Read the series.

Today’s Christian gains big-picture understanding of what the Bible teaches about financial giving by learning the Old Testament background and foundational truths related to the subject. This was presented in the previous article. But the New Testament contains the full teaching that guides what we do in the church and in our individual Christian lives. Join me as we survey Jesus’ teaching, the practices of the newly-formed first century church, and the instructions given by the apostles.

Jesus’ Teaching on Giving

Some say Jesus spoke on the topic of money more than anything else. I haven’t personally verified this assertion, but I do know that He had a lot to say about giving. The following is representative of His teaching on this subject. Read more about From the Archives: Tipping, Tithing & Grace Giving: Giving in the New Testament

Originally posted in 2013. Read the series so far.

On “Paying Yourself First”

Perhaps the reader has heard the oft-repeated maxim, “Pay yourself first.” “Pay yourself first” simply means to save first—sometimes at a recommended rate of 10%—and use the remainder for spending. Forbes calls “pay yourself first” “the most important rule for a comfortable retirement.” Investopedia notes that “some financial professionals even go so far as to call ‘pay yourself first’ the golden rule of personal finance.”

The Word of God disabuses this maxim. Indeed we are to give to the Lord first as taught in verses such as: Read more about Ordering Finances Wisely Part 9: Planning to Give, Save, & Spend

Read the series so far.

Why are credit card fees and interest so high?

Credit operates using basically a two-tier system. Tier 1 consists of those who pay no fees or interest. Consumers who pay off their balances on-time monthly pay no fees or interest charges. Tier 2 consists of those who pay fees and interest due paying late, not paying the minimum payment or due to carrying a balance and being charged interest. Tier 2 credit card customers not only pay for their own credit card service, they also pay for the credit services of those in Tier 1.

Any customer may be a Tier 1 borrower. Falling into the Tier 2 category is the customer’s choice.

Another reason for high credit fees and interest is that there is expensive technology infrastructure in place to support the service. The infrastructure includes network expense and computer hardware and software expense. It also includes real-time processing with failover—the most expensive type of computer processing. Additional infrastructure expenses include fraud detection processing and the cost of plastic production and the associated mailing. Read more about Ordering Finances Wisely, Part 7: Becoming Debt-Free

Read the series so far.

In various phases of life I have spent money without giving much thought or planning to it. The first was when I was in seminary and I had to have the latest book. A professor would mention a book and I would have to have it. Another was when I bought my first CD player. The first CD I bought was an Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass album. I soon thought I had to have a library of CDs. The third time was when I bought our first DVD player. First, it was “Lawrence of Arabia,” then many more followed. Another phase—and this probably sounds like “true confessions”—is when I had to have the latest modem (2400 baud) or software (Word Perfect) or hard drive.

A single CD, or book, or DVD, or device is not much of a problem, but unchecked anything becomes a spending issue. My wife, who handled our finances during these phases, put up with a lot! Many counselors can testify that finances are a major cause of marital strife. A secular study from 2009 attempted to quantify the effect finances had upon marriages:

Of all these common things couples fight about, money disputes were the best harbingers of divorce. For wives, disagreements over finances and sex were good predictors of divorce, but finance disputes were much stronger predictors. For husbands, financial disagreements were the only type of common disagreement that predicted whether they would get a divorce. (New York Times)