No one wants to be thought of as a fool – not on April Fool’s Day, not at any time.

The Bible uses that strong term only a handful of times in regard to the use of money.  Interestingly, it’s used once to describe a person who saves too little and once to describe a person who saves too much.

Proverbs 21:20 says it’s foolish not to save: “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”  And Luke 12:20-21 says it’s foolish to put too much emphasis on saving, telling the story of a farmer whose bumper crop left him focusing on how to store up his riches and take life easy: “But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you.  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Life has a way of revealing the folly of taking either approach.  If we haven’t saved enough, the ramifications are obvious.  Without an emergency fund, the loss of a job can easily lead to the rapid build up of debt.

As for the other extreme of hoarding, from what I can tell, most of us have not been hoarding in the sense of saving more than we really need, but I wonder if our reactions to the ups and downs of our IRAs, 401(k) plans, or other investment accounts reveal something of a hoarder’s heart.  I wonder if perhaps one question God wants us to consider in light of the wild ride the stock market has been on in recent years, and in light of the continued global unrest, is whether we are putting too much of our hope for our future in our wealth (See 1 Timothy 6:17-19).

As challenging as our economic times have been of late, I believe as strongly as ever in the promise that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It’s wise to save and to invest knowledgeably.  And if we experience financial challenges, it’s natural to want to get through those tough times as quickly as possible.  But it would be nothing less than foolish to focus too much on the financial side of the life’s ledger, or to just grit our teeth and try to gut it out until things get better. We risk missing God’s purpose.

What is he saying to you about your savings habits or attitudes?  Have you been saving too little?  Have you been trusting in your savings or investments too much?

Other stories about savings that you may be interested in include:

Why Two Savings Accounts Are Better Than One

Can’t Build Savings?  I Say, You Can

Superstar Savers Share Their Secrets

Once a month, I take a look at what the Bible has to say about money.  Here’s why.

If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for a free subscription to this blog.  Two or three times a week, you’ll receive ideas and encouragement for using money well.

This month many of us will gather with family and friends for a Thanksgiving meal of turkey and stuffing.  In many homes it’s a tradition to go around the table and have each person mention something for which they are thankful.

One of the best ideas for remembering all of the good things that occurred over the past year comes from a couple I know, Bob and Jody. Throughout the year, whenever they experience some unexpected blessing­—whether large or small—they jot down what happened and put the note in what they call the “blessing box.” On Thanksgiving Day they read the notes aloud while their family is gathered around the dinner table. It helps them remember and acknowledge God’s goodness, and they hope it fosters hearts of gratitude in their children.

The blessing box is a great way to keep track of blessings we might otherwise forget.  And it’s a powerful antidote for the many marketing messages we receive that are designed to foster discontentment.

Of course, the Bible teaches us to give thanks not just for the blessings we experience, but in all circumstances—during good times as well as times of trial.

For me, the holiday season will always be bittersweet. My mother died a week and a half before Christmas in 2003, and my father died the day after Thanksgiving in 2004.  At the time of my father’s death, the worship team at our church frequently sang the song “Blessed Be Your Name.”  It seemed oddly upbeat for a song that includes the lyrics, “You give and take away.”  For months following my father’s death I found it impossible to sing along.  But with the passage of time, the pain of their loss has been eased by my gratitude for having parents that I deeply loved and respected.

I know that many people are in the midst of very challenging circumstances – unemployment, health problems, and more.  I don’t think God expects us to sugarcoat those trials and just put on a happy face.  However, I do think he wants us to remember that he knows our needs and promises to provide for us.

This Thanksgiving may we all praise and thank God for the many blessings we experienced over the past year, even in midst of our trials.

Have you ever seen an advertisement that included these words: “Think about it for a while before making a decision to buy this item”? Or, “Sleep on it and come back when you’re good and ready to make a wise decision.” Of course not. Instead, television infomercials breathlessly implore us to “Rush $29.95 before midnight tonight!” and automobile ads shout, “Buy now with no money down!”

Marketers are not promoters of patience. And yet, that is exactly what God’s Word teaches us to be about.

For many of us, the wisdom of waiting before making a purchase, especially a large purchase, can be confirmed with a simple trip down memory lane. Have you ever bought something you regret? How quickly did you make the decision? How much did you pray about it? How much wise counsel did you seek? Most of us can recall at least one such bad decision, and the culprit very likely was hurry.

Are you planning any major purchases? It’s wise to shop around. But it’s essential to seek God’s guidance through patient prayer.

Right after our five-year-old watches a DVD, he’s often eager to act out whatever he saw.  If there was singing on the DVD, he might grab his toy guitar and put on a concert.  If one of his favorite superheroes was on the screen, chances are he’ll grab a cape and race through the house on his way to an urgent rescue of some kind.

