Looking For a Way to Break the Power of Money in Your Life?

It’s hard to avoid the power that money has over our lives. After all, we need money to live.

The problem is that, for many of us, money has too much power.

There’s a reason Jesus says in Matthew 6:19-21,24, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ... No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Best-selling author and financial planner Ron Blue likes to call attention to the fact that this passage doesn’t say it’s difficult to serve God and money—it’s impossible.

Why? 1 Timothy 6:10 warns us, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

I think that’s a pretty good diagnosis of life for many in America. Because of our desire for money—and the comforts and security it brings—we are tempted to let it control us and lead us to wander away from the faith.

I recently interviewed Ron Blue for my YouTube channel, and both episodes of our discussion are available now. One of the topics Ron talked about was his “cure” for the power of money—giving. One of his foundational principles of wise money management is to “give generously as a first priority.” Giving, Ron says, “is the only way to break the power of money.”

One of Ron’s favorite stories is about the time he took one of his sons to breakfast at Chick-fil-A. That morning he saw a woman who had waited upon him several times before and “always had a joyful look on his face.”

As he walked out of the restaurant he thought, “Why don’t we tip people at fast food restaurants?” He was going to give the woman $20, but then sensed a voice inside him saying, “You cheapskate! Give her more.”

So he gave her five $20 bills.

When Ron saw her the next week, she came up to thank him and said that she originally planned to use the money for a new set of tires she needed. But her daughter came home from school that afternoon and told her about another student whose family had just lost their home in a fire. So the woman gave away her $100 tip to help that family.

Ron says, “I gave out of my abundance, and she gave out of her poverty. And that taught me a lot.”

The experience inspired Ron to start doing a lot of cash giving—even if he can’t claim these gifts on his taxes. “It’s not about the deduction; it’s about the person.”

He likes to reward people who serve people with no expectation of receiving a tip. “I love going to the airport and finding the person who cleans the bathroom and give them some money. They’re always the unseen.”

A number of years ago I had a conversation with the widow of a businessman who had built a massive trucking company. She said that when he was about to turn 65, her husband asked her one day if he should take Social Security. They didn’t need the money, but she noted that he had paid into the system for his entire career and had earned it. “So why don’t you give away that money?” she advised.

And that’s what he did—he cashed each check and started giving money to people he met who needed it—a young man working at the gas station, or a single parent mom who was struggling from paycheck to paycheck.

She said her husband would come home more excited about what he had given away to strangers than he was about his business.

We don’t talk about giving all that often in our families … and we need to, for our children’s sake and for ours as well. Giving is a spiritual discipline that we need to practice on a regular basis.

I can still recall my dad pulling out his checkbook every week to write a check to the church.  He was left-handed and had magnificent penmanship, and I remember him watching him pen those checks every Sunday.

After he passed away in 1976, I began going through his files to help my mom get her finances in order. I found some of those checks and saved them. They are great reminders for me and I hope someday for our children.

If you want to experience joy in giving—and infect your children as well—that’s a good place to start.

What a way to break the power of money in your life!

Click here to watch Ron Blue pass on a lot more financial wisdom in my two-part interview. And you’ll find a lot more great videos at my YouTube channel.