2022 has made millions of Americans anxious about their finances. Just looking at the Consumer Price Index that shows food increasing 11.2% and fuel oil 58.1% illustrates just how significant the increases have been.
At the same time the average 401K plan went down 25%, with the average person losing $34,000. Falling stock markets have wiped out $9 trillion in wealth from U.S. households, putting pressure on family balance sheets and spending. And finally, the average household credit card debt is nearly $9,000 with a total of $887 billion.
When it comes to money, there’s a lot to be anxious about.
And yet, despite this truth, there is an even greater reality that can take away our anxiety around finances. The Apostle Paul explained it to the church in Philippi:
Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) …for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
These are not theological truths penned from an ivory tower. Paul was writing from prison, and throughout his life he had experienced the highs and lows of the financial roller coaster. The truth is, financial anxiety comes for all of us, whether we have too little or too much.
The Problem of Too Little
For those who have too little in the bank, the Bible brings good news: God knows our needs. When financial stress hits our lives, it’s natural to feel that God has left the throne. Is he even paying attention? Does he even care? It takes faith to believe that God knows our needs. Paul had that faith:
Philippians 4:19 (NLT) And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
If there was one person qualified to testify to the fact that God knows and meets our needs, it was Paul. Three times shipwrecked; frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, robbers, countrymen; dangers in the city, in the wilderness, on the sea; in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure (2 Corinthians 11:25-30). And yet he testifies that God took care of his needs. Paul lived and experienced what Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT) So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs…. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Just a few verses earlier, Jesus set up this advice with a powerful observation:
Matthew 6:28-30 (NLT) “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.
The question Jesus asks at the end of verse 30 resonates for anyone dealing with financial anxiety: “Why do you have so little faith?” The question is not whether God knows our needs, but whether we will exercise faith and trust He knows it. This is the challenge for those who are struggling to make ends meet.
The Problem of Too Much
The second challenge is for those on the other end of the spectrum. Paul learned how to live with both nothing and everything, and he makes the inference that he had to learn how to be content with both. He realized that there are real dangers in having more than we need. Proverbs gives us a clear warning:
Proverbs 30:7-9 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.
Having too much can lead to denying our Lord; and that should make us anxious! Jesus tells us how this can become the case:
Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.
Maybe you wouldn’t say you are enslaved to money, but when you have too much money and you are consumed by it – it requires your time, your energy, your attention – it ends up still being your master. Many people have learned this surprising truth: if you have too much money, you’re probably still anxious! Paul warned Timothy about it:
1 Timothy 6:9-10 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
The Generosity Paradox
So what can you practically do to release the grip of money on your heart? The answer is the same for both ends of the spectrum, whether you have too little or too much: be generous.
When you’re generous in spite of your struggling bank account, you’re acting in faith that God knows your needs. That’s not to say you should recklessly give away all of your money! But if you are faithful with little, God will trust you to be faithful with a little more. That’s what happened with the church in Macedonia:
2 Corinthians 8:1-2 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
The truth is, we can’t outgive God. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:8 “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” Jesus himself taught this principle in his Sermon on the Mount:
Luke 6:38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.
When we give, God gives back! It shouldn’t be a surprise. Psalms 24:1 tells us that “the earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains.” His resources are limitless. And the truth is that everything we have, we have received from Him. This is especially true for those who have more than they need. Wealthy believers should carry their weight in the church. Their proportionate giving should have the biggest impact on the Kingdom of God. The result will be freedom from the idol of wealth.
If we try to hang on to everything we have, we will be assured of great anxiety. When we practice the spiritual discipline of giving – depending on the one who knows our needs – we will suddenly find freedom from financial anxiety. Generosity releases the grip of money on your heart – whether you have too little or too much.
