By Jim Ramsey

According to financial guru Dave Ramsey (who, for sure, claims no kinship to me) I am the “nerd” of our family! I don’t know how successful I am at the ongoing process of budgeting, but I sure do spend a goodly amount of time crunching (or crushing!) numbers. Honestly, Linda and I have always operated on a “zero budget,” because through the years many times there seems to be “too much month at the end of the money.” We have made an effort to be good stewards of the manifold blessings God has given us-not just finances, but family, time, talents, and opportunities as well. I’m sure we have not been without error in our efforts, but we sure have been blessed by trying to keep things in perspective.

In a financial sense, living within our means is an absolute necessity if we are to effectively manage and enjoy the material things God sends our way. However, I believe that in a spiritual sense, God wants us to live beyond our means. When Jesus said “without me, ye can do nothing” He knocked all the props of self righteous effort out from under us, and of course, we find, by experience the truth of His statement. On the other hand, with Him there is no limit to what we can do, or should I say, no limit to what He can do in and through us! In Christ we have been blessed with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places, and this being true, we should live beyond our means, claiming all He has already given to us!

 We are rich in Jesus, and we need to appropriate, to set aside for our practical use, what already belongs to us as His children! We need what we already possess to be worked out in our character as a means of bringing glory to our Heavenly Father. Think about it! We have a blessed POSITION – We are His “born ones.” We have blessed POSSESSIONS- eternal life, redemption, inheritance, etc., and we have blessed PRIVILEGES- prayer, fellowship, service, and giving.

Many times we settle for so much less than what God intends for us because we live within our means as His child. What only He can do in us, and for us, and through us is what is realized when we live beyond our means.