Faith, Fear, and Finances

Fear of missing out. Fear of rejection, of not fitting in. Fear of not having enough. These and other worries drive much of our behavior.

Marketers and media know this. So they play on our fears to manipulate our decisions or pique our interest. And we find ourselves driven by the things that other people tell us we need to be afraid of.

This can lead to bad stewardship decisions. We fear loss, so we invest too conservatively and miss out on opportunities to multiply resources. We fear not having enough, so we overwork and oversave – at the expense of relationships with others and with God.

Scripture tells us that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” There’s a freedom that faith brings – freedom from fear and uncertainty. This is also the freedom that stewardship brings; if everything belongs to God and he is our provider, then we don’t have to worry about the future.

Podcast host James Lenhoff explores the contrast between faith and fear and outlines a 3-step process for dealing with our fears in a way that ultimately leads to joy.