Written by Renate McDonald

Budgeting is one of the most common topics spoken about when it comes to managing your finances. However, have you ever thought about it as an act of faith?

I often say: "Our faith and our finances are not separate".

By that, I mean that we are not to keep the two things in siloes. Instead, our financial decisions must reflect our faith in Jesus Christ. How we earn, how we plan, how we give, how we spend, and everything in between, must be subjected to Christ. We do not allow worry or anxiety to linger because Jesus told us that we cannot add a day to our lives, nor an inch to our stature by worrying. He also tells us not to be anxious about tomorrow. (See Matthew 6:25-34). 

Why is this important? The truth is that even when we budget, the income and expense sides don't always balance - there may be gaps or unexpected expenses during the period. When these things happen, how are you responding? Are you filled with anxiety or are you turning first to God for His solution to the challenge in front of you? These situations are opportunities to exercise and strengthen our faith.

As it is written in Hebrews 11:1 (ESV), "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." When we create a budget, we are planning with conviction for the things not yet seen. We are preparing our hearts and minds to receive income and appropriate it according to our plans. We are trusting that God will provide for us through whatever avenue He has led us to pursue. 

It cannot be ignored that our faith also requires work. As James tells us in James 2:20, "...faith apart from works is useless" (See more context in James 2:14-26). We would be in error to expect that we are not required to put some action to our faith in order to see the fulfillment of God's plans for us. In the case of budgeting, the work is the planning ahead, the tracking, the updating and the revisions.    

Allow me to share one more thought on this topic. When sharing about the cost of being His disciple in Luke 14:25-33, Jesus shared an important principle about planning ahead - you may know it as "counting the cost". Jesus spoke about sitting down and counting the cost to determine if one has enough to complete the tower they planned to build. He also referenced a king going to war - will he not first sit down and deliberate whether his army is adequate to come against the opposing army? If he does not, then won't he negotiate for peace instead? 

The summary - assess whether you have what is required to accomplish the goal. When it comes to money management, this principle results in budgeting.

 In my next post, I'll take you through the practical steps of budgeting. For now, I leave you with a simple graphic of Luke 14:31-32 and three easy to remember tips from it.

Remember: Faith is the foundation of all that we do as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For us, budgeting is putting that faith in action.