{"id":715,"date":"2018-11-21T06:54:02","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T06:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=715"},"modified":"2018-11-21T13:54:16","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T13:54:16","slug":"god-looking-way-youre-looking-cousin-asking-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2018\/11\/god-looking-way-youre-looking-cousin-asking-money.html","title":{"rendered":"Is God Looking at You the Same Way You’re Looking at That Cousin Asking for More Money?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"unsplash-logoAris
Aris Sfakianakis<\/span><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This holiday season, we’re all going to encounter that one family member. It\u2019s the family member, maybe a cousin, maybe an aunt, maybe an uncle, that you\u2019ve promised to yourself that you will never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, lend money to them.\u00a0<\/span>Does anyone have that relative? We have people in our lives, whether family members or close friends or maybe even co-workers that just don\u2019t get it when it comes to money.<\/span><\/p>\n

They\u2019re always in debt. They\u2019re always buying things they can’t afford. They\u2019re always opening up new credit cards because their other credit cards are maxed out. They\u2019re always taking trips they can\u2019t afford and blowing money on stuff that\u2019s absolutely useless. Everyone has a person that we know well in our minds, the person who has no clue when it comes to handling money.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, the problem is, this person thinks they know the answer to their problems. Since the problem is a lack of money, they think the answer is: more money<\/em>! So they ask you. If this person just needs a couple of hundred bucks to make the next payment on the full-size pickup that they can\u2019t afford, or if they need $200 for groceries because they spent all their money on clothes and jewelry, how motivated are you to give them money? Are you kidding? They can\u2019t even handle the little money they have, what makes anyone think they\u2019d be responsible if they got more money, right?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

they can\u2019t be trusted with money. Because they blew the last loan you gave them. Because they\u2019re complaining about how poor they are while driving a car that\u2019s nicer than yours. They say they need money for their kids but they just bought the new Jordans that cost $300. Can I get an \u2018amen\u2019 somebody? If you give them money, you\u2019re only enabling them. If they haven\u2019t learned to be responsible with what they already have, then you might as well just throw $100 out the window on the way home, because that\u2019s what you\u2019d be doing if you gave more money to this person.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, here\u2019s the twist, and for this\u00a0blog to have ANY impact on you today, you need to be gut level honest with yourself. If you were God, and if you were looking at how you were handling God\u2019s money from God\u2019s perspective, would you look at yourself like you look at that cousin that can\u2019t be trusted with money?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

How do you handle the money you\u2019ve already been given? Do you know where your money goes? Do you have a budget? Do you stick to it? Are in you debt? Are you investing anything in the Kingdom or are you blowing it all on toys for yourself?<\/span><\/p>\n

Is that maybe why God hasn\u2019t answered your prayers when you ask for more money? You can\u2019t even handle the money you\u2019ve already been given! If God gives you more, you\u2019ll just blow it on yourself. Why in God\u2019s green earth would God entrust you with greater riches if you can\u2019t even steward the life you have now?\u00a0<\/span>How you handle money now is a trial run for greater riches. You want more money? You want the blessed life? The answer isn\u2019t more money. The answer is to be a trusted and responsible steward with what God has already given you, then you can be trusted with more.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This holiday season, we’re all going to encounter that one family member. It\u2019s the family member, maybe a cousin, maybe an aunt, maybe an uncle, that you\u2019ve promised to yourself that you will never, ever, ever, under any circumstances, lend money to them.\u00a0Does anyone have that relative? We have people in our lives, whether family…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[354,27,353,51,355,356],"class_list":["post-715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-next-steps","tag-cousin","tag-god","tag-loan","tag-money","tag-steward","tag-stewardship"],"yoast_head":"\nIs God Looking at You the Same Way You're Looking at That Cousin Asking for More Money? - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Since our problem is a lack of money, we think we know what the answer is: more money. 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