wisdom with credit cards.

  9. Practice delayed gratification; resist impulse purchases.

10. Always follow the guideline of “Save some, spend some, and give some within your means.”

S
AVE
S
OME

Always save a portion of whatever income you earn, no matter how small it may be—make a commitment and stick to it. One gentleman shared that his father had taught him always to give 10 percent of everything he earned and to save 10 percent. He had been practicing his father’s advice all of his life, and at the age of thirty-seven he already had a sizeable amount of money and no debt. His house and car were both paid for, and at a very early age he was able to work out of his home as a consultant, making his own hours, with no financial pressure at all.

Even saving 1 percent would be better than nothing. It would be a place to begin, and you could increase from there. Do something, lest you do nothing! Without some cash saved, you will never be able to buy things without paying interest. Save for things you eventually want to buy, save for retirement, save for emergencies.
Save—save—save.
Have several accounts at one time that you are putting some money into for future needs. Save all year for Christmas, for example, and when that time comes, you will be prepared.

When Dave was a young boy, he hid money in his socks. He paid cash for his first car, which was preowned, but he later paid cash for a new car when he was about twenty-two. That is amazing, but anyone can do it if he is willing to start saving and be diligent at it. Although Dave no longer hides money in his socks, he calls his various accounts his “stash” or his “socks.” Everyone in our family has learned a lot about finances just by watching Dave. He is a very patient man and can wait on things he wants. He saves and does things at the right time.

As a result of his administrative gifts, we have been able to pay cash for everything at the ministry. We have been in ministry since 1976 and in our own ministry since 1985. Since incorporating, we have made payments on only one piece of equipment (a five-hundred-dollar copy machine). We even paid cash for the building we now occupy. That sounds almost impossible in today’s economy, but it can be done.

Dave simply won’t buy things for which he cannot pay. He had to do without some things in the beginning while saving, but once he gained momentum and had money saved, it put him, instead of the debt collector, in charge.

We could have borrowed money and built our ministry headquarters in one year, but we took five years to build it because we wanted to move in debt-free. Patience is always worth it in the end! I am certainly not judging anyone who cannot pay cash for everything he or she does, but I am sharing that it is possible through saving regularly.

S
PEND
S
OME

I already mentioned the fact that some people actually need to spend some of their money. Maybe it’s time you did something special for yourself; it ministers to your weary emotions to do so, and that is not wrong at all. I realize this may excite you, but make sure you are one who actually
needs
to spend. And I am referring to spending out of what you have saved. Don’t spend what you need for other things, and whatever you do, don’t go spend what you don’t have.

The ones who actually
need
to spend are people who have a tendency to be excessive in saving. They hoard things, save everything for the future, and spend nothing for now. Most of the time, people hoard out of fear or greed. I noticed that when I began saving money, I accumulated a certain amount and thought it was awesome, and the more I saved, the more I wanted to save and became unwilling to spend any of it. I wanted a big balance in my account. I then noticed that when I refused to spend any, God stopped supplying. He wants us to enjoy what He gives as well as save for the future.

If I spent some as He directed, He then replenished it and gave more besides. It is like the principle of pruning bushes. Without pruning (cutting back), they can keep getting bigger and bigger, but they also become a problem. If we prune them, they grow right back, but in better shape and condition than before.

Some people won’t spend anything on themselves because they don’t feel they are worthy of anything. Some are martyrs; they want to be able to say that they never do anything for themselves, hoping it will invoke pity. Some people are just plain stingy, and they hoard everything because it makes them feel secure and powerful to own things. Whatever the reason, it is wrong to be out of balance. A balanced person saves some, spends some, and gives some.

If you are working your way out of debt, and as a result you are never able to spend anything on yourself, I believe God will do special things for you through other people. When you are doing your part, God always does His part. Ask Him to bless you supernaturally, but refuse to go deeper in debt.

G
IVE
S
OME

Giving is actually one of the wisest choices anyone ever makes. The Bible says to give and it shall be given to you, and “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over” will men give back to you (Luke 6:38). Giving is wisdom, because it actually causes increase. Learning to give is one of the greatest things that ever happened to me, and many others will testify to the same thing. I heard one woman, who has a very wonderful life, recently say, “My life is a result of giving.” That is a statement we should ponder.

Are you a giver? If not, you should start today. God requires the first 10 percent of all of our increase (as we saw in Malachi 3). We are to give it to the “storehouse,” the place or places where we are spiritually fed (see Exodus 34:26). In addition to that, He leads us to give other offerings at various times and on special occasions.

