Do finances control you? I know that inflation is killing our buying power right now. We’ve all had to “tighten the belt” a bit. Not having enough to “make ends meet” is a real concern for many of us. It’s clear that finances LIMIT what we can or can’t do, but that’s now what I’m asking about here. It’s possible (and wise) to be on a budget, have your spending under control and still be controlled by your finances.

When my wife and I were first married, I presented her with a budget shortly after returning from the honeymoon. (After 27 years, I’m still reminded at times of this newlywed blunder.) I was in Christian ministry with a very small salary and knew that it mattered how every dollar was spent. It was all we could do to live in a small apartment over a vet clinic and directly under the flight path of a local airport runway. I had labored over the budget in order to be sure that we could keep all the bills paid each month. It was all accounted for in the master plan as long as we lived within the many restrictions that it imposed. The problem was that in the course of trying to control our spending, we were allowing our finances to control us. The meticulous record-keeping, accountability, and self-imposed limitations were controlling our every day life.

Now, I’m in favor of being good stewards of the wealth God has given us (none of what we have is really ours – it is ALL God’s). The Bible is clear that we should manage our money wisely and that should probably include a budget. We are supposed to be giving back to the Lord as well. However, when managing your finances becomes an obsession, it could be a controlling idol in your life. If you find that finances are controlling you, let me share these few reminders from God’s Word:

1. Trust God to Provide – Jesus taught us that when it comes to our needs, we need faith that God will provide. “If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” (Matthew 6:30). That’s not to say that we ignore God’s command to work hard to provide for our needs (2 Thessalonians 3:10), but that our lives should not be characterized by anxiety about whether we will have enough. It is a matter of faith.


2. We Worship God Alone – It has been said that “A desire for a good thing becomes a desire for a bad thing when that desire becomes a ruling thing.” Even a desire to keep your finances in order can become an idol in your life. The Bible is clear that you are to “keep yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). An idol is anything that steals worship from God alone. We can become so consumed with our finances that their management can become an object of our worship. When we have done that, we have taken worship away from the one true God.

I realize that many (and perhaps most) believers today need to be reminded to spend wisely, keep a budget, and be good stewards with their money. But our finances can control us in more ways than one. We can become equally obsessed with the management and accounting of our funds. It can erode our trust in God who is our great provider. It can become an idol that steals worship from a God who is worthy of ALL of our praise. As is the case in many areas of life, a healthy balance is needed. We need to be on guard against anything that might wrest control of our lives away from God and it takes wisdom to know when we are being controlled by our finances.