When you make the choice to be an Ethical $pender and apply the value of hope to your money beliefs and behaviors, God promises you are not alone.
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.
– Hebrews 6:19-20
Money worries can make a person feel very alone; isolated from others due to fear, embarrassment, emotional paralysis and uncertainty. A forerunner is a person coming in advance to herald the arrival of someone else. To me, this meant Jesus was working on my behalf long before I was born. When my hope to improve the way I handled money was placed in the proven, unchanging, perfect, absolute nature of God, I became more confident and patient, rather than ashamed and fearful. I realized I was not alone; even when I was not able to discuss my money worries with friends and family, I could talk to God anytime, anywhere. He happens to be a very good listener.
MONEY BELIEFS
You want those around you to love and respect you. You do not want them to worry about you. You are embarrassed about your financial situation, but if your spouse, children, parents, siblings, friends or coworkers knew how disorganized you are with money, how little you have in savings, how quickly you spend any extra money that comes your way, or how unprepared you are for retirement they would think less of you. Your money beliefs reflect that fear:
- You have convinced yourself that “I am just not good with money. It overwhelms me.”
- Your parents never taught you how to handle money and it’s too complicated to learn now
- It is important to give the impression to those around you that everything is fine so they do not judge or abandon you
- It is rude to talk about money. Within your family and culture it is inappropriate to talk about money.
MONEY BEHAVIORS
You want those around you to view you as an intelligent, responsible, and successful person. Your money behaviors reflect that fear.
- You buy the right toys for our kids, we say yes to the new car, the vacation, the get together at our favorite restaurant
- You live well, dress well and give great gifts to people you love without first seeing what you can afford
- You habitually spend money you don’t have and then painfully finagle your way through the eventual consequence
- You do not talk honestly about your financial choices with anyone, not even yourself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-q47Im2VIY