When you give, do it with a great attitude. Don’t ever give as an obligation, but realize it is a privilege. Second Corinthians 9 gives us a lot of wonderful insight about the principles of giving. It says we should not give “reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves ...a cheerful . . . giver, [whose heart is in his giving]” (v.7). The attitude with which we give is very important to God. We are to give to bless. God blesses us so we can be a blessing.

Many people find it difficult to give, especially when they are not accustomed to doing it. The basic nature of the flesh is to be selfish; we want to own things, not give them away. But when people receive Jesus Christ as Savior, their nature changes; they receive the nature of God. This nature comes as a seed on the inside of their spirits, and they are to water that seed with God’s Word. As they do so, they begin to want to do what God would do. God is a giver; those who serve Him must be givers also.

Dave grew up in a church whose minister taught the blessing of tithing; therefore, we have been tithing since we got married. We have always seen God meet our needs. In thirty-six years of marriage, Dave has been without a job only about two days, if my memory serves me correctly. We had some tight years, but we always paid bills on time and never did without the necessities of life.

In 1976, when God touched my life and called us into ministry, we began giving more than ever. We wanted to go beyond our tithe. We endured times of testing, but we have never been sorry concerning the decision we made. We have continued to increase our giving over the years and have seen God be faithful to increase us as well.

I believe givers receive a harvest back in any area where they have need. Thank God He provides financially, but that is not the only area of provision. He gives us grace. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV). We see from this Scripture that God gives grace in abundance so we have
all
our needs met.

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ROM
P
OVERTY TO
P
ROSPERITY

If you have been making right choices and are enjoying prosperity, keep doing what you are doing. Don’t ever backslide in the principles of wisdom you have learned.

If you find yourself in debt or in need, get started now doing what is right. If you don’t, you will still be in the same situation next year, and the year after, and so on. Pay the price to have financial freedom and security. No matter how big of a mess you are in—
if you consistently do what you can do, God will do what you cannot do.
Remember the simple formula: save some, spend some, and give some within your means, and you will soon find your situation changing. Not having to worry about money will greatly increase your peace.

Peacekeeper #14
KEEP YOUR THOUGHTS ABOVE LIFE’S STORMS

A
lthough people cannot see our thoughts, they can see the results of them. What is in our minds and hearts is what comes out through the words of our mouths. If we have troubled minds, we will not live peaceful, serene lives. We will not minister peace to others, because we cannot give to others what we do not have within ourselves.

Jesus said we are to be makers and maintainers of peace. Paul said to work for what makes for peace, unity, harmony, and agreement with others. It is very important to make peace a priority, but it begins inside of us.

As I said earlier, Jesus was able to quiet the storm outside because He maintained peace within Himself. Jesus did not have His mind on the storm even though it was raging against Him. While the disciples were frantic and fearful, Jesus slept. He had peace in the midst of the calamity and was able to actually calm it. He had peace; therefore He could speak peace to the circumstances.

Isaiah said if we keep our minds on the Lord, He will
give
us perfect and constant peace (see Isaiah 26:3). God’s Word has a great deal to say about our minds and how we think. Proverbs 23:7 teaches us that as a man thinks, so will he become. I say it another way: Where the mind goes, the man follows. Thoughts precede actions!

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AN
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ONTROL
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UR
T
HOUGHTS
?

We cannot control the thoughts that come to us, but we can control what we continue to think about. For many years of my life, I simply did what most people do: I thought about whatever came into my mind. I did not know I had a choice. The Bible teaches us that the mind is the area Satan tries to control. He offers thoughts for us to entertain on a regular basis; we can either keep them or cast them down and replace them with God’s thoughts.

God’s written Word is a record of His thoughts toward us and about the way we are to live. The Bible literally covers every area of life. If we order our thoughts and conversation according to God’s Word, we will be amazed at how enjoyable and prosperous life will be. But first we must believe that we can choose our own thoughts and that we don’t have to meditate on whatever happens to fall into our minds.

Second Corinthians 10:4–5 are important Scriptures for Christians to understand: “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV).

This passage of the Word explains that we have spiritual weapons with which we can demolish any argument that “sets itself up against the knowledge of God,” and that we have been given divine power to “demolish strongholds” and “take captive every thought and make it obedient” to the knowledge of Christ. These verses teach us that Satan tries to build strongholds in our minds so he can dominate areas of our lives through wrong thinking.