Editor's note: This article was originally published on Lindsey Bell's blog. It has been republished here with permission.
Most Christians want to believe they are trusting God with their money
After all, who wants to admit they love money more than they love God? That they think about their finances more than they think about their Savior? That they worry about their future more than they trust God with it? That they rarely give back to the One who gave them everything?
We all want to believe we are trusting God with our money; the only problem is "¦ sometimes "¦ deep in our hearts, we know it's not entirely true.
We know our checkbook does not reflect the life of someone who has given God everything.
We know our constant worry over how we're going to pay the next bill does not reflect the life of someone trusting God with her future.
And we know giving God our leftovers does not reflect the life of someone who claims to have given God all.
All too often, when we think about what it looks like to give God our money, we focus on the wrong part of the equation.
We focus on the money when God is focusing on the heart.
Trusting God with your finances has less to do with your money and more to do with your heart.
Because here's the truth: You could have a perfectly balanced checkbook and still have money as your idol. You could have a hefty savings account that you worked hard to develop. You practiced good stewardship, budgeted, and saved and yet you could still worship the gift over the Giver. Or on the flip side, you could have very little money and still cling to it so tightly that God isn't able to open your clinched fists.
The amount of money you have or don't have is not what matters most (at least not to God); what matters most is what you do with it and where your heart is.
Trusting God with your money is more about your heart than about your finances
The trouble with this, of course, is that it's harder to gauge a heart than a checkbook.
As I was thinking about this topic and trying to figure out how we can know if we are trusting God with our finances, the Lord led me to these four characteristics.
These four outward signs provide evidence that your heart is in the right place "¦ that you are, in fact, trusting God with your money.
4 Signs You Are Trusting God with Your Finances
1. You Give
Generosity is one of the key ways to tell if you love your stuff. If you're willing to give it up, you probably aren't clinging to it too much. On the other hand, if you struggle to let go of that $20.00 or that favorite sweater or whatever the item might be, it's a good indication your heart might be a bit too attached to something other than the Father.
2. You Don't Love Money
A second indicator that you are trusting God with your finances is that you don't love money.
It's tempting (for those of us with fixed incomes) to assume that the love of money is only an issue if you make a lot. But let me assure you, it's just as easy for someone who lives in poverty to worship money as someone who lives in luxury.
The question is not whether you have a lot of money; the question is whether or not you love the money you have.
When you have to choose between making more money and being with your family, what do you choose?
When you have to choose between saving for yourself or giving to someone in need, what do you choose?
When God lays it on your heart to meet a need, do you do it "¦ or hesitate because of the cost?
3. You Don't Worry
A third sign that you trust God with your finances is that you don't worry.
Hebrews 13:5 says, "Don't love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, 'I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.'"
I love the application of this verse. God is saying through the book of Hebrews, "You don't need to love money. You don't need to trust in your wealth to take care of you, because that's MY job. I will never fail you. I will never abandon you. Trust in ME ... not in your money."
When we worry, we basically tell God we don't know if he can handle our futures. We don't know if he's capable enough or loving enough to take care of us.
Those who trust God with their money also trust Him with their futures
4. You are a Good Steward of the Money You Have (whether it's a lot or a little)
Those who trust God with their money recognize the importance of managing it well.
In Matthew 25: 14-30, Jesus told the parable of the three servants. Two of the servants used the money their master gave them and gained more. The third servant, though, was too afraid to do so. Instead, he hid the money and later returned it to his master.
The application of these verses to us is pretty straightforward: Manage well the things God has given you (and that includes money, gifts, time, and anything else God has given us).
I'll be the first to admit that handling money can be difficult. We are a family of four living on one ministerial salary. It's hard. I have learned over the years, though, that the amount of money you make (or don't make) is not really what matters as far as stewardship is concerned.
You can make a lot and be a terrible steward, just as easily as you can make a little and be a terrible steward. And vice versa. The key aspects of stewardship are heart and diligence.
