Acts 11:27-30, The Message

It was about this same time that some prophets came to Antioch from Jerusalem. One of them named Agabus stood up one day and, prompted by the Spirit, warned that a severe famine was about to devastate the country. (The famine eventually came during the rule of Claudius.) So the disciples decided that each of them would send whatever they could to their fellow Christians in Judea to help out. They sent Barnabas and Saul to deliver the collection to the leaders in Jerusalem.

The weekly womens bible study that I lead had a discussion two weeks ago about money. Is it really evil, or is just the love of money evil? Is it wrong for Christians, who are called to be generous and live simply, to save away money? I felt like the discussion was sensitive to several people, the conversation and thoughts didn't flow as normal. However, I liked the few thoughts that were shared. And, given the verses above, it's okay to prepare for emergencies and times of famine. It's okay to help out each other and to give of your resources. All these things are biblical teaching and, in my humble opinion, a spiritual necessity.

I'm currently participating in Financial Peace University at my church, which conveniently started the same week as my new car payments, haha! I'm having a hard time with my inner devil and inner angel. I want to save, be wise, financially prepared for the unexpected. But at the same time, I want to be social, I want to be generous and I want to not put my security in money. I think I need to start seeing the way I use my money as a part of my testimony, part of my story in God's book. Perhaps then I will learn to balance responsibility and generosity with my finances.