Thrive Thought: Spending from Scarcity—A Story of Financial Healing

THRIVE THOUGHT
Spending from Scarcity: A Story of Financial Healing

I once heard a pastor tell the story of a young woman from an Iowa farming family. She achieved a law degree and was practicing law in Chicago. She lived alone in a nice apartment and made more than $175,000 per year. From all appearances, she had everything she needed to be successful and happy. Yet she came to her church and explained that she was in deep financial trouble and could not make ends meet for herself.

Rather than scoffing at her, this pastor listened to her and dug into her story. He found that as a teenager, her parents would keep all money she earned from her part-time jobs to use for their farm and home expenses. As an adult, she would immediately spend her entire paycheck every two weeks so that no one could take it from her.

This past trauma created a serious issue in her adult life. Her pastor wisely showed her that her emotional response to money was born from her teenage years, but now she was in control and had total management of her income. No one was going to take it, and she needed to surrender this issue to God and seek wisdom about her financial life.

She began to live out the words of Proverbs 21:20 (NLT), which says, "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.”

What spending and saving habits from your teenage years have lingered to your adult years? What would biblical wisdom say about these habits?

Brian Beall is one of the pastors at Pathway. He and his wife, Sheri, are leading their children to wisely manage their income, so that they can thrive as adults.

Learn more about Pathway's Thrive Financial Ministry.