To cut off hands and feet and pluck out eyes – as we read about in Mark 9 – sounds extreme. But, think about it in terms of how you spend money pursuing the seemingly innocent little pleasures in life. Let’s consider a few:

Do you go get a cappuccino everyday?
Do you shop for yet another pair of jeans or shoes?
Do you subscribe to a bunch of premium music and movie channels?
Cut them out.

Could spending this way be a hidden obstacle that keeps you from being a better steward? What more could you do for God if you redirected this spending to help the poor?

Give because you are blessed.

Give because It’s Not Your Money

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

How do you react to the person begging on the street? That’s always been a tough one for me. I generally don’t give to the people on the street who ask of me. In high-and-mighty righteousness, I tell them of the shelters, soup kitchens, and food pantries nearby.

Jesus tells us in Luke 6:30 to give to everyone who asks. I need to change my attitude. I need to give directly to the poor and vulnerable, and not just to the food pantry. I need to give because It’s Not My Money!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The message of It’s Not Your Money is one of stewardship which is discipleship – how we live our lives everyday. It starts with the mindset that God provides. Everything we have and all that we are comes from Him. When we embrace this truth, then how else can we respond but in overwhelming gratefulness and all humility, give all praise and glory to God our Father, and go deeper into discipleship!

On the last podcast I wondered what our world would be like if we all responded to God this way – do what He calls us to do and give what He calls us to give. We would change the world! God calls us to be detached from worldly goods and material comforts. He calls us to be obedient to His word and give courageously. But I think the first thing God calls us to do is to trust Him.

Trust that He knows you. He created you and He loves you. He knows your strengths and your weaknesses. He knows what you think about. He knows your talents and abilities, what you’re good at and what you’re interested in. He knows what you’re proud of and what you’re ashamed of. And He loves you anyway. Trust that He loves you and that He will provide for you. He has your best interest at heart. God will provide.

My story is one of God nudging me to go deeper into discipleship, in my faith and trust in Him so much that I would respond with courageous generosity. Trusting God changed my attitude about money and changed my heart to make me want to obey what He says in the Bible. Some sources say there are over 2500 verses in the Bible that address money and possessions – more than any other topic. I count 321 of them just on giving courageously.

I knew a lot of these verses from my time as a protestant. But it was a witness talk at Mass given by a friend on a Stewardship Sunday that tweaked my heart to heed those verses and start giving what He commands us to give. When I finally took that step of faith and began to tithe, my life changed for the good. Stressing about money melted away. I began to realize a sense of peace. You can read more about that in the book It’s Not Your Money. Get a copy at the website itsnotyourmoney.org.

God wants you to have His peace. The world’s way to peace and happiness is fleeting. Trust God. Put Him first with your money – It’s not your money anyway – and see if in that you don’t begin to have a sense of peace.

Listen – How you handle money is a direct reflection of how much you trust God. It reflects how intimate your relationship is with Him.

Please share this podcast with your family and friends and let’s go change the world.

Till next time, Be Well!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s Not Your Money seeks to connect our faith with our financial life by exploring what God has to say about money and possessions in the Bible. Who am I to be talking about this? Am I a Bible scholar?

No – I am like most of you, a husband, a father, trying to live a good Catholic life. I grapple with providing for my family now and in the future. And I have to balance needs vs. wants and how spending on those things strains the budget – just like you. Let me share a little about my background:

I worked for 35 years as an investment and financial planning professional, helping clients with their most important financial goals. Know, too, that I was protestant before becoming Catholic as a young adult. I loved the protestant emphasis on Bible study. Trying to merge my faith-life with my work-life, I was and am very interested in what the Bible says about money. But as I said before, just because I am interested, that doesn’t make me a scholar.

But know also, I am called to this ministry. You can read more about my call in the book It’s Not Your Money. Order copies from this website. I also posted a video on how that call came about during my visit to the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.

God delights in calling those who are seemingly unqualified as St. Paul tells us in 1 Cor. 1:26-27. In 1 Tim 1:12 we read that Jesus strengthens those He calls and considers them trustworthy. So by the grace of God, I believe He gives me insights into how Bible verses help us to live a stewardship life. He gives them to me, and in all humility, I share them with you. God is with me, and so who can be against me, right?

And you know – God is with you, too. He is calling you to be in closer relationship with Him. He wants you to trust in His love and care for you. He calls you to return His love by giving to and serving others – especially the poor and vulnerable. He calls us all to do that. What would our world look like if we all responded to His call with courageous generosity? Our lives would change as we worked to change our communities. We’d change the world for the good!

Pray for the strength to answer God’s call to trust Him and give courageously. Step out in faith and realize a sense of joy and peace that will surprise you – the peace that only comes by putting God first.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

It’s Not Your Money is about our acknowledging that God is the source and provider of all we have. He gives us the talents and abilities to do what we do that earns the money we have. In fact, God gives us everything. When we embrace this truth, we can’t help but be overwhelmingly grateful and humble. It is this mindset that changes our hearts and brings us the peace we truly seek.

The subtitle of the book – Finding the Peace of Putting God First – hits the nail on the head. In my experience serving clients in the investment business, everyone sought to accumulate and grow their investments to a level that they thought would give them a sense of peace and security. Of course that level is different for everybody, but no matter what that number was, they  worried. Even with the most conservative strategies and the best risk management, whether they had more than enough money or not, they still worried about money. Heck – I did too.

Early in my career I was doing all the right things, paying myself first to save for emergencies, for kids’ college, and for retirement. Working to build a nice lifestyle with a big house, luxury cars, and new suits. And I was going to Mass, teaching catechism, putting money in the collection basket – everything I was supposed to be doing. Yet, the budget was stretched to the max and I was stressed all the time. Something was a-miss.

Be Stouthearted

I remember the week when it all came to a head. The Holy Spirit hit me hard with the solution that would alleviate the stress. I was certainly tired of the worry and stress and I wanted to be rid of it, but I struggled with what I was being told. I wrestled with it. I knew what I needed to do and it scared me. But I finally asked myself, “Do I trust God or not? I know He loves me and will provide for me – He always has – but still…”

When I finally admitted that God gives me everything, I was able to muster up the courage, step out in faith, and trust God to provide for my family, and do what He called me to do. And when I did, what happened?

You can read all about that in my book It’s Not Your Money. Get that on the website inym.org. But for now, suffice it to say that I gained a sense of peace I can not explain. It is the peace that only comes from God. Doing all the things that financial planning best practice tells us to do was not enough. Having that big house and nice car didn’t do it. A new set of golf clubs – no. Not even more money in the bank was enough. The peace came from Putting God First.

Please share this podcast with your family and friends. And of course, please like my FB page. But mostly, Find the Peace of Putting God First in your finances.

Till next time – Be Well!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download