Marriage And Money Series

HoHum:

A husband and wife named Stumpey and Martha went to the state fair every year, and every year when Stumpy saw the antique bi plane he would say, “Martha, I’d like to ride in that airplane.” And Martha always replied, “I know Stumpy, but that airplane ride costs $10 and $10 is $10.” Well, year after year they had this same dispute until finally one year at the fair, Stumpy said, “Martha, I’m 81 years old. If I don’t ride that airplane I might never get another chance.” Martha replied, “Stumpy, that airplane ride costs $10 and $10 is $10.” The pilot overheard them and said, “Folks, I’ll make you a deal. I’ll take you both up for a ride. If you can stay quiet for the entire ride and not say one word, I won’t charge you, but if you say one word, it’s $10.” Stumpy and Martha agreed and up they went. The pilot did all kinds of twists and turns, rolls and dives, but he didn’t hear a word from the couple. So... he did all his tricks again- flips and dives and rolls- but still, not a word was heard from his passengers. When they finally landed, the pilot yelled back at Stumpy and said, “By golly, I did everything I could think of to get you to cry out, but you didn’t. I’m impressed!” Stumpy replied, “Well, I was gonna say something when Martha fell out of the plane after that first roll, but... $10 is $10.”

WBTU:

Studies show that the #1 source of conflict in marriages today is money. George Gallup reports that 67% of all couples worry regularly about money. Of the couples who divorce, nearly 80% cite financial problems as a leading cause of the marital demise. One way to improve our marriages is to discuss and agree on financial matters.

This is terribly unromantic but to have a great marriage there must be financial agreement. Money can destroy a marriage relationship quicker than any other source of disagreement.

How can we avoid money conflicts? How can we deal with our money so that it doesn’t damage our marriages? How can we manage our money instead of it managing us?

We need to look for answers in God’s Word. Leave much of the finer points to Dave Ramsey and other financial advisers, but my job is to preach the Word. What does the Word have to say about money matters? Too much to cover in one sermon.

Solomon is the wealthiest man in the Bible. He was the wisest and richest man in the world during his time. He had a great deal of experience managing money. Much of the Proverbs were written by Solomon.

Thesis: From Proverbs, 5 principles of money management

For instances:

Keep Track

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure for ever...” Proverbs 27:23, 24, NIV. In that day, a man’s herds were his assets and the shepherd’s job was to keep track of the size and condition of the flock. Solomon is saying that the first thing we need to do to solve money conflicts is keep track of what we’ve got. We must constantly be aware of the state of our accounts. Ever said, “I don’t know where all my money goes!” If we don’t know where the money goes, then we are keeping bad records.

“Every prudent man acts out of knowledge...” Proverbs 13:16, NIV. Spouses need to know about our money. The financial record keeping must be set up so that it enables us to know 4 things: 1) What we owe 2) What we own 3) What we earn 4) Where it all goes. Many software programs and even paper systems to help us today.

One spouse is in charge of this, but this spouse should share this information with the other so that spouses can both know where their money comes and goes. Both spouses need to know basic information about the finances even though one spouse keeps the books.

Plan ahead

“The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5, NIV. Financial freedom is never determined by how much money we make but rather by how we spend what we make. Solomon would have us follow a budget.

Many spend too much because they shop too much. The average American spends 6 hours a week in shopping related activities. Now shopping isn’t necessarily bad, much wisdom to shop carefully so we find the best values. The problem is many of us don’t do that. In fact, recent surveys show that 9 out of 10 people don’t shop carefully, they shop impulsively. “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” Proverbs 21:20, NIV.