Choice
You Can Steer Yourself in Any Direction You Choose
Choice gives you the opportunity and the power to handpick between two or more possibilities.
As Dr. Seuss said, “I have brains in my head. I have feet in my shoes. I can steer myself in any direction I choose.”
As the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
When you apply your values to the choices you make about money, your finances become less complicated, your life becomes more peaceful, and you grow spiritually in the process!
How Confident Do You Feel?
Nearly half of U.S. adults are “not very” or “not at all” confident on their knowledge of personal finance . Adults ages 18-44 are less likely than older adults to feel confident in their last big financial decision or their ability to meet future financial obligations.
– Source: NFCC Datasheet 2020
%
Not confident at all
%
Not very confident
%
Very Confident
%
Extremely Confident
Small choices add up and each positive choice you make increases confidence and dispels fear.
Start Making Better Choices About Money
That’s the powerful thing.
God gave you the right to choose. You can choose.
You don’t like the way things are going?
Change!
What Does god say about choice?
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
– Proverbs 3:5-6
You Choose Beliefs
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
– Philippians 4:8
At first glance this scripture does not appear to have anything to do with money or with choice. A closer look and you may see it is telling us that right thoughts lead to making right choices.
Are your thoughts about money pure, honorable, lovely, and commendable or self-defeating, self-limiting, and self-serving?
The choice is yours.
You Choose Behaviors
Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide open and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter it are many. For the gate is narrow and the ways is hard that leads to life.
– Matthew 7:13-14
You get to choose the gate you walk through, the steps you make, and the actions you take.
Are the money behaviors you choose based on what seems easy or on what you know is right?
The choice is yours.
You Choose Consequences
I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life, that you and your offspring may live.
– Deuteronomy 30:19
Consequences exist in response to the beliefs and behaviors you have chosen.
Do you feel blessed or cursed by the consequences of your money beliefs and behaviors?
The choice is yours.
For where your treasure is,
there your heart will be also.
– Matthew 6:21
Don’t like the way things are going?
Change!
You can Make the Choice to Change
To change your money consequences, change your money behaviors.
To change money behaviors, change money beliefs.
To change money beliefs, change your mind.
To change your mind, change your heart.
To change your heart, shift your attention from earthly matters to God.
“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains and we never even know we have the key.”
– Eagles (Already Gone)
Think you don’t have a choice?
If something is subconscious and then automatic, it’s believed that you don’t have a choice in the matter. And to me, that’s the most regrettable thing about this subconscious model: Believing that you don’t have a choice.
The truth is, as I see it, is that everything you think, say, and do is a choice – and you don’t need to think, speak or act as you’ve done for your entire life.
When you abandon making choices, you enter the vast world of excuses.
– Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Excuses BE Gone
What's Your Excuse?
- I’m already good with money
- Budgeting is too restrictive
- I’m bad at math
- I’m too busy
- I can’t get my spouse on board
- Budgeting is confusing
- I can’t budget because I have an irregular income
- Nobody ever taught me to budget
- Budgeting is boring
- My finances are too messy
- I’m not good with spreadsheets
- I don’t have enough money to need a budget
- I make too much money to make a budget
- Budgeting doesn’t work
- Unexpected expenses always derail me
– Source: bethebudget.com
Are you a typical consumer?
On average, the weekly amount most people make the choice to spend – not including bills like mortgage or rent, utilities, etc. – is 72% more than they budgeted. That extra spending is roughly $7,400 each year.
– Source: Sarah O’Brien www.cnbc.com
- Average weekly budget – $197
- Average weekly spending – $340
- Average weekly overspending – $143
Which Voice are You Listening to?
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
– John 10:27
Listen to the Voice of Truth
According to author and speaker Roxanne Parks, “We live in a noisy world full of voices and choices.” She identifies four voices that are raging in our heads on a daily basis:
- The voice of God
- The voice of the enemy
- The voice of ourselves
- The voice others
“Pay attention! Listen to the Voice of the Father. Be aware of the other voices and the choices, as the voice you believe will determine the future you experience.”
– Roxanne Parks
We Choose Our Thoughts & Behaviors
We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour, each day, making choices.
We choose the thoughts we allow ourselves to think, the passions we
allow ourselves to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to perform.
Each choice is made in the context of whatever value system we have selected to govern our lives.
In selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way, making the most important choice we will ever make.
Those who believe there is a God who made all things and who governs the
world by his providence will make many choices different from those who do not.
Those who hold in reverence that being who gave them life and worship Him through
adoration, prayer, and thanksgiving will make choices different from those who do not.
Those who believe that mankind are all of a family and that the most acceptable service
of God is doing good to man will make many choices different from those who do not.
Those who believe in a future state in which all that is wrong here will
be made right will make many choices different from those who do not.
Those who subscribe to the moral teachings of Jesus
will make many choices different from those who do not.
– Benjamin Franklin | The Art of Virtue | 1760 public domain
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.
– Romans 13:8 (NIV)
Are You in Debt?
If you are in debt, make the choice not to deepen it today.
- Don’t borrow money from a friend or family member
- Don’t accept a service you plan to pay for later
- Don’t take a loan from a bank or other lending organization
- Don’t charge anything on your credit card
Based on: Mundis, Jerrold. How to Get Out of Debt, Stay Out of Debt, and Live Prosperously
“Everyday, the choices you make say what you are and who your heart beats for.”
– Francesca Battiselli
Ethical $pending
Your Choice | God's Miracle
JU$T LOVE
No judgment. We know it gets hard sometimes.
It will be easier once you find wisdom and gain understanding.
God will bless you in seemingly impossible ways!
Ethical $pending is a CHOICE to base your MONEY beliefs & behaviors on spiritual VALUES.