City Life Starter

Written by Scott Fiddler

The Word

The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,
The world, and those who live in it.

Psalm 24:1

Reflection

I once heard Pastor Rick Godwin say that to help the poor, the first thing you must do is make sure you are not one of them. That always made sense to me. Sure, you can still help the poor if you are drowning in credit card debt or leveraged up to your gills, but it is a lot harder.

If the first step to helping the poor is making sure you are not one of them, the secret of not being poor is building margin in your life. The difference between what you earn and what you spend is your margin. Most Americans do not have an income problem; they have a spending problem, which creates a margin problem. They spend right up to what they earn, or in many cases more, so that there is nothing left over, and they feel poor.

It is difficult to be generous when you feel you don’t have enough yourself. Conversely, when you feel you have more than you need–when you have margin–it is much easier to give. Generosity exists most comfortably in the margin.

So, how do you increase margin in your finances? The natural impulse is to look at increasing your income, but that is not always realistic and rarely required. Instead, adjusting what we spend is usually the easiest way to create margin. Very simple, right? But how do you do it? How do you learn to be content with having less than you can afford when others around you are enjoying more than you have?

The Apostle Paul provided the answer in a letter he wrote to Christians in Philippi, a letter later determined to be inspired by God and made part of the Bible. Here is what Paul said:

“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”

Philippians 4:12-13

The secret of being content is found in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Application

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” is often cited as proof we can do anything we believe we can. I don’t think “all things” means “everything” but “all types of things.” The Holy Spirit will strengthen us in our family life, our relationships, our work, and in ministering to others. The Holy Spirit is not a one-trick pony only useful in ministry, but what is significant is that Paul gives us this famous truth not in the context of any of these things but in the context of learning to be content with what we have. 

And there is one other motive for increasing margin in our lives. What we think we own actually belongs to God. See Psalm 24:1; Matthew 25:14-30. Having margin, then, is not just a matter of good sense but good stewardship.

Prayer

Lord, please empower me to be content, so You can use me to be generous. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.