What is Financial Freedom?

Why do we want to live in financial freedom?  It is a way of life that God always intended for us!  He did not intend for us to be slaves to our money but He knew that money would hinder us.  That is why Jesus talked about money so much.  Money and finances has the second-most scriptures in the Bible.  The topic that has the most – salvation.  Achieving financial freedom can impact and unleash so much in your life and in the spiritual world.  For you, it will reduce the amount of anxiety in your life and provide you with greater freedom to love.  In the spiritual world, more people achieving financial freedom can result in more people giving their lives to Jesus.

So, what is financial freedom?  In order to get to the definition of financial freedom, let’s first look at financial bondage.  In Matthew 6:24, Jesus states, “No one can serve two masters.  Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and Money.”  Jesus gets pretty specific in that last statement.  We cannot serve two masters; we can not serve God AND money.  Also, God will not share His throne and He will allow us to pick money over Him.

Financial bondage can manifest in a variety of ways.  You may experience it as living paycheck to paycheck, accumulation of debt, or having an “I must have it now!” mentality.  An important step to take is identifying what underlying sin keeps you in financial bondage.  Examples are entitlement (I deserve…), pride (I can take care of myself…), comparison (I love what that person has…), discontentment (To feel good in life I must have Jesus and…), faithlessness (I know Jesus will provide but I need to know that now…), envy, addiction, and the list could go on.  Prayerfully consider what underlying sin that you may be experiencing that is keeping you in financial bondage.  If God prompts you, confess that sin to God and ask for forgiveness, confess it to a trusted adult, and begin the recovery process.

Now that we have looked at financial bondage, let’s begin to define financial freedom.  I believe we can experience financial freedom as the people of the first church experienced it.  In Acts 4:32 we read, “All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.”  They lived as though what they owned was not their own!  They understood that everything they had was entrusted to them by God.  God created everything and owns everything.  We are merely trustees of what God owns.  Trustees have no rights, only responsibilities.  The primary responsibility is to take care of what has been entrusted to him or her.  The point is that financial freedom has nothing to do with how much money you make or how much debt you have.  It is about living with the understanding that God entrusts His limitless resources to us.  As each of us experience financial freedom, God’s kingdom will be resourced with more and more allowing us to reach more and more people. 

In order to get from bondage to freedom you must go through transformation.  You must submit to God’s transformational work in your life.  Romans 12:2 says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”  You will receive lots of information, but the information is only good if you allow transformation to happen.  We must break away from this world and begin pursuing a God-honoring lifestyle.  We must become weird… not normal… an alien.  In John 15 Jesus tells His disciples that they are not of this world.  As followers of Christ, we truly are aliens of this world.  Do not conform to this world’s standards, but to a life that is God-honoring and of freedom.

~Alesha