Money Matters

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God— even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 (NIV)

Husband and I are enrolled in Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University at our church. Soon, we will also be enrolled in divorce counseling. We had a huge fight after the first night of class over a silly little thing. Ramsey teaches people to get free of debt and learn to live within their means. Husband is talking about ridding ourselves of the things that drain our finances. That sounds like the manure machine in our back yard to me. On the first night of class, a woman taught us how to make our own laundry soap. I knew then that I was in deep trouble. My husband is embracing everything he hears. He is doing many new things to save money. He rides his motorcycle to work to conserve gas and takes his lunch and snacks with him so he doesn’t have to go out. He raised the thermostat on our air conditioner to 82 and yells at people for leaving on the lights- when they are still in the room. This is the same man who can lose twenty pounds simply by announcing he is on a diet. I am sure he will have a million dollars saved by the end of next week. I on the other hand have not yet contributed to the plan. I am still thinking about my role. I was going to buy a kiln and make fused glass art and jewelry to sell. Well, yes, the kiln and glass are expensive, and people are tightening their belts so may not be interested in buying homemade jewelry, but it’s worth a try, isn’t it? Of course, I could quit cooking. We could live off rice and beans. That idea was vetoed by the teenager in our house. Then, there is always that laundry detergent. Perhaps I should give up washing clothes altogether. That would save a lot of money. Friends who have taken the class tell us to hang in there. The things we will learn will change our life they say. I kind of like my life the way it is. Cutting up my credit card frightens me. Not that I overuse it, but sometimes, when I see a bargain, I want to be able to buy it. Hey, the whole purpose of this is to save money, right? I guess I have not gotten the big picture yet. The end result is we can be debt free in a few years. Then, we will have some money to play with. I have to make some choices here, not give up on some of my wants, but delay them for the good of our family. The same thing goes for my Christian family as well. There are some things I do not do, not because I think they are wrong for me, but because I do not want to lead someone else astray. I’ll participate in this financial plan. I’ll even make a budget. Just don’t ask me to make any soap.