Keeping balance with our wealth is often like walking a tightrope. There are seasons when life causes an imbalance, but the goal is that we live consistently balancing family, work, ministry, and relationships. For many, there exists and imposter to our balance, and that imposter is our wealth. Managing our wealth, pointing it to the right things, seeing it for what it really is, and using it for what it is truly intended is the goal. When our wealth is out of balance, ultimately, we are out of balance. It shows up in our emotions, our mental state, as well as our spiritual state. In Tightrope, we are going to take a look at the large picture of our wealth and seek to be equipped to pursue financial balance in our lives.

Week 1: My Responsibility

You can’t follow Jesus and remain out of balance financially. Balance requires that I take responsibility. And so it is up to us to do the difficult work of managing our wealth. We must recognize that the more you have, the easier it is to get out of balance…and imbalance always creates stress.

Week 2: Balance Imposter…Debt

Debt is a concern to God. The reason for this is that debt is often not a result of need but of lack of self-control. If you are going to be balanced and live in freedom we have to address our debt. This imposter often drifts in over time, and we must decide to claw our way out of it.

Week 3: Balancing the Extras

Most would say I don’t have as much extra as I want or as much extra as some people I know. Truth is, our desire for extra is like the rest of our appetites. It can never fully or finally be satisfied. Chances are you have more extra than your parents had at your age…and certainly more than most people in the world. But the problem is, we don’t have extra money lying around. True, it rarely lays around. We find stuff to do with it. Remember, whenever you have more of something than you need, the tendency is to become undisciplined. Balance requires the commitment to consider our extras and keep them in check.

Week 4: Going Shopping in Our Closets 

Unlike past generations, we are bombarded with reminders of what we don’t have. In the past, people replaced things when they broke, wore out, or got lost. Now we upgrade. This week we’re going to address spending. Specifically, the dynamic that fuels our over-spending. Awareness is what fuels our over-spending. We are fine until we become aware of what we don’t have. We’re going to be challenged to go shopping in our closet. To be grateful for what we already have and begin to apply the law of balance when spending.

Week 5: Reordering Our Financial World

If we scrutinized where our money is going we can apply the principle of percentages. There are two things that govern said percentages: priorities and self-control. You are living off some percentage of your income right now. Many have never taken the time to know what it is. Why not pre-direct it instead of reacting in the moment. Balance is reordering our money to reflect our priorities and assigning a percentage to it. For the follower of Jesus this begins with the priority of the Kingdom.