Turn Down the Noise. Turn Up God's Voice
With doom and gloom the prevailing mood in most financial circles, more than 600 men and women gathered recently at First Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Chattanooga, Tenn., to hear Christian financial planner Ron Blue’s take on the current economy.
Blue’s initial comments weren’t encouraging. In fact, the veteran of more than 40 years in the banking and finance industries observed, “This time is the worst I’ve seen in my financial life.”
To those who expected clear-cut economic direction, he admitted, “There’s a lot of desperation out there—and no pat answers…. Sometimes [when facing serious financial difficulties] what you need most is a friend, someone to sit down and put an arm around you, pray for you, and ask how they can help. Ideally, that someone should be a committed believer, someone from church that you know and trust.”
Handholding, however, was hardly the only recommendation Blue offered. He devoted most of the two-hour session to providing hope, without promising that solutions would be instant or that being a follower of Christ would offer immunity from the malaise afflicting the nation and the world.
Control the Volume
His first suggestion for coping with the economic downturn was to “turn down”— turn down the noise of the myriad voices forecasting calamity and despair and turn up God’s voice.
“When you turn down the noise around [you] and turn up God’s voice, you can become a thermostat, controlling the temperature in your life, rather than a thermometer, simply reacting to the temperature around you,” Blue stated.
Every day, on virtually every network and cable TV news show, so-called experts dissect economic indicators. But for individuals, he noted, “the key economic indicator is your checkbook. That’s the only thing we have any control over.”
Blue said factors that have conspired to bring about economic turmoil are perhaps a fulfillment of statements made by author John Steinbeck and the philosopher Plato. Both observed that possibly the best way of destroying a nation would be to give it too much. This results in what Blue termed, “the paradox of prosperity.” “The more you have, the more choices you have—and the more choices you have, the greater the confusion and the greater the fear of loss. The world teaches that the more you have, the more contentment and freedom you will have. Actually, it’s just the opposite.”
The true secret to financial freedom is following proven, established principles from the Bible, according to Blue, who retired from the financial planning firm that he founded, Ronald Blue & Co., and now serves as president of Kingdom Advisors, which trains Christian financial advisors “to communicate biblical wisdom to their clients, apply professional principles in their practices, and live out their faith in their marketplace for kingdom impact.”
The Fundamental Principles
Through each of his 17 books, Blue has presented four fundamental, biblically-based principles of financial management that can be applied regardless of one’s faith orientation, or lack therof. In fact, in the mid-1990s, while offering testimony to Congress, he enumerated these principles and led one U.S. senator to observe, “These would work at any income level.” To which Blue replied, “Yes, Senator, even the United States government.”
The principles are:
• Spend less than you earn.
• Avoid the use of debt.
• Save for the unexpected.
• Set long-term goals.
As the economic storm has continued to swirl, many people have looked to their financial advisors, stockbrokers, or the government for help and answers, but Blue asserted, “There are two things God is never going to delegate: His protection of His children, and His provision. Part of our problem today is that we have put our money in place of God’s protection and provision. As 1 Timothy 6:17 says, ‘Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.’
“The next two verses go on to say, ‘Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.’ Generosity, according to the Bible, is a key to financial freedom.”
He showed the photo of a lone house standing after Galveston Island had been struck by Hurricane Ike in 2008. The difference between that house and the ones around it that were leveled, according to Blue, was that it had been built specifically to withstand any storm. In the same way, followers of Christ must also seek to build their lives around the firm foundation of God and His truth, rather than the seductive attractions of the world around them.
Drawing from his most recent book, Surviving Financial Meltdown (written with Jeremy White), Blue cited a variety of biblically-based, practical steps for sound financial management. “Our culture encourages us to spend all that we make; it aggressively teaches us to be discontented, and it attaches our self-worth to our net worth,” he said. “There really are only two ways of having enough—accumulate more, or desire less.”
As he closed, Blue made a number of observations about debt, singling it out as the central element of the ongoing economic chaos. One way believers can make a profound statement about their faith, he indicated, is to take a markedly different attitude toward indebtedness.
Blue said although debt is not regarded as a “sin” in the Scriptures, “borrowing may deny God an opportunity to provide [in another way]. Debt always presumes upon the future, and almost always is a symptom of underlying spiritual issues. Consumptive borrowing sentences one to a lower standard of living in the future. And borrowing decisions are always a reflection of our goals, values, priorities, and dreams.”
As economic woes persist, he indicated, they will present opportunities for Christians to re-evaluate and clarify their own goals, values, priorities, and dreams—hopefully in ways that make a bold statement for Christ and stand out in sharp contrast to the things the world holds dear.
Robert J. Tamasy, a member of North Shore Fellowship in Chattanooga, Tenn., is vice president of communications for Leaders Legacy, Inc., an Atlanta-based ministry to business and professional leaders; author of Business at Its Best: Timeless Wisdom from Proverbs for Today’s Workplace, and co-author of The Heart of Mentoring with David A. Stoddard.
Comments
All Fields Are Required:
Warren
South Carolina
• Spend less than you earn.
• Avoid the use of debt.
• Save for the unexpected.
• Set long-term goals.
Does Ron Blue suggest those are only for families, or also for churches? If it's also for churches, some of our churches don't know it yet.
Regarding 'presuming upon our future', would asking a congregation, especially one in the midst of great budget shortfalls and many job losses & business failures, to make specific committments to give money they don't yet have (or know where it's coming from yet) in the form of a 'faith promise' be an example of 'presuming upon the future'?
Leave a Comment
- Deal with the subject presented.
- Be respectful of other people and their opinions.
- Follow standard rules of punctuation.
All Fields Are Required:
Anonymous
Colorado