7 practical steps to help us deal with money from Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, starting on page 32. (These were used in my "Where's Your Treasure?" message yesterday at Crossroads.)
1. It’s okay to get in touch (meaning – be aware) of your feelings about money! (i.e. I have too much, not enough, or it’s not fair)
2. By a conscious act of the will, let us stop denying our wealth (stop comparing ourselves to others like us, but in view as world citizens where we’re all so, so wealthy!).
3. Let us create an atmosphere in which confession is possible (i.e. in small groups) where we are free from condemnation, where we can listen with empathy to the confession of one seduced by money, where we can say “Hi, My name is ______, and I’m obsessed with money” and they respond, “Hi, _______!” Where we can pray to God aloud, “forgive me for I have sinned, money has captured my heart!”
4. Let us discover one other person who will struggle with us through this money maze - seeking together to honor God!
5. Let us discover ways to get in touch with the poor (to comprehend our relative wealth) – read “Grapes of Wrath” or a modern book on international missions and justice and programs to eliminate world poverty like “Walking with the Poor”
6. Let us experience the meaning of inner renunciation; eliminate "my" and "mine" from our vocabulary (like Abraham must have felt walking down from the mountain). Go ahead and stamp everything you have “owned by and used for the purposed of God”!
7. Let us give with glad and sincere hearts – there is always a worthy cause to give and it is a privilege to be asked!
