Finally! Financial Peace
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Finding Financial Margin
What messages does our culture send about money and finances?
Do you have any fears in regard to money and finances? What are they?
We all have fears when it comes to finances. We struggle between what we need and what we want, and we treat money as if it is eternal, even though we know that we can’t take it with us when we die. For those reasons and more, finances create a lot of anxiety in our lives. If we ever want to live with a sense of contentment rather than fear, we must learn to trust the God who is an abundant provider.
James 4:1–4 (NLT)
What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
What prayer problems does James highlight in this passage? What are the implications of this text on your prayers for wisdom in financial matters?
How is your fear of finances affected by lack of prayer or praying with the wrong motives?
James wrote to first-century Christians, exposing bad practices and teaching them right Christian beliefs and the behavior that should follow. In chapter 4 of his letter, he wrote about prayerlessness and wrongly motivated prayer practices. James pointed out their lack of prayer, and God’s seeming unresponsiveness to their prayers. The latter stemmed from the fact that they prayed for the wrong things or for the wrong reasons.
1 Timothy 6:6–8 (NLT)
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
How does Paul’s view of contentment compare with the modern world’s view of contentment?
Why does God want His children to be content? What is He trying to teach us?
What does lack of contentment say about our view of God’s provision for us?
How does the Apostle Paul describe his own contentment?
Philippians 4:11-13 NLT
Not that I was ever in need, 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.
What made Paul’s contentment possible?
2 Corinthians 9:6–8 NLT
Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.
What words in these verses describe the attitude about giving that God will honor? What words describe attitudes God will not honor?
How does your attitude affect your giving? What is the result of giving reluctantly or because someone compelled you to do so?
Believers are to give generously and cheerfully. Giving will be neither generous nor cheerful if givers are anxious about meeting their own needs. Christians may have reasoned that the more they gave, the less they would have and the more likely they would become dependent on the giving of others.
How did Paul instruct the Corinthians to become more cheerful givers?
How do you interpret the promise of good return for your giving? Have you experienced this?
What is God’s purpose in providing the giver everything he needs?
Paul was not advocating that we give so we can get rich. On the contrary, when one’s giving is an expression of God’s grace, God will provide more to the giver, who then will be able to give even more. God sees far more clearly than we do that all worldly wealth is temporary. He expects His people to invest their financial resources in ways that will endure for eternity. Generous giving is not to be done haphazardly but purposefully.
Whether you consider yourself wealthy or not, as someone living in America, more than likely, comparatively, you are. Of those born in the United States, almost all will be in the world’s richest 20%. With that in mind, read 1 Timothy 6:17-19. What are God’s expectations for people who are “rich in this present age,” according to this passage?
Why is generosity an effective way to combat the false pride and false security that money brings?
What is one practical way you can pursue contentment in Jesus this week?
Does anything in particular need to change in the way you are approaching your finances? How can we hold each other accountable for that change?