Theology of House Buying: Money

This week at our Community Life Gathering we are talking about money, so I’ve been thinking about it more.  Jesus uses a bunch of different analogies to describe money in Matt. 6.  He says that the way we spend money is like a window into the soul.  How we spend our money reflects the well being of our spiritual state.

At New City Covenant we are trying to be a community of truth and grace.  We want to be honest and truthful about following Jesus, and we want to make room for grace when we all fall short of it.  I imagine that means we become significantly more transparent, especially around the issue of money.  Wouldn’t it be powerful if we shared our financial situation with those around us?  Wouldn’t it be freeing to talk to a small group about upcoming purchases we planned to make?  If they knew our net worth and how we spent our money, they could help us make decisions in submission to God’s will.

I’m not advocating for anything more than transparency.  I think the secretive-ness of our finances isolates us from one another and from God.  Spending money is hard, and we need the wisdom of God that comes through the wisdom of the community.  This is especially true when buying a house.  As Mary and I look at houses and mortgages and down payments, I would love to be able to bring others into this decision with us.  I would love to be able to say to people close to me: here’s what my salary is.  Here’s how much I have in my stock account.  Here are all my debts.  What do you think is reasonable?  What is a reasonable amount of money to spend on a house.  This is seriously hard and scary, but I think it’s worth it.

I look forward to our community growing into a place of truth and grace.  I look forward to becoming a place where this sort of transparency helps us connect with God and hear his wisdom in our lives.