Latest / The Family Teams Podcast / Ep. 267 | The Bible Encourages Us to Become Financially Independent

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Ep. 267 | The Bible Encourages Us to Become Financially Independent · The Family Teams Podcast

• 0:00
  Now, the way to do that is to not have hundreds of people that are dependent on other people, to have hundreds of people who are independent and can serve one and then give their life as a ransom for many.
• 0:13
  What's up, guys? Welcome to 5-Minute Fatherhood. So one of the things that I was really surprised to discover, that the Bible encourages every family, every father, every household to become financially independent. And I think about this a lot in regards to this latest crisis. I know a lot of us are feeling really vulnerable right now, and this isn't to say that it's wrong not to be. Most people, most of us are...
• 0:37
  are struggling with debt. We got mortgages. A lot of unemployment is erupting. We're living in a very challenging time right now economically. But one of the things I think is important to understand is that there's this verse in 1 Thessalonians 4 I want to read to you guys. And I love the word that Paul uses. He really says there's a goal that every household should have. And I think there's something happening right now in this moment that's going to make this goal come alive for a lot of you guys, even if you're really struggling with finances. And I think that's
• 1:04
  And Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, he says, Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. Then the people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
• 1:21
  So we live in a hyper-interdependent age where we are one toilet paper shelf away from being without really important stuff. And so people feel really vulnerable now. And a lot of this is coming from this assumption of stability we talked about during the last podcast. But I think that we really need to...
• 1:44
  understand that the Bible could have different positions on this. The Bible could say, be even more interdependent. As a household, if the world is starving, you should be starving. But that's not what Paul says. And I've wrestled with this. And he actually says very specifically, make it your goal. And then he lists out these things to live this quiet life, minding your own business, working with your hands, so that you will gain the respect of others. And then he says this thing at the end that really surprises me, and you will not need to depend on others.
• 2:15
  And so a life where you are constantly in dependence as a household on others, and he's really talking here, the context here is business, it's working, it's financial. When you're hyper-dependent on others, you're one week away from running out of money or food or something like that, then it's difficult for you to, Paul says here, to gain the respect of outsiders. It's hard to give away.
• 2:37
  when you are constantly at risk of being, of like, of ruin yourselves. And this is really a household kind of admonition. And he's saying here, again, it's really important to understand, the context here isn't that he's saying, you must be financially independent. That's not what he's saying. He's saying, make it your goal. And so when I read this, I remember reading this about 15 years ago as a younger father. And,
• 3:01
  And this was really helpful to me. And I was like, we were nowhere near financially independent or food independent or independent in any way. We were hyper dependent as a family. But I read this and I decided to take it seriously. And we went through a really tough financial season. And through that time, I decided one of the changes coming out of that really bad financial season for our family was, I'm going to make it my goal to...
• 3:26
  to become more financially independent as a family. And so I used to think that was an unspiritual goal. 1 Thessalonians 4 really corrected my thinking there. And so it's been a 15 year process of us being thoughtful about how to become more, a little, we just take a step or two every year towards more independence. That might be building up an emergency fund. That might be figuring out how to grow some of your own food.
• 3:53
  You know, that might mean like getting a little bit off the grid when we put, you know, solar panels up. I just take a little step every year and I just make it a goal of our families. Like in 15, 20, 30 years, let's just kind of keep creeping this direction. We don't know what's going to happen in the future. We want to be a generous family. We don't want to be a family that's stingy and we don't want to be a family that is disrespected. Paul is saying that.
• 4:16
  the way you avoid those things is you make this your goal. And I think it's an advanced goal. And I would say the goal for a lot of you guys is in your 40s, 50s, 60s, you want to be getting pretty close to this level of independence. Don't freak out if you're in your 20s and 30s and you're not there. That's understandable. But it also requires some goal-directed action to get there in your 40s, 50s, and 60s. So yeah, Jeff, what does that stir up for you?
