10 ways to transform your view of money

It may have been an elderly and rather ungainly VW Combi (think 1960’s hippies) but it changed my view of the world. The DVLA (as it then was) had seen fit to issue me with that carefully folded pink & green license and so I perched like a bus driver behind the wheel of my parents’ bright orange minibus looking through the windscreen with a new view of Yorkshire.

Having spent my teens cycling around North Leeds I now had a set of keys which transformed my horizons. Yesterday I calculated travel by the distance I could cycle, by what I could carry and by the weather. Today I could travel further, faster (even in a Combi), and take people and stuff with me. A whole new worldview.

Changing our view of money

A more gradual but otherwise similar shift in worldview occurred as I learnt and began to understand some core biblical principles about money. Before I thought mainly about the now, and the near and the normal. My expectations were limited by my resources and the future was something with which to do battle. But I began to see financial things with a different time horizon, became aware of resources beyond my power, and the future became a place of opportunity and excitement - my view of money changed.

We often struggle to take the sacred into the secular (taking our Sunday into our Monday) and there can be a big separation between our view of money and what we know God says about it.

10 common views of money that can be transformed by God:

When we think about money from a biblical perspective we suddenly see things from a very different angle. What was once 'small' when centred in our world becomes something much bigger and more valuable in God's kingdom. The marketing mantras and slogans that we're fed every minute of the day are nothing when compared to the timeless wisdom of scripture.

1. Ownership
   “What’s mine is mine” becomes: “everything belongs to God” (Psalm 24:1).
    
2. Power
   “Money is power” becomes: “the power is in God’s hands” (Deuteronomy 8:17,18).
    
3. Security
   “Stockpile for emergencies” becomes: “lay up treasures in heaven” (Matthew 6:19).
    
4. Accumulation
   “Get rich quick” becomes: “get rich slow” (Proverbs 13:11).
    
5. Timescales
   “Time is the enemy” becomes: “time is a God-given tool” (Luke 14:28).
    
6. Economic cycles & investment strategies
   “Timing the market” becomes: “take a long-term perspective” (2 Peter 3:4).
    
7. Spending
   “Don’t put it off, put it on”, or “instant gratification” becomes: “gratification delay”, or “give, save and then spend” (Proverbs 24:27).
    
8. Fear
   “Fear of loss” becomes: “the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need” (Psalm 23:1).
    
9. Greed
   “He who dies with the most, wins” becomes: “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:9,10).
    
10. Giving
    “Giving out of guilt” or “giving to make me feel better” becomes: “An act of worship & thankfulness” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

See the world in a totally new light

Everything belongs to God: in His service, faith can call on all the treasures of heaven and His plan for our life has an eternal dimension. When we grasp this, our preoccupation with the now and the near and the normal fades and, like a rescued addict, we can look up to see a fresh panorama.

Little by little, as we apply sacred wisdom to secular ambitions we can see a new worldview opening before us, like a cyclist newly licensed to drive. And it is not just a redeemed attitude but a set of keys which can change your life!

Transform your way of giving

Open a Giving Account today and join the movement of believers who are changing their view of money and using their generosity to make a real difference in the world.