A Few Opinions about Money

After lifting weights with my friend Stephen, we went over to the Waffle House and replenished our protein. Over eggs and bacon, we had a good conversation about money, how it affects us and what we think about managing it. I had three opinions which I thought I'd relay here:

• I feel like it would be wise for some people to ease up on giving to ministries until they are out of debt. A lot of people make commitments with money they don't really have, and they compound their debt with religious giving. And as one who lives off donations, I would rather have someone knock out their debt, free up their money, then be able to give consistently, even if it makes things a little tighter in the moment.
• It's good to determine how much money you need before the money comes in. Once the income starts flowing, it gets easy to think you need more and more. I want to sit down and figure out a healthy amount of income, and if it is surpassed, I want to put the extra money back into my faith and neighborhood communities.
• It's important to be involved with ministries you support. Encouragement, prayer, accountability, and hands-on service are all crucial to missionaries. We appreciate checks, sure, but they mean way more coming from friends, family, and ministry partners. Plus, it's more rewarding for the giver if she/he can see the fruit.

I don't know a whole lot about money, so I wouldn't encourage my readers to go out and make huge life decisions based on these things, but you gotta fill up a blog with something or other, so now you know what I think about money.