Practical Teaching About Money That We Lack

Education is a great thing, but sometimes I wonder if we’re being educated about the wrong things. 

 

For instance, during my college career I was required to take two science courses. Since I had already taken biology, for some reason I signed up for an introductory class in geology. The professor was a real snoozer, and to this day I can’t tell you the difference between a rock and a mineral. I also had to take Economics 101 but can’t recall a single fact or principle I was exposed to during that course.

 

Those disciplines obviously are of great value for future geologists and would-be economists, but for me as an aspiring journalist they were of no use at all. The English and journalism classes I took were most valuable, but I wish that among the prerequisites for graduation there had been instruction in practical life skills. Like how to handle your personal finances.

 

When I read about college athletes still in their teens signing multi-million-dollar contracts to play professional sports, I have mixed feelings. They’re entitled to earn a substantial income by using their athletic skills and expertise – but what does a teenager or even young 20-something know about how to handle money? Especially a lot of it? They certainly don’t learn about that in college.

 

College students would benefit greatly from instruction about basic things like handling a checking account, properly using credit cards, developing a consistent savings plan, and even understanding the essentials of investments.

 

In my case, after graduation my financial naivete resulted in accumulating a significant amount of credit card debt. After being ‘awarded’ my first credit card, I thought I had it made, being able to buy whatever I wanted. I didn’t need cash. I knew nothing about how interest on credit cards accrues. Or that those items I bought “on sale” would ultimately cost me twice as much or more.

 

It was years later that I realized the oppressive power of debt. My greatest teacher on personal money management became the Bible. One lesson I wished I had learned earlier was, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Irresponsible indebtedness, of which I was guilty, not only left me with bills I struggled to pay, but also severely restricted my ability to purchase things I needed. Long before I bought my first house, I was mortgaging my future.

 

I also knew little about the value and importance of saving money. Like many folks, I was living from paycheck to paycheck with little thought of saving for future needs and unexpected expenses. Years later I discovered the wisdom of setting aside a small portion of my income. A Christian financial advisor showed me that “…he who gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11).

 

While I was a newspaper editor and publisher, I made the mistake of cosigning on a loan for a staff person. I won’t get into the details, but it was a step I unwisely thought I had to take at the time. Later I learned the biblical warnings against accepting responsibility for another person’s debt: “Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you” (Proverbs 22:26-27).

 

The potentially adverse consequences of cosigning are so great, several other passages in Proverbs address it. For instance, Proverbs 11:15 cautions that “He who puts up security for another will surely suffer, but whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.”

 

Proverbs 6:1-4 is even more direct: “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another…. Go and humble yourself…. Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the snare of the fowler.” Eventually I was able to extricate myself from my surety obligations, but in the process had to endure a lot of unnecessary stress.

 

But the greatest lesson of all the Bible taught me was about financial stewardship and ownership. Like many people, my attitude had always been, ‘It’s my money. I can do whatever I want with it.’ Then I read this prayer of King David which puts wealth and possessions in proper perspective:

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is Yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; You are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from You; You are the ruler of all things…” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12).

 

This taught me that ultimately, I own nothing. God entrusts us with money and material resources, but we’re to serve as managers or stewards, not owners. As such, we are responsible to the Lord for our financial decisions. 

 

Writing not only about material possessions but also spiritual wealth – “the secret things of God” – the apostle Paul wrote, “Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

 

If I had learned common sense stuff like this in college, I could have avoided many challenges and a lot of unneeded worry. But what collegiate textbooks didn’t teach me I did learn from the greatest book of all, the Word of God. As David wrote in another psalm, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119:105).