Cha Ching!

My wife has been on a kick lately to secure our financial future. I love her enthusiasm. When she sets her mind to something she goes all out until it’s accomplished.

Financially we’re good. In fact, we’re better than a lot of people because we have no credit card debts and only two loans: the house and my car.

Oddly enough we seem to have little cash though. Part of the problem is our tax burden.

I spent 21 years in the military, and for anyone out there that doesn’t already know this, they don't pay the military jackola! Everyone wants the country protected, but no one wants to pay for it.

There are countless young military members with families that have to survive on food stamps. My hand to God that is the truth, people who are laying down their very lives for your freedoms are living on food stamps. And we pay sports stars and movie stars millions to entertain us.

And for the young troops who are still single, they get preyed on by financial institutions with promises of fast cash for cool cars and cell phones and stereos and anything else their hearts desire. They do this because they know if they can get their teeth in them while they're young and dumb they can keep them in credit card debt for many years. It’s disgusting.

Anyway, I was single for the majority of my service and filing taxes was easy. I claimed single with no dependents and got back a little bit each year.

Fast forward to the year after I got married. I was retired from the military for 2 years, and God had led me to a really great job which paid very well for the skills I had gained in the service.

At this time my daughter had moved in with me so we were a nice family. I did what I was supposed to do and claimed married with 2 dependents. My wife claimed married with zero dependents.

Well, we had a professional do our taxes and after paying all year long at a higher tax rate because of our income, we still owed $8,000.

You could hear the echo of my jaw hitting the floor a mile away. I had been welcomed into a whole new world where working hard and getting ahead is repaid by taking most of your money in taxes under the auspice of “you can afford it”.

Bull biscuits. I’ve been a low wage earner and high wage earner now and I can tell you that the tax burden put on people who have managed to do well for themselves is highly unfair.

Anyway, sorry for the tangent but I can't help but get a little Republican when I think about the tax code.

Back to my wife and her quest for Rockefeller-dom. She’s reading Dave Ramsey’s book right now, which I think will help a lot in her quest. Dave is pretty good at what he does, so I’m sure we’ll be millionaires very soon.

As for me, I only want extra money so I can do more of God’s work. I’ve learned that helping others with my money is part of my gift. We do things with our money like send kids to camp, and adults to marriage retreats. I helped our youth ministry buy a new drum set for their band and we give to several charities every month.

I thank God for what I have and I don’t take it for granted. I have what I have because God gave it to me, and actually it’s not mine, it’s His. He’s just letting me manage it, and my job is to be a good steward.

I appreciate what I have because I’ve been in a position of having nothing. Before I joined the military I remember times when I’ve walked around in roadside ditches picking up 5 cent refund cans to cash in to buy food.

But, to be in a place where you have nothing is what it takes to truly understand that everything comes from God, not from us. And I can tell you that since I’ve let God lead me, things are better in every aspect of my life. From relationships to work to finances, God has blessed my life.

I’m not saying that if you give your life to Christ you’ll suddenly have riches or a perfect family; I’m saying that if you give your life to Christ that all of those things will make sense. You will understand that all of this is temporary and what really counts is your relationship with Him. Once you and your family are focused on that, everything will just seem to fall into place. And you didn’t even have to go to Barnes and Noble to get that advice.

"May all your expectations be frustrated, may all your plans be thwarted, may all your desires be withered into nothingness. That you may experience the powerlessness and poverty of a child." Brennan Manning

“God, thank you for putting me in poverty so I would appreciate what I have now. Give me the wisdom to be a good steward and use your money wisely for your glory. Amen.”