Today on MoneyLife

When you believe God’s Word and apply it, it blesses you and other people. A lot of teaching in the world says if you behave correctly with money, everything will be alright.

Behavioralism puts the emphasis what you do. God’s Word emphasizes that what you believe about money will change your behavior.

A recent email from a listener in Oklahoma made this clear. This woman thanked us for teaching her God's principle of saving. This listener believed God was her provider and she should be generous.

Once she learned the Biblical truth of saving, her behavior lined up with God’s Word. What you believe about money will determine how you behave with money.

Today we're going to find out what God’s Word has to say about the differences between behaving correctly with money and believing correctly about money.

When you deal with financial issues, you do so through your world view. You behave according to what you believe. We don’t know what God’s Word says about money, so we don’t believe what’s true. We adopt things into are thinking that aren’t true and make decisions by them.

Sanctification means set apart, made different. The world believes lies; Christians believe truth, and it sets them apart from the world. So if you’re going to behave differently from the world, you must believe the truth.

Transformation starts with what you believe. That’s why it’s so important to know what God’s Word says about money. You can’t behave correctly unless you believe the behavior is correct. You may not know why it’s correct, but you believe it’s correct.

When you’re experiencing bondage in any area of your life, examine what you believe. It’s usually the root cause of your bondage. If you’re not managing money wisely or you’re in financial bondage, there’s probably something wrong in what you believe about money.

If you’re managing money wisely but don’t understand why, you’ll be more liberated by understanding God’s truth that’s behind it. If you do the right behavior with the wrong motives, you are not on God’s path towards being good stewards.

You need to get rid of the idea that the purpose of God’s financial principles is so you can live the American dream. God is going to ask you one day how you used the resources He gave you. I want to be able to say I used them for His glory, motivated by His love, for the benefit of His kingdom and not myself.

A person can have the right behavior and have no heart connection with God’s truth, no motivation for God’s kingdom, no desire to fulfill God’s purposes for their life even in giving.

One day there will be a separation between those who love the Lord and those who don’t. God wants us to tell people what we believe about Him. It will impact them, eliminate some of the fear holding them back. Beliefs shouldn’t change because of circumstances.

If you believe God is your provider, it will change your behavior and allow you to do what God’s called you to do without fear. It's important to understand that you are sanctified by believing the truth about money, that you’re truly set apart for God’s purposes by what you believe about what He’s given you.

The tangible benefits of correct beliefs include the fruit of the spirit. If you believe correctly, you’ll avoid bondage, but even if you’re in bondage, God’s Word can liberate you from it.

Once a woman who started a Crown Bible study believing that gambling should be a part of her investment strategy. She had two wrong beliefs:

1. More money would give contentment
2. The existence of luck

After completing the study, she confessed her heart had been changed from coveting more things of this world than she needed and that luck existed. That’s the difference between condemning behavior and analyzing what you believe.

If you analyze what you believe and make changes there, your behavior will follow your new beliefs. It’s important we trust and rely on God’s Word even in times like this when we’re being tested.

I'll have more on this topic tomorrow. Don't miss it!

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Other Resources:

• ABCs of Money Package
• Career Direct
• God's Principles for Operating a Business
• Business By the Book
• Crown Mvelopes