I’m Just a Guy: Wrestling With MoneySample

The Pressure to Provide

Growing up, my financial education revolved around earning a weekly allowance for completing chores and learning how to balance a checkbook (yes, I’m dating myself—but no shame. I still have mad respect for those who can read a handwritten ledger without flinching).

It was a different time. Broader financial principles like budgeting, investing, or building wealth simply weren’t on my parents’ radar. As I got older, I stumbled onto resources like Dave Ramsey, and his no-nonsense approach pulled me in. Then I read Rich Dad, Poor Dad and couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to lock Ramsey and Robert Kiyosaki in a cage match—the winner crowned ultimate finance guru. (Personally, I’d bet on Dave. He’d hit Robert with a debt snowball and finish it off with a “debt-free scream” that would curl his hair.)

Both men had insights that helped, but something still felt incomplete. That’s when I turned to the Bible to see what God says about money—and what I found surprised me. The deeper I went into my discipleship journey, the more I realized just how often Scripture speaks to finances, stewardship, and provision.

What struck me as ironic is that many of the pastors I’d heard up to that point either avoided the topic entirely or preached about money with such a legalistic tone that it felt more like guilt than guidance. But just because others struggled to explain it didn’t excuse me from learning it.

One of the first verses that stopped me in my tracks was 1 Timothy 5:8. Paul isn’t sugarcoating anything here: “If you don’t take care of your household, you’ve denied the faith.” Ouch. That hit hard. But I began to understand the heart behind it. If I truly want to walk in God’s ways, I need to shift the focus off myself and consider the needs of my family more deeply.

Maybe you can relate. As a man, I wake up each day with the instinctive drive to provide, protect, and preside over my home. That calling creates a deep sense of purpose—but also pressure. And it led me to an important realization: maybe Paul’s definition of “providing” goes beyond filling the fridge and paying the bills.

Here’s what hit me: provision and desire are not the same thing. But I had been merging them together for too long. I believed that if I couldn’t give my family everything they wanted, I was failing as a man. That mindset was exhausting. It wasn’t until the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to this verse that I finally saw the difference—providing for their needs is not the same as fulfilling every want.

That simple shift changed everything.

He reminded me that my role isn’t to fulfill every desire, but to be a faithful steward of what He’s entrusted to me. That day, He gave me the peace that comes from obedience, not from excess. And that was more than enough.

The pressure to provide is real—but the freedom God offers through His Word is even better. He’s not asking you to be the source of all things for your family. He’s asking you to be faithful, present, and diligent with what you’ve been given. Provision isn’t perfection—it’s stewardship.

You don’t need to carry the weight of your family’s every desire. Instead, pursue each day to faithfully meet their needs, walk in obedience, and trust the ultimate Provider.

Reflection Questions

1. How are you confusing your family's needs with their wants?
2. What pressures do you feel about providing?