Our Journey to Financial Freedom – Part 1 – Overview

Along with politics and religion, money is a taboo topic in American culture. The lack of money discussion is a primary factor in personal monetary issues plaguing this country. The first step in understanding money is to talk about it.

1 Timothy 6:10 says “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Note that it says the LOVE of money, not money itself, is evil. It’s an important distinction that I’ve not always grasped. Money is an inanimate object and is neither good nor evil. 

Having an abundance of money can, but not always will, cause someone to put their trust in it instead of God. In Matthew 19:23-24, Jesus said “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” It is difficult, but not impossible.

Matthew 27:57-58 shows that being rich does not automatically make a person evil.  It states “…a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.” Not only did Joseph become a disciple of Jesus, he also risked everything to properly bury the body of Jesus. The same Israelites that demanded Jesus be crucified also could have punished Joseph.

Another fallacy is that only those who are rich can be rich. Growing up and until a few years ago, I always thought that debt would be a millstone hanging around my neck. I told many people over the years “There is no way I can help my kids with college; I’ll still be paying off my student loans.” It can be difficult to comprehend the impact of hard work, intentionality, and knowing your worth in respect to wealth building.

A shocking statistic from Dave Ramsey is that “79% of millionaires did not receive any inheritance at all from their parents or other family members.” This is contrary to what most media pushes to the mass of sheople. With hard work, perseverance, and intentionality anyone can achieve their dreams. For those who disagree with Dave Ramsey, another study completed by Fidelity found that “88% of millionaires are self made.”

Dave Ramsey’s book Total Money Makeover was the push we needed to understand that money isn’t evil and we don’t have to live in debt our entire lives. We began our debt free journey in 2018 and are still working through it. There have been struggles along the way, many setbacks and lessons. Each part of the journey has been a learning curve and well worth it. For example, it took us months to figure out how to budget. 

Getting out of debt and having full control over your money allows for more freedom. Proverbs 22:7 says “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.” When money is owed to someone else, you cannot do what you want to do. There is no freedom and no peace of mind. It will be a long journey of constant learning and each step is needed to make it to the end. Our hope with this part of the blog is that someone else can see there is light at the end of the tunnel.