Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
Psalm 119:105

"I think a lot of women have stress that purchases should be equal, so they can have a stake and a claim. They don’t want the house to get divided and then they end up with nothing," says Thomas. And because a lot of the male gender identity is caught up in being the primary earner, that focus on achieving independence creates a double bind for men and women and can ultimately be hurtful to a marriage by causing a tug-of-war over money, a leading cause of divorce (Eph. 5:28-30).

Thomas’ holistic approach gets clients to address their fiscal problems in relation to other areas, including their emotional, physical, and psychological states. "It makes them realize that financial issues have a bigger role in their everyday life than they may realize," she says. For couples, sitting down, discussing their concerns, and working out a budget and a financial plan can help with other troubled areas of their relationship. Singles can confront fears or uncertainty about the future by taking a hard look at how much of a financial cushion they would have if they lost their job or had an emergency. Often stepping back to look at the big picture will put things in true perspective and help diminish feelings of panic.

Gods’ Ownership
If you’re having money problems, stop and ask yourself: Who am I trying to impress? Do I really need all this stuff I buy, or am I just stuck on the belief that I deserve to have it? Do I even know why I crave bigger and better things? How important is money to my life? Why can’t I be content with what I have?

If you don’t know the answer to some or all of these questions, then you don’t have a clear idea of your personal financial goals. Your coworkers and neighbors can’t give you clarity in this area and may only confuse you further. You need to follow God’s Word when making fiscal decisions. He’s the true owner of our possessions and has only given them to us to use and enjoy. "Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made" (John 1:3). We must accept his ownership before we can truly become good managers of those resources and receive all the blessings he has for us, as Jesus explains in the parable of the steward who squandered his master’s possessions (Luke 16:1-15).

Next