God designed us not to be hoarders, but conduits thorough which his generosity flows.[1]
Generosity is part of the heart of Christianity. God overflows with generosity toward us through Jesus, as he replaces our debt of sin with the infinite wealth of his righteousness. As God is generous to us, so a heart moved by the love and grace of Jesus longs to be generous toward others.
The problem is, many things often hinder us from being as generous as we want to be.
If you feel like you struggle with finances or that your money controls your life more than you control it, then The Money Challenge (TMC) by Art Rainer is a book that will help you immensely. If you are familiar with Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program, then some aspects of TMC will feel the same. However, one advantage of TMC is its compact nature. At less than 150 pages, Rainer aims to set you on the path of financial health and generosity without all the bells and whistles of other programs.
Rainer lays out his book as a 30-day challenge to learn God’s design for money–to make a positive difference in the world for him. This challenge has three main parts, learning to (1) give generously, (2) save wisely, and (3) live appropriately. After this, Rainer tackles four main generosity killers: (1) keeping up with the Joneses (our neighbors), (2) debt, (3) disorganization, and (4) financially-separate marriages.
Finally, TMC recaps eight milestones we should aim for in order to make the best use of our wealth: (1) start giving, (2) build a basic emergency fund, (3) max out retirement matches, (4) pay off all debt but mortgage, (5) save for an extended living-expense emergency, (6) put 15% to retirement, (7) pay off mortgage or save for college expenses, and (8) live generously.
With each chapter along the way, Rainer closes with two or three days worth of a “money challenge” before you move on to the next chapter. Some are as simple as grabbing a cup of coffee and spending time with the most generous person you know. Others are as practical as mapping out your plan to get debt free.
If you want to live more generously but need help getting there, take the money challenge. Rainer’s book is available on Amazon in both print and kindle formats.
[1] Art Rainer, The Money Challenge (B&H Publishing, 2017), 82.
