Be The Fruit

Helping the Foolish Spender #3

by Bill Blair on 16/01/09 at 5:26 am

This is the final post of this series.  You can read the other two posts here and here. 

Sight/Meditation

Once the counselee has an understanding of what the Scriptures teach about stewardship, the counselor should begin show how these truths impact the counselee’s life. The foolish spender who lacks discipline should meditate on the biblical truths contained in the following questions: Am I orienting my life so that I strive to make all my decisions, financial or otherwise, and do all things for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31)? Am I acting foolishly by making financial decisions without considering all the data (Prov 18:13)? Am I making wise decisions by being cautious in my spending, or am I foolish because I am reckless and careless (Prov 14:16)? The counselee should meditate on the truth that their lack of discipline cannot be blamed on anyone else, and consider how they were lured away to be undisciplined and spend foolishly by their desire that has grown into sin which is causing their difficulty (Jas 1:14-15).

Resolve/Diligence

After some time to progress, the counselee should begin to take ownership of their problem. There should be a change of mind where the counselee has begun to truly seek to organize their life in order to be a good steward. The counselee should be completing homework, showing a passion for overcoming their problem, and should exhibit an attitude of resolve that could be summarized in the following statement: “By God’s grace, I will put-off my lack of discipline and foolish spending with the help of the Spirit (Rom 8:13); I will learn to put structure into my life so that I can make wise financial decisions by considering all data (Prov 18:13), and become a good steward of all of God’s resources by learning to live my entire life for the glory of God (1 Cor 10:31).

Application

Homework and application should be centered on helping the counselee put-off a lack of discipline and put-on self-control. The main focus should be on providing structure to the counselee’s life as well as their finances. To begin, the counselee should keep a daily log charting their normal schedule and spending. Asking a person to develop a schedule or a budget is overwhelming, but a daily log is doable. After two weeks on the activities log and a month on the spending log, the counselee should have enough data to begin following a daily plan and a monthly budget. For the foolish spender, the daily plan is the key because it establishes the structure needed to force the counselee to keep track of their financial data. If the daily plan is followed and budgeting is on the list then the problem will get solved. The daily plan could work like a “to-do list,” or it could detail tasks hour by hour. The important factor is that this daily plan provides the needed structure and accountability so the foolish spender has the walls or parameters they need to exercise self-control in all areas of their life (Prov 25:28).

Transfer/Disciple

For the counselee who has struggled with stewardship, it may not be wise to ask them to begin to teach others about this topic. They may be able, however, to offer encouragement to others by sharing their story of transformation. It will be the most beneficial for the counselee to focus on serving others in areas they are gifted in. These areas could be anything that involves sacrificing one’s time or resources for the good of others. One place the counselee could begin to teach others about stewardship is within the home. If the counselee is married, it is important for him to begin to teach his family how to manage their time and finances. The counselee should not simply establish a budget or a schedule for the family, but explain the biblical principles that drive such procedures. A word of caution: The counselee should not confuse his methods with biblical commands. There are many ways to achieve the goal of good stewardship; therefore, the counselee should not force his methods on the family, but allow freedom in how good stewardship is achieved. Although the counselee may never be a gifted teacher on financial stewardship, after working through this process they should be able to guide and teach these principles to those who are closest to them beginning in the home.

Conclusion

If there is one primary point I learned when I developed this case study it is that poor finances are not necessarily fixed by simply developing a budget.  Certainly a budget is needed, but to truly help others change we must look below the surface issue and see what is really driving the problem.  Too often, I think we only look at the symptoms and only get temporary results because the root “sickness” still exists.  I hope you have found this beneficial.