What If We Really Understood Psalm 24:1?

Hopelessness in personal finances is a common experience for most people.

Chris Brown, who recently joined the staff of Dave Ramsey, wrote, "As a child, I saw hopelessness on my mother’s face when she longed to provide more for her family. As an adult, after riding the roller coaster from the highs of investment real estate to the lows of bankruptcy, I understood what my mother must have felt. But after that awakening, I turned a corner. My wife, Holly, and I began to manage our money as God’s money. That’s changed everything."

What if we took the time to really understand that God owns it all, and that we’re just managing everything according to our sacred teachings in the Bible? Psalm 24:1 is clear: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.”

Imagine how American homes would approach their finances and generosity differently if we took a holistic, biblical stewardship as something more than answering the call to a fundraising campaign or a legal transaction with God. Likely, we’d start to understand that we’re managing God’s blessings God’s ways for God’s glory.

Consider this: Americans are spending an average of $1.26 for every dollar they earn, and 70% of us are living paycheck to paycheck. Many of the people we see every day spend more than they make and can’t see past their most recent paycheck. It’s no wonder giving has hovered around just 3% for more than 40 years.

The spiritual practice of generosity can lead us out of the hopelessness of a life with no margin and into the remarkable lives God created us to have! The spiritual practice of generosity is one key ingredient in a vital faith and relationship with Jesus.