• 4:41
  Yeah, no, I totally agree. I think it's true on all levels. I mean, there's clearly the world's motivation that's very similar to something like that of like doomsday preppers, you know, and so that we can survive. But I think it's similar scripturally, but it's actually for leadership. So it's actually so that you can give your life away. When you, like Paul wants to build a robust church contextually, he wants the Thessalonica to be healthy and flourishing. Now, the way to do that is to not have hundreds of people that are dependent on other people, to have hundreds of people who are
• 5:10
  independent and can serve one and then give their life as a ransom for many, right? Like Jesus did. If I give their life over, pour it out. That's the goal. So I think so many times we start these conversations immediately. People say like, that's selfish. That's hoarding. That's whatever. It's actually the opposite. It's doing it so that you can be in a position of leadership when people need you. Right? Because when crisis hits, the people who are most dependent are the people that get hit the hardest. Right?
• 5:33
  That's right. That's just true. Right. And we all see that. And so I think that's the first thing is understand it's to put yourself in a position of leadership to it's not talking about spiritual. It's not talking about all the verses on dependency with vulnerability, community and sharing resources, even in that regard to it's not talking about that. It's talking about, okay, let's talk about healthy, mature leadership. This is what it looks like to be dependent. That's different than healthy, mature Christian. Right. And that means like it's a depend on one another in regards to like sharing the faith and burdens and all that. That's two separate tracks.
• 6:03
  Understand, too, that we live in a modernized world that has made enormous tradeoff for our blessing, but at the expense of our dependency. Right. Like, you know, the fact that 90 something percent of the country was farmers 200 years ago and now it's less than one percent.
• 6:21
  There's a blessing to that. The fact that not all of us are spending all of our time doing the exact same thing. Why not just have one guy do it? Or actually one corporation do it? Yet, what happens if we need food? Well, we don't know what to do. So there's enormous trade-off. Same with electricity. We are dependent upon a grid and a warehouse and a county and a state and a federal system to give us electricity.
• 6:44
  When hundreds of years ago, they built their own fire. You know what I mean? Like it's like, and obviously fire isn't the only thing you need, but there's levels there of just, you have to be able to meet your basic needs. And like Jeremy said, it's just a slow, slow growth. Like I've started to get into spearfishing. You know, I've done it years ago, but started to get into it more now. And it's taken on total different layers the last month. Cause I'm like, oh.
• 7:06
  this gives me dinner. I don't need to go to the grocery store, not just for fun anymore, you know? So I think all that stuff combined is just, it's a slow creep. Like a lot of us slow creep towards dependency. That's right. And all we're saying is slow creep towards independence. And over 20, 30 years, it'll make a big difference. Yeah. And I love what you said, Jeff, about in the body of Christ, we are supposed to be interdependent.
• 7:27
  But as a household, we should be financially independent. Yeah. That's the difference. Resource to independent. That's right. And if you're not, by the way, you do need help from others in the body. You should say so. Like boast in your weakness. Get out there and say, guys, I'm struggling with paying this bill. Don't be ashamed of that. In these early seasons when you're trying to raise a family. And then a household who's independent can help you. That's right.
• 7:48
  That's right. Exactly. And so an upstream family that's really been working towards financial independence should figure out ways to help you out. Right. And so that's the way we work. But it's not OK if if all of us are on the dependent trajectory. That's when nobody is sort of solid enough to lift up those who are who are sinking. And so.
• 8:07
  If you're one of those families who is sinking and needs help, don't be ashamed of asking for help, but just make it your goal that in 15, 20 years, you can be one of those families that can lift up a young family that's struggling. So, yeah, I think this is a really helpful verse. This has been really like a household life verse for us in terms of like it's given us a lot of direction. And so it's been super helpful. Hey, guys, I don't know if you've heard that we have a new podcast, Family Teams Podcast, where April and Alyssa jump on there as well. And we get to have conversations about it.
• 8:36
  a family from a broader perspective, not just Jeff and I. And so I'd encourage you guys to check that out. Spotify on Apple podcasts, family teams, a podcast.