Over the past month I've been leading a small group focused on a teaching from Andy Stanley called How to Be Rich. Last week as we wrapped up, one of the people in our group began to speak of managing our money as a spiritual discipline. I like this definition of what a spiritual discipline is. When I begin to view my money in light of God and eternity (Matt. 12:13-21), I end up entering into deeper focus on my relationship with God. I end up asking him to help me make wise choices instead of being the fool Jesus spoke about. Andy points out in sermon four that the man Jesus was speaking to was a fool because he made financial decisions based on this life alone.
Today when we speak of spiritual disciplines, we don't like the term because we view it as restricting, or we associate it with the idea of punishment. But one girl in our group spoke about it as "tempering your spirit." This phrase it seems is associated with modern new age writings, but I think it has applications for the Christian. It's the idea of tempering as "learning to control" yourself. Learn self-control. Instead of maxing out your capacity and reducing your margin to zero, be wise and purposeful. Instead of being vigilant and on-guard and always doing and spending, try resting, being content. Measure and ration things out, instead of grabbing as much as you can as often as you can. You'll find you have time for relationship, and serving, and giving and loving.
No comments:
Post a Comment