I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things (Philippians 3:8).

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we don’t have the option of choosing a standard of living simply on the basis of our wants, what we can afford, or what those around us permit themselves. Discipleship demands—in this as in so many other things—that we submit ourselves to a standard that is higher than our own desires or the choices others make for their lives. It forces us to face the difficult proposition that Jesus has something to say about material matters.

Faith is meant to make a difference in how we relate to money and things, our spending choices, what we value and invest in, and the material lifestyle we pursue. And it’s not the difference often hyped by shallow preachers and a thoroughly syncretized church. God doesn’t promise that his children will drive Mercedes Benzes, live in mansions, and wear $1,000 suits. Material prosperity is neither a reward for nor an indicator of faithfulness. Jesus, who had no place to lay his head, was surely faithful though undeniably poor. The rich man who chose not to give away his possessions and follow Christ was surely wealthy and undeniably lost.

The difference between people of faith and the world when it comes to material matters is not that we have more than they do, but that we choose differently than they do. We can opt for a standard of living that reflects our priorities and calling. Our material appetites are not driven by advertising campaigns about the latest trifle or trinket. We aren’t trapped in that soul-shriveling cycle of desire-consume-disaffection-disposal-new desire that is characteristic of our culture.

Here are 10 suggestions for choosing a standard of living that looks markedly different from our culture.

(1) Set your priorities. Put God’s kingdom and his purposes first in your budgeting and spending. Develop a “God filter” that helps you decide what you need and how your money should be spent.

(2) Determine to be rich toward God. Focus on the things God actually values—the character, relationship, and faith that God counts as true wealth. How can you use material possessions to pursue matters that matter?

(3) Be wise about your obligations. As Christians, we are called to keep our promises and meet our obligations (such as marriage, children, and debts). But we can also be wise about making future commitments, realizing that saying “Yes” to that new car means having fewer resources with which to say “Yes” to kingdom things.

(4) Support the kingdom. Make consistent, sacrificial support of God’s work a financial habit. Giving our tithes and offerings, sustaining ministries and ministers, and sharing with brothers and sisters in need are not optional for a godly budget.

(5) Make room for generosity. Many of us have obligated ourselves to the point that there is no room for generosity in our budget. Do you have the financial flexibility to be a good Samaritan? Can you break an expensive jar of perfume every once in a while for the glory of God? Too often, stinginess comes not from a lack of compassion but from a lack of planning and resources. How sad.

(6) Trust God to provide. Did you know it’s possible to turn a budget into yet another instrument of self-reliance? Any budget that is so well planned it leaves no need for God’s provision and does not foster reliance on God cannot be a godly budget. On occasion, we ought to ignore our budgets, step out on some limb, and do something so extravagantly generous that only God can make it work.

(7) Deny yourself. Develop the habit of telling yourself “No.” Learn to master your wants, reserving your resources for nobler and higher things. It won’t kill you. In fact, you’ll find a freedom in this that will feed your soul.

(8) Practice contentment. Learn the joy of being satisfied with what you have. Value the old rather than always craving the new. Discover that “enough” is less about your possessions and more about your attitude. Recognize that true satisfaction never comes from what you have but from who you are.

(9) Refuse to worry. Worry is a symptom of faithlessness. When we’re not sure God will provide, when we’re not confident he will show up, when we don’t believe he cares about and will take care of our daily bread, then we worry. Don’t go there. Refuse to worry. Trust God.

(10) Witness with money. Perhaps no greater opportunity for witness exists than developing a different mindset about money than the world’s. When we put our money where our faith is, that may well speak to our world in ways our sermons and platitudes cannot. |L

OTHER COLUMNS:
November 8, 2009 - Why I believe in God
October 25, 2009 - Commuting in days of evil
October 11, 2009 - Poets and don’t know it
September 27, 2009 - How Hollywood proves abortion is wrong
September 13, 2009 - Significance
August 30, 2009 - Dance alternatives
August 16, 2009 - Gluttons for gossip
August 2, 2009 - Truth from Twilight
July 19, 2009 - Visitor-friendly churches
July 5, 2009 - The Shack
June 21, 2009 - When forgiveness fails
June 7, 2009 - Re-imagining Education (Part Six)
May 24, 2009 - We are not alone
May 3, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part five)
April 26, 2009 - Conviction
April 12, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part four)
March 29, 2009 - An evangelistic proposal
March 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part three)
March 1, 2009 - He makes me sick
February 15, 2009 - Re-imagining education (Part Two)
February 1, 2009 - Spiritual insecurity
January 18, 2009 - Re-imagining education (part one)
January 4, 2009 - Church and politics
December 21, 2008 - Heaven’s music
December 7, 2008 - The church and marriage
November 23, 2008 - God and the president
November 9, 2008 - A time for courage
October 26, 2008 - Likes and dislikes: the Prince Caspian movie
October 12, 2008 - What’s that noise?
September 28, 2008 - Modesty matters (part two)
September 14, 2008 - All it takes is some TLC
August 31, 2008 - Modesty matters (part one)
August 17, 2008 - What would you fight for?
August 3, 2008 - Staying through the credits
July 20, 2008 - Honor to whom honor
July 6, 2008 - Tyler Perry and the movies you’re missing
June 22, 2008 - The peaceable kingdom
May 25, 2008 - Another generation grew up
May 25, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part two)
May 11, 2008 - Technology and the Bible (part one)
April 27, 2008 - What is truth?
April 13, 2008 - And the geek shall inherit the earth
March 30, 2008 - A charactered God
March 16, 2008 - The college choice (part two)
March 2, 2008 - Good news can be hard to hear
February 17, 2008 - The college choice (part one)
January 20, 2008 - Expelled: that “Bueller” guy’s pro-God movie
January 6, 2008 - Choosing a lifestyle
December 23, 2007 - Teachable TV?
December 9, 2007 - Owners or stewards?
November 25, 2007 - Christians teaching Christians to change TV and film
November 11, 2007 - My money is God’s business
October 28, 2007 - Navigating under the radar
October 14, 2007 - The things God values
September 30, 2007 - Movie moments
September 16, 2007 - God’s economics
September 2, 2007 - The best books to read
August 19, 2007 - There’s a rat in ‘separate’
August 5, 2007 - The art of reading
July 22, 2007 - Atheist chic
July 8, 2007 - Why books matter: the sequel
June 10, 2007 - Books: why they matter
June 3, 2007 - The non-impact of “The Lost Tomb of Jesus”
May 27, 2007 - The universal gospel
May 13, 2007 - Loving Muslims through culture
April 29, 2007 - Hope
April 15, 2007 - God in the dark
April 1, 2007 - The gospel goes to the movies
March 18, 2007 - What the Bible movies can teach us
March 4, 2007 - What will you hurt for?
February 18, 2007 - Why Heroes . . .
February 4, 2007 - Give peace a chance
January 21, 2007 - When fairy tales are true
January 7, 2007 - WYSIWYG lives
December 31, 2006 - What’s coming next?
December 17, 2006 - Mercy, mercy
December 3, 2006 - Proof of evolution!
November 19, 2006 - Hungering for God
November 5, 2006 - Violence and government, war and peace
October 22, 2006 - The mighty meek
October 8, 2006 - The Battlestar and the Bible
September 24, 2006 - Soap for the soul
September 10, 2006 - Right vs. cool
August 27, 2006 - The painful truth
August 13, 2006 - More Lies Hollywood Tells
July 30, 2006 - Christian counter culture
July 16, 2006 - The lies Hollywood tells