Understanding Financial Discipline

Show Notes

• If you need any convincing that discipline is a necessary part of life, look no further than Proverbs 25:28 - “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and, left without walls.” And that from King Solomon, arguably the richest man who ever lived. If discipline doesn’t seem like fun, it certainly provides many other positive things to make your life better, peace of mind among them. When you have discipline to follow God’s financial principles, for example, you worry a lot less about creditors calling you for bills you can’t pay. Instead, you’re putting money aside for emergencies and investing for the future. You can’t put a price tag on that.
• The word discipline has developed a negative connotation over time. You might think of “disciplinary action”, which is punishment for wrongdoing. But that’s not how the word started out. The verb disciple means “to teach.” A disciple is a student. Jesus taught His disciples how to spread the Gospel. They certainly weren’t being punished.
• These days, besides being thought of as a punishment, discipline is often thought to be restrictive, that it limits our ability to do what we want. And that’s what often makes self discipline so difficult. Given a choice, we’d rather not limit ourselves. Here’s where things get a little counter-intuitive. If you think that discipline limits your freedom, actually, it does the opposite, especially in the case of self-discipline. And let’s use money as an example. We have to train or discipline ourselves to live on a budget, to save, and be generous, as laid out in God’s financial principles. We don’t want to do those things naturally. We’d rather spend our money on whatever we want, whenever we want. We don’t want to limit our options.
• Discipline doesn’t really limit those options, it merely delays and focuses them. Over time, practicing self- discipline actually adds to your choices, to your freedom, because you’re not in debt and you have money in the bank. Saving and investing require discipline. Proverbs 10:4 reads, “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” As we acquire wealth, we also acquire more freedom, not to spend foolishly, but to live an appropriate, comfortable lifestyle, and to serve God more fully. That’s true freedom, and it only comes from discipline.
• If discipline has developed an unfair negative meaning, freedom has developed an unfair positive connotation. You might think it means you get to have anything you want, a better car, a bigger house, or an expensive vacation with all the frills. But unless you’re paying cash, all of those things lead only to debt, which, of course, is the opposite of freedom. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
• True freedom requires discipline or it leads to disaster. Freedom without virtue becomes license, from which we get the word, “licentious,” which means having a complete disregard for rules or morality.
• Our Founding Fathers knew this. They gave us more freedom than any people have ever enjoyed in history. But they knew that our nation could only survive if the people remained virtuous. To paraphrase many of them, without virtue, or discipline, there is no liberty. There’s a story about a woman stopping Benjamin Franklin as he was leaving the Constitutional Convention. She asked, “What kind of government have you given us?” Franklin replied, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”
• Ol’ Ben probably would have fainted if someone told him his new country would someday have a national debt of $31 trillion. We need to remember that discipline is a good thing, and that freedom can be dangerous. So don’t be fooled by appearances. Discipline only appears to restrict you, while freedom only appears to give you anything you want, without earning it. The truth is that without discipline there can be no real freedom. Hebrews 12:11 reads, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
• If you think you can’t discipline yourself to handle money according to God’s financial principles, pray and ask the Lord for help. 2 Timothy 1:7 teaches, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” We’d love to help, too. With tools like the MoneyWise app and the best content you’ll find on how to manage your money wisely.

On-Air Mention:

• I’m happy to say that with the Lord’s favor and help, we continue to break records of people using the MoneyWise app for daily money management and biblical wisdom. Over 37,000 members are using its digital envelope system, participating in our community forums, and engaging in virtual workshops. In addition to managing all of your accounts in one place, the MoneyWise app can also keep you disciplined to spend more wisely. Choose from 1 of 3 options depending on your management style, and it's available on desktop or mobile. Go to moneywise.org and click the App tab for more details.

Extra Year-End Giving Mention (at the beginning of any segment)

• For many of our listeners, debt was a crippling factor until they understood and applied God’s financial principles. Our inspiring testimony today comes from Teresa in South Carolina. Listen to what she says - “Thank you MoneyWise. I felt like I was drowning in debt and had no hope. Rob, you always say that unless your behavior and mindset change, you’ll continue to be stuck and unable to improve your finances. You referred me to your partner organization, Christian Credit Counselors, and I was so motivated by the program that, with the Lord’s help, my behaviors did change! Even though we estimated that it would take 4 ½ years to pay off $14,000 in credit card debt, I was able to complete the program in only 3 years. Today, I’m a saver and not a spender. Thank you so much for your biblical teaching.”
• You know, these stories keep our ministry focused on sharing God’s word to heal, restore, and transform lives for the glory of God. Because of our current financial climate and the challenges of increased costs and inflation, many people are reaching out to us for help and guidance. Would you like to help us teach and train others? Please consider sending a monthly or one-time gift to MoneyWise by December 31st. Go to moneywise.org and click the “Give” button on the homepage. Thank you for your consideration and generosity.

Next, Rob answers these questions at 800-525-7000 or via email at Questions@MoneyWiseLive.org:

• If you and your husband are 62 and 63 and your current life insurance policy is ending, you plan on retiring near age 65, what type replacement policy should you look at when considering your present age?
• If you recently moved into a career job paying around $70,000 from an earlier job paying only $15,000 annually and you've begun to spend too much discretionary money, how can you begin saving for emergencies and buying a house?
• If you're 57, working at a Fortune 500 company and you have a 401(k) with $570,000 invested in a more conservative investing scheme, considering the present economy, how can you determine whether to continue as is or make changes?
• Can you make charitable contributions directly from your 401(k) or do you have to roll it over to an IRA first?
• What are the qualifications for making a QCD (Qualified Charitable Distribution)?
• If you're unemployed due to a medical condition, you'll soon be receiving $1,600 child support, you're receiving $1,700 in Social Security, you're living paycheck to paycheck, you currently have $50,000 life insurance policies on yourself and your two children and you have a 401(k) with about $12,000, what should you do to get your expenses more in line with income?
• If you've been retired 12 years from a public service job, you have a pension and the state is improving your pension offering you a one-time payment of $34,000 that you can choose to receive one of three ways - an annuity, take a check or put it into the previous retirement plan, which would be best tax-wise?
• Are paper versions available of the I Bond?

Jerry Bowyer - Considering The Market

• It looks like anything related to the Fed taking their foot off the gas is what's driving these markets, right?
• If we looked at all this from a Biblical perspective, how then, should things work?
• In light of these interest rates, payments on the US national debt is expected to top out at $1T. That's a by-product of what you're talking about, right?
• As we move forward, what is it you're watching as you attempt to understand where we're headed?

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