Emotions and Money
The biggest challenge to managing our money is not the task itself but the emotions we experience as we manage the decisions around money. In this episode of Stewardship Leader, we talk with Chris Goulard about emotions and our money.
Show Notes
Common negative emotions around money
Fear - of not having enough, or losing it because we believe money can solve most of our problems.
Shame - Due to being poor or financially at a lower level than other people we admire or aspire to be like. Being seen as unsuccessful because we don’t have enough no money.
Anger - Because we believe money can solve most of our problems when there’s a perceived lack in our life, frustration and anger is often the response.
Common positive emotions around money
Contentment - a confidence in knowing God is faithful and in control.
Happiness - a feeling of satisfaction/fulfillment, perhaps only momentarily, due to possessing something that money provides.
Thankfulness - recognizing that God is the source of our provision and that having what we need, or more, is a blessing from God.
Money beliefs
Strongly influenced by our upbringing - what we witnessed and experienced while we were being raised.
Wealth or Poverty mentality is established during our formative years; parental models.
People who constantly think negatively about money, tend to be plagued by money problems.
People who believe that money is something within their control, are the ones who become more successful and ultimately increase their money.
How our parents and close family relationship speak and behave with money will have a significant influence on our beliefs about money.
Managing Emotions around Money
The key is to find peace and contentment with or without lots of money. For once we have our focus in life clear and stop allowing money to have so much power over us, any changes in our financial situation will have a less devastating impact on our emotions.
Supporting Scriptures:
Matthew 6:25-26 “"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
James 4:2-3 “You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.”
Questions to ponder:
What are your primary emotions associated with money?
The Bible warns us about the love of money. Why is the love of money so dangerous?
Comfort and indulgence are quite prevalent in our Western culture. How do you find the proper lifestyle balance when so much of what we have at our disposal fits into those criteria?