Sunday, August 14, 2011

A Confession About Money

A long time ago, someone close to me shared some secrets about retirement planning.  I was still in high school when this guru taught me about the "rule of 72,"  a method for determining how fast money doubles based on current interest rates.  It's simple, just divide the number 72 by the interest rate you are earning and you can find out how many years it will take for your money to double.

I became so proficient at saving money and investing that when I made the decision to let God be in charge of my life, I turned over everything to him EXCEPT the money.  In a sad way, I let my desire for money become more important than God.

It's funny how everything in my life that I gave to God somehow multiplied faster than anything I could do on my own while my monetary investments went in the opposite direction.  It wasn't until I realized my money situation was out of control that I decided to give my finances to God.  This wasn't a sacrifice as there were more liabilities than assets.

The day I did this, strange things started to change in my life.  It was painful for me to admit to my children that I had to "borrow" their college education money to cover the family budget.  I did promise them their accounts would be restored and they would be able to go to college because God was in charge and I expected everything to work out according to His will.

In a couple of weeks, my daughter will be leaving home to attend Azusa Pacific University, a private christian university.  The motto for this school is "God First."  When she first told me she was interested in APU, I told her to dream big and not worry about the tuition.

I finally learned to trust God in every area of my life.  Money allows us to buy the things we need to live, however, the worship of money and putting money ahead of God leads to trouble.  Put God in charge of your money and you will earn dividends that are out of this world.

No comments: