The Road To Financial Freedom (2024)

It’s the 4th of July—the day we celebrate our nation’s independence. It’s also a great day to take stock of your financial independence. Either you control your money or your money controls you. We’ll talk about that today on Faith and Finance.

INDEPENDENCE FROM FINANCIAL BONDAGE, NOT FROM GOD

When we talk about financial freedom or independence, we are definitely not talking about independence from God. He owns everything and provides everything we need to live and serve His kingdom.

James 1:17 reads, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Even our ability to earn money comes from God. Deuteronomy 8:18 tells us, “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm His covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

Now, to be sure, God wants you to be financially free, because that allows you to be more generous and to serve Him more fully. Sadly, folks often say they’d love to give more to God’s kingdom, but they just can’t afford to.

WARNING SIGNS

How do you know if you’ve made a wrong turn somewhere? Look for a signpost that says, “debt.” The greater your debt, the less freedom you have. Proverbs 22:7 puts it rather bluntly, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”

That’s because when you’re in debt, you’re really working for someone else, not yourself, and certainly not for God. The more you have to pay out each month to service your debt, the less freedom you have to use that money in other ways, like serving God more fully.

Now, there’s more to being financially free than just avoiding debt. Unfortunately, debt is just one form of financial bondage. There’s another that’s more difficult to recognize.

With this form of financial bondage, you may have no debt at all. That’s because you can be rolling in money and still be a slave to it.

FREEING YOUR MIND

This bondage is the mindset that material things will make you happy. When you think that way, you strive to acquire more and more. But the truth is, after a certain point, you no longer own things—they own you. And while wealth itself is not evil, the Bible has clear warnings about your attitude toward it. It comes down to a heart issue.

1 Timothy 6:10 tells us, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Here are the danger signs for this type of financial bondage: First, you think so much about money that you have no peace with God. Your focus is “day to day” rather than eternal.

You can’t give as generously as you would like or think you should. An opportunity comes along to be more generous— you have the money— but you just can’t make yourself do it. You think …. “I might need that money for something else.” So you don’t act when you feel God leading you. If that happens repeatedly, you’re in financial

Bondage.

Then there’s the lack of contentment. You always want bigger, better, faster. You’re not content with God’s provision—you crave more. When you think that way, it doesn’t matter how much money you have, it’ll never be enough.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 reads, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.”

So how do you get back on the road to financial freedom? Obviously, if you’re in debt you have to stop borrowing, get on a budget, and start paying down your debt. TheFaithFi app can help you set up your budget quickly and easily.

If you have the other form of financial bondage with plenty of money and possessions but no peace, try giving more. Giving breaks the power that money has to enslave us.

Our founders looked to the Bible for inspiration, so it’s no wonder that God’s Word is found on one of our greatest symbols of freedom, the Liberty Bell. It’s inscribed with Leviticus 25:10, “Proclaim liberty throughout the land … to all its inhabitants.”

And if you follow God’s principles for managing money: avoid debt, save diligently, and give generously, you can experience true financial freedom.

-How can you find out the value of your bonds? And how can you change the beneficiary?

-When does it make sense to use retirement funds to pay off your mortgage?

-How do you determine when it’s time to sell your home and downsize?

-What factors should you consider when deciding how to take separation benefits from an employer?

- treasurydirect.gov

Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000. Also, visit our website atFaithFi.com where you can join the FaithFi Community,and giveas we expand our outreach.