As adults, we don’t typically act out what we see in such an obvious manner.  However, many aspects of our lives, including our use of money, are strongly shaped by what we take in – the movies or television programs we watch, the books we read, the music we hear, and more.  In fact, Boston College sociology professor Juliet Schor has quantified the impact of television watching on how much a person saves.  The more they watch, the less they save.  The correlation is very clear.  And it’s not just exposure to commercials that prompts people to choose spending over saving.  Schor says it’s also the lifestyles depicted by the characters on popular television dramas.  Apparently, the fact that they tend to live in nice homes and wear the latest fashions makes viewers want to emulate those lifestyles.

One very powerful step we can all take toward wise money management is to be proactive in choosing what to take in and what not to take in. If you’re single-handedly keeping the hours of TV watched by the average viewer at its current five hours per day, maybe it’s time to unplug.  If your postal carrier is stooped over from the heavy load of catalogs he or she lugs to your house every day, maybe it’s time to get off some of those mailing lists.

Our son’s latest favorite way of acting out what he sees on DVD is to build it with Legos.  He even uses his best commercial announcer voice, learned from the Legos web site, to introduce his new creation to us.  The other day, he watched a DVD about Jesus.  When it was over he headed straight for his Legos, began building something with great enthusiasm, and then, using his best broadcaster voice, said, “Introducing Lego Jesus!”  We decided he can watch that DVD whenever he’d like to.

During what would be my father’s final year of life, I wrote him a letter. His health was declining rapidly, and he was deeply depressed over the recent death of my mother. I wanted him to draw some measure of satisfaction from the courage with which he had lived his life, including his heroic service in World War II.

As navigator of a B-17 bomber, there were missions he flew where he saw planes ahead of his disappear into thick clouds of smoke and fragments of exploding artillery shells. He wondered how he and his crewmates could possibly survive.  By the end of his tour of duty, he had flown 35 missions, many over heavily armed targets.

In my letter, I quoted from the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Shakespeare’s Henry V, in which the king exhorts his outnumbered army by telling them that all who step up to the challenge that day will be forever changed.

He that shall see this day, and live old age,

Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,

And say, “To-morrow is Saint Crispian.”

Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,

And say, “These wounds I had on Crispian’s day.”

Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,

But he’ll remember with advantages,

What feats he did that day.

Most of us will never know the courage required of war.  Yet we all face decisions that test our courage, many of them related to money.

Carol and Tim bought a house that Carol described as their dream home.  The mortgage required both of their incomes, which didn’t seem like a problem since they thought they could not have children.  Sure enough, shortly after moving in Carol got pregnant.  She felt a strong call to stay home full-time, but they couldn’t make it work on just one income. For five years, they wrestled with the tension of having enough money for their mortgage, but frustratingly little time for their daughter. Finally, they decided to sell their home and buy one that required just one income.

In our culture, the tendency is to view such a move as a step backwards. But nothing could be further from the truth.  By arranging their finances in accordance with their highest commitments, they took a difficult, disruptive, heroic step forward.

What financial decisions are you wrestling with? Our culture calls us toward comfort, but God often calls us toward choices that rock our world and require great courage. Years from now, it’s the courageous decisions we made that we will remember “with advantages.”

My friend, Brad, calls it their annual “Dixie Fraley talk.”  Once a year, he and his wife, Nancy, meet with their personal board of directors, which includes their CPA, attorney, and financial planner.  Brad and Nancy reveal their balance sheet, budget, giving plans for the year, along with plans to build their marriage and encourage their adult children.  Then they open it up for comments and suggestions.

Brad got the idea after hearing a talk given by Dixie Fraley, widow of Robert Fraley, a sports agent who died in the same plane crash that took the life of professional golfer Payne Stewart.  In the talk, Dixie described how Robert had organized annual meetings with trusted advisors, and how those meetings had left her well prepared to manage her financial affairs after Robert’s death.

Brad candidly acknowledges that prior to setting up their own board of directors, he had been leaving Nancy out of important financial decisions, and in some cases moving ahead with decisions she did not agree with.  Not surprisingly, finances had become a point of tension in their marriage.  By submitting to the counsel of others, Nancy gained a voice in their financial affairs.  “The meetings have made us more of a team,” Brad said.  “Really, they’ve been a marriage saver.”

Members of Brad and Nancy’s board have challenged them on everything from the number of hours brad works to how much money they keep in reserve.  Most importantly from Brad’s perspective, if anything happens to him, Nancy is on a first-name basis with a team of trusted advisors.

In Dixie Fraley’s talk, she mentioned that one million Americans lose their spouses each year, and over 80 percent of women will become widows. Financially, how prepared would your spouse be if something happened to you?  Does anyone else know your financial details, goals, and commitments?  If not, maybe it’s time to put together your own personal board of directors.

