When it comes to handling money, some common sense should guide us: income should exceed outflow. Simple, yet profound. Obvious, yet commonly ignored. Not following this simple logic is a recipe for economic disaster. Our nation refuses to live by this sound bit of wisdom and seems to get away with it, since it can print its own money, but a day of reckoning is coming. People cannot long continue to spend more than they make without going bust.

People in America are taught from a very young age to go into debt, something our forefathers would have avoided like the plague. They knew better. Why do we do it? Most of the time we choose to go into debt because we want something immediately and refuse to wait until we can save enough to cover it. At times this kind of reasoning makes  good sense, such as when purchasing something that appreciates in value, such as a home. It can also be a good idea for a business to purchase equipment that can be used immediately to make money and paid for with the  money earned. In our nation, most people legitimately need to borrow money to purchase their cars, which are needed to get to work.

Going into debt for anything that is not a necessity will likely lead to some sort of  financial bondage.

It’s easy and fun to get into debt, but extremely difficult to get out. This is because, not only do we have to pay off what we borrowed, but we also have to cover the accumulated interest, all the while continuing to fund our other everyday expenses.

Sometimes people place themselves in a position to go into debt because they fail to create any sort of margin to protect themselves from unexpected or even expected expenses. We cram our “budget” so full that there is no ability to save for emergencies.

What fills your jar?

We all have a “budget,” whether or not we consciously and intentionally follow it. In other words, we all have a certain amount of spendable income and we make decisions on how to spend it.

Disciples are responsible to God for how they use that money.

We should also want to use as much wisdom as possible for our own sake, since we and those under our care will be immediate beneficiaries of our having a sound monetary policy.

Imagine three different sizes of mason jars, which will represent three sizes of budgets. Obviously, the larger jar (budget) will have a lot more room in it for extras. People with very small jars, many single moms for example, will not even have enough room for some important priorities.  Middle class people will have room for most financial priorities, but will not have a lot of extra. Big jar people can get away with having no budget, which might lead them to fritter away money that could be better used elsewhere. Small jar people might feel that budgeting is a hopeless endeavor, which can lead to foolishly spending what we do have. Medium jar people often feel the greatest need and satisfaction from having a budget.

In this illustration, we will fill our jars with four things – stones, pebbles, sand, and water. The stones will represent necessities and large high priority budget items. Pebbles will represent the next level of expense items. Sand will represent what we might call luxury items, and water, which uses up all the remaining space in our budget, can represent “throw away” cash.

If we take our jar and fill it with stones, it will appear to be full. However, if we then take very small pebbles and add it to the mixture, we will watch it begin to fill in the spaces between the stones. Now the jar is more full, but there is still some room. Then we add sand and observe it squeezing into the spaces between the stones and pebbles. Now, surely, the jar is full. How could we get anything else in there? However, if we then pour water into the jar, we will see it fill in around the sand. Once the water level reaches the top of the jar, it is indeed full. What does this teach us?

The wise person  makes sure there is room in his jar for all the high priority items, even if it means eliminating less important things from the budget.

The smaller the jar, the more cutting has to be made, even to the point of cutting some pretty big things. It’s unavoidable.

Thinking through our priorities

What do we consider to be the necessities of life? The Bible lists food and clothing.

But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7  for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV) 

Most of us would add shelter, and if a person has a serious medical problem, healthcare is a necessity, too. It is important to mention at this point that serious disciples will also add giving (tithing and other freewill offerings) to the list of necessities, driving up our number of stones to four or possibly five. So all of us should have three to five stones in our jar. Here is where you should start feeling some sympathy for the single moms out there whose jar cannot even hold these stones.

Beyond these absolute necessities, we have what seem to be necessities in today’s world – transportation, cell phone costs, car insurance, life insurance, and emergency savings. Pebbles represent this level of spending. Depending on our level of conviction about giving to God, some would add tithing and charitable giving here rather than at the stone level. We will address this in more detail later. These are the expenses that should be next highest level on our priority list. They generally carry high price tags and take up the most space in our budgets.

Sand represents the third level of expenses – optional items, such as entertainment (cable TV), lawn service, Netflix, and vacations. These are things we can live without, but would rather not. They are luxuries. The water stands for the little niceties that make life more enjoyable, such as a cappuccino at Starbucks or eating out. Obviously there is not a lot of difference philosophically between sand and water.

How do we fill your jars?

Many people unwisely pour a lot of water and sand into their jars before adding stones and pebbles. They spend money for bottom tier items first, which prohibits their being able to afford higher priority items. How we spend our money is a deeply personal choice, which no one can force upon us; that is, until we get ourselves into financial trouble. Then we may find the bank or our creditors controlling how we spend. Anytime we borrow money, we give someone else the ability to rule over our spending to some degree.

The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. Proverbs 22:7 (ESV) 

If you are continually short on cash and building credit card debt, you should rethink how you are filling your jar.

Do we have too many sand and water items that can be removed to give us more space for saving and essentials? Do we need to eliminate eating out so we can afford to save? Do we need to cut the cord on cable TV, so we can make ends meet? Each person has to evaluate what is individually important to him or her, have the courage to admit when something has to go, and take action.

The problem with many of us is that we have never learned to say “no” to our desires. American culture is geared to making us think that happiness depends on consuming, but wisdom teaches us otherwise.

As you likely have already figured out, another option is to enlarge our jars by getting a better job.

I have not yet really covered giving to God and generosity to others yet. That is one of the most important things that should be in everyone’s budget. Where will we get the money for that? How important is giving to God’s kingdom? Is it a stone item or water or somewhere in between? What about faith? Where does that fit into the picture? We will cover those things in coming articles. For now, I encourage you to start evaluating your spending priorities and make some hard choices, if necessary. It may hurt at first, but in the long term you will be glad.