The Math Problem: How Small Choices Add Up
A practical Christian study of “The Math Problem: How Small Choices Add Up,” with clear application for faith, relationships, and everyday life.
The Math Problem
Play the original Excel Still More episode here without leaving the article.
Recognize the pattern
We want to talk about your income and how you use it, and in what ways the usage of what God gives you reflects how you serve in the kingdom. I believe it is a colossal mistake, and a lot of Christians have made it, to separate our service to God, our love for others from the money in our bank accounts.
You will see today that Jesus himself connected those two things, and we need a reset among Christians to see that more clearly.
Why it matters
You start at the top with everything you have at your disposal, out comes the spending, then comes the saving, and if there's anything left at the bottom, maybe we will take an opportunity to share. This is a massive math problem because most American households, for a number of reasons, run out of money long before they get to the third S.
You would love to go to the bank and grab some funds and go buy some food or help with that payment for a church member who's hurting, but there's just not much there in the bank to work with.
Make a different choice
It may not look like a math problem to you, but it is certainly a math problem for people God puts in front of you who could really use your help. By the way, if this in any way sounds like I'm coming at you, I'm basically looking at a mirror in front of my microphone right now, confronting some of the pre-programmed demons of my own past.
But hey, it's 2021, it's a brand new month, brand new year, great opportunities, but we need to solve this math problem, don't we?
Practice a better habit
A lot of this is a deprogramming of what churches even have taught for years to families, that there's some disconnect between what we give and who we are. Jesus says you need to put those two things back together because in the judgment, they're going to matter.
So if you would like more details on any of this, I preached a sermon at the Lindale Church of Christ a few weeks ago.
Take the idea with you.
- 01Where do I see the problem or opportunity described in “The Math Problem: How Small Choices Add Up” in my own life?
- 02What Scripture or spiritual principle in this study most needs my attention?
- 03What one specific change can I make this week to put this teaching into practice?
Prefer listening?
The original episode player is available near the top of this article, so you can listen without leaving the page.