In the mid 1990s, Kevin Bauman began photographing abandoned houses in his hometown of Detroit.  It was a creative outlet, a way to express his amazement and concern that “a once great city could find itself in such great distress.” Viewing his online collection, 100 Abandoned Houses, you can see hints of many of the homes’ former glory.  You can see what they were made to be.  And you can’t help but wonder, what went wrong?

On the outside, our financial homes may not look as bad as the houses in Bauman’s pictures, but they’ve become overgrown with stress, and weakened by too little savings and too much debt.  This isn’t how God intended us to live.

To be sure, the recession isn’t doing us any favors.  But is the recession completely to blame for any personal financial pain we’re feeling?  Or could it be that the recession is simply revealing some of our own neglect?

One of the opportunities of this recession is to position ourselves to be better able to handle economic downturns to come.  To do so, we would be well advised to consider any ways that we may have neglected God’s teaching on money.  Are we trusting in God’s provision?  Giving generously?  Saving adequately?  Spending according to a plan?  Avoiding the bondage of debt?  These are essential steps in building and maintaining financial homes that will stand strong.

No one wants to be thought of as a fool – not on April first, not at any time.

The Bible uses that strong term only a handful of times in regard to the use of money—once to describe a person who saves too little and once to describe a person who saves too much.

Proverbs 21:20 says it’s foolish not to save: “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”  And Luke 12 says it’s foolish to put too much emphasis on saving, telling the story of a farmer whose bumper crop leaves him focusing on how to store up his riches and take life easy: “But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you.  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:20-21).

The recession has revealed the folly of taking either approach.  If we haven’t saved enough, the ramifications are obvious.  Without an emergency fund, the loss of a job can easily lead to the rapid build up of debt.

As for the other extreme of hoarding, most of us have not been hoarding in the sense of saving more than we really need, but I wonder if our reactions to losses in our IRAs or 401(k) plans reveals something of a hoarder’s heart.  I wonder if perhaps one question God wants us to consider in light of our losses is whether we had been putting our hope in our wealth (See 1 Timothy 6:17-19).

As bad as the recession has been, I believe as strongly as ever in the promise that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

It’s natural to want to get through our tough times as quickly as possible.  But it would be nothing less than foolish to just grit our teeth and try to gut it out until things get better. We risk missing God’s purpose.  What is he saying to you about your savings habits or attitudes?  Have you been saving too little?  Have you been trusting in your savings too much?

Every day of our lives, we are the unwitting recipients of countless messages designed to foster discontentment. They are very effective at making us believe that we need something more.  In fact, according to one study, more than 60 percent of us always have something in mind that we look forward to buying.

That’s what makes this month’s verses seem so out-of-synch with our daily experience. What? Content with only food and clothing? Why, that’s downright un-American! Or so it seems. But do you know what else it is? It’s liberating.

My wife and I recently decided to give away my car.  It needed a cost prohibitive repair, so we gave it to a ministry that fixes cars and then gives them to needy families.  The car had 165,000 miles on it and a number of dents. It had been hit a couple of times while parked in our former neighborhood in Chicago.  A tree branch even fell on it once, denting the roof.  Because of its high mileage, we never bothered to fix the dents.

When I was working in corporate America, I would drive into the parking lot of my office building and pass lots of new cars. Driving that old car gave me frequent opportunities to practice contentment.

What helped the most was reminding myself that having a paid-off car gave us the financial freedom to build savings targeted toward being able to leave my corporate job one day to write and speak full-time. The more I dwelled on that benefit, the more thankful I felt. In the process, I saw firsthand that gratitude drives contentment and serves as a powerful antidote to our culture’s constant encouragement to want something more.

Instead of always having something in mind that we look forward to buying, what if we always had something in mind that we were thankful for?

When the sun goes down we usually close the curtains in our house.  With nothing to see outside, there’s no point in keeping them open.  But on our first night home from a Thanksgiving trip, just as I was about to pull the cord on the curtains in our living room, the sight of a home across the way beautifully decorated in Christmas lights prompted me to leave the curtains open, to sit on the couch, and just drink in the sight.

With headlines bemoaning tight-fisted shoppers, and the horrific news that one person even died in a stampede of deal-seekers, those lights lifted my spirits.  They brought me back to the original meaning of Christmas lights: to proclaim that Jesus is the Light of the world.

As Christmas becomes ever busier, ever more commercial, it restores my soul to re-read the story of the first Christmas. I need the reminder that the first celebrants were not in a hurry to get to the mall; they were in a hurry to get to Jesus.  And upon seeing Jesus, their thoughts did not turn to fretting over what to buy or bake; their thoughts turned to telling others about him.  And that’s a timeless prescription for a great Christmas.

While Jesus is the true Light of the world (John 8:12), he made the remarkable statement that we, too, are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).  So, this Christmas, let’s remember that we don’t have an obligation to prop up the economy, but we do have an opportunity to spread the word about all that has been told us about “this child.”  That isn’t about adding one more thing to our to-do list.  It’s simply about being who God made us to be.