Balanced: SpendingSample

MORE UNHEALTHY SPENDING HABITS

The 10th commandment tells us not to covet, or in modern terms, it says, “Thou shalt not keep up with the Jones’s.” Coveting is looking at your neighbors’ stuff, and instead of simply appreciating it or being happy for them, you actually commit yourself to somehow, some way, keep up with them. The apostle Paul equates covetousness with idolatry, placing someone or something else in a place only God should have.

Here are some more unhealthy spending habits. It’s not hard to see how the roots of these habits are in covetousness:

1. Revenge Spenders – There are those who feel as if they have tried to spend responsibly to be good. But then, one day, they feel as though they have missed out and decide not to be good any longer. And in one fell swoop, they spend a lot of money to get what they feel they have missed out on. They take revenge on their old car or, perhaps worse, another person.

2. Special Interest Spenders – This person has a particular area or hobby where they just lose it when it comes to spending. In all other areas, they’re disciplined except this one, it’s their “Achilles’ heel.” Maybe it’s technology, clothes, shoes, golf, cigars, or antiques. Or maybe you’ve identified another interest that hits closer to home. It’s that one thing that’s easy to justify every time.

3. Status Spenders – This mentality starts in elementary school and carries over all the way into adulthood. It begins with an eye that is constantly looking to see what everyone else is wearing, driving, or living in. It’s the mentality that says, “People won’t be impressed unless I have one of those.”

These unhealthy spending habits may seem harmless at first. But “keeping up with the Jones’s” results in all kinds of harm our Lord seeks to protect us from. Paul warns that the love of money results in “ruin and destruction”. Paul seems to have in mind actual people he knew that “wandered away from the faith” because of cravings related to covetousness. The warning here isn’t because God doesn't want us to be happy but because God knows that the love of money, and the love of things we can spend it on, is a trap that ensnares us and keeps us from the better things He has in store for us.

Ask Yourself:

-How have I been feeling sorry for myself because of something I don’t have?

-In what ways have I been Jealous of things others have?

-Am I willing to let these feelings go right now?

Pause to Prayer: Dear God, I confess to you that I have been coveting ________ (Fill in the blank.) Please forgive me. Please help me stop my jealousy. Amen.

Take a Next Step: Look at your bank statement for the last month and mark anything that reflects an unhealthy spending habit. Note your findings in your journal and make a plan for what you will do differently next month.