The financial virtue most Christians skip: patience

Dear Chuck,

I hurriedly made some bad financial decisions in the past that I regret. I’m faced with a big one and don’t want to make another mistake. What approach do you take when making a major financial decision?

Avoiding Financial Pressure

Dear Avoiding Financial Pressure,

It is always good to avoid financial pressure, especially the self-inflicted kind! I have made that mistake many times, so I have learned the hard way to practice one of the greatest virtues when it comes to making financial decisions: patience.

It’s been said that “money does not grow on trees, but it does grow on the tree of patience.” That’s a pretty good visual!

A fruit of the Spirit

A friend once gave my teenage son a $25 cash gift he called “fun money.” The thank you card said, “Just use it however you want. Have fun!” Well, the cash was gone in less than 15 minutes. Neither of us remembers what he spent it on! We can all relate to the money we have wasted on spontaneous spending!

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit that comes by abiding in Christ. It’s not a characteristic of our human nature. In fact, we are naturally impatient. Just observe toddlers or teenagers for a little while! God is patient and wants us to be as well. Turning away from things of this world grants us the ability to see things through a proper lens, which in turn allows us to live according to His ways. This enables us to delay gratification and become people filled with gratitude, contentment, and joy.

I suggest you begin to imagine that the way you manage money is a reflection of your dependency on Christ. And He is never in a hurry!

A few tips

Financial patience requires discipline. It is a matter of adopting a mindset of working and waiting, watching and willing. Discipline is the ability to say “no” to what we want today so we can say “yes” to what we need for tomorrow.

We don’t make fast or risky financial decisions. Instead, we seek the Lord and find safety in many counselors (Proverbs 11:14). We build margin into our finances so that we can face unforeseen hardship. We accomplish this by living through the following practices:

• We budget, record our spending, save, and set reasonable restraints.
• We delight ourselves in the Lord and keep an eternal perspective.
• We operate as ambassadors for the Kingdom, recognizing that we are simply passing through. This is not our real home. The more we acknowledge that reality, the easier it is to develop habits that focus on the eternal, not the temporal riches of this world.
• We establish a reasonable standard of living, determine our priorities, and free ourselves from the love of money.
• We avoid coveting by being grateful and content with what we have. We ignore what the world says we “need” and avoid taking on unnecessary debt. We live simply so we can give generously.

Remember this promise: “Steady plodding brings prosperity; hasty speculation brings poverty” (Proverbs 21:5 TLB).

If you’re struggling financially, plant your tree of patience. Resolve to finish out this year paying down debt, building your savings, and trusting the one through whom you can do all things. He is your ultimate source of strength and promises to grant you the desires of your heart as you delight in Him. 

• Don’t panic.
• Recognize pressure as a warning sign to slow down.
• Don’t make any major decision without prayer and financial advice.

Take your time and count the current and future costs of your financial decisions. Think, how does this affect my family, my business or career, or my ability to serve the Lord? “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28 ESV).

Learn to wait on the Lord. It is often difficult to patiently wait on His provision and guidance. But there are lessons to learn in the waiting. See the waiting as a time to: 

• Grow in faith and anchor hope in God.
• Correct mistakes, adjust priorities, set new goals, and adopt new habits.
• Allow the Lord to provide for your needs.
• Trust that God is working to prepare you for the future.

Here are some biblical examples:

• Abraham waited 25 years for the promise of a son. Though tested, he learned that God fulfills His promises in His time.
• David waited 15 years to be anointed king of Israel. Despite the many challenges and threats to his life, he trusted in God’s perfect plan.
• Joseph waited 13 years to become a powerful leader in Egypt. Rejection and prison prepared him for the future, proving God always has a purpose in the waiting.
• Hannah waited many years before bearing a child. She persisted in prayer during her distress, remaining faithful to God.

Scriptures to renew your mind

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:5–6 ESV).

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV).

Crown has many biblically based, practical, and empowering courses and studies that can help you find freedom in your finances. Learn how to be a grateful financial steward of the resources God provides.