It's my money- right?

Sometimes, Christians can be really good at picking and choosing the things that we think actually count as 'sins'. We'll openly hold each other accountable to make sure that we do our quiet times, stay faithful to our spouses, and be good witnesses at work. But those sins that we choose to ignore don't go away just because we've decided not to see them.

One big sin area that we like to overlook is personal spending. Look, having the latest, hippest clothing, the best car, and the biggest house isn't a necessity- it's a want. Putting our own personal wants ahead of God's plan for our money is a sin. It's called greed.

Maybe sometimes it is God's plan for us to use our finances how we want, when we want; but I'm willing to bet that investing God's money in a $200 pair of jeans doesn't please him nearly as much as settling for the $30 jeans and feeding hungry people on the streets with the other $170. God calls us stewards of our money. Think of it this way: God is the investor with the money in his wallet, and we're the stockbrokers who have to choose the best way to handle the money God hands us so it can return to him- not just safe- but multiplied!

We need to be open to God's will for our finances, even if it means that the ultimate American dream might look a little different for us than for most people. I believe that if we trust our money to God's plan, He will provide us with some of those things that we want an awful lot but don't need. But the great part is, He will also make us content with those things that we've 'settled' for in order to serve Him better.