I’ll admit that my last post was a bit of a downer. I shared my thoughts on what it looks and feels like to be mastered by money. In this post I want to share what it looks and feels like to learn to master money. I promise that it’s much more exciting!

I like to think of it in terms of three shifts.

First, we move from responding to culture to being driven by vision.

How do we do this? It begins with awareness. This part is still challenging because it takes courage.

I’ve met a lot of guys in their 30’s who haven’t been to the doctor since they were kids. The reason: “If I don’t know that there’s anything wrong, then I’m ok.” Ignorance is bliss…until it’s not. Ignorance is actually foolishness, whether you’re talking about your health or your finances.

It takes courage to admit that you are being mastered by money, but it’s only after this awareness that you can hope to change. Once you have that awareness, now you can develop vision, which leads to setting goals, which leads to tracking those goals and then actually seeing change.

The first step is to know your numbers. I’ve written about that here.

The next step is to begin asking some questions. Questions like:

• What do you want?
• What do you want your life to look like 5 years from now? How about 20 years from now?
• If you didn’t have to worry about money, how would you spend your time?

After you’ve spent some time being honest with yourself about what you really want, then you can develop a vision for your life. That is the first step towards learning to master your money.

The second shift is that we move from a life marked by consumerism to one marked by contentment.

I both appreciate and am challenged by these words from Paul in 1 Timothy.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

How is contentment great gain? Because it pushes against “More”. When I think about the word “Contentment”, I think about the word “Enough.” I’ve written more about this here and here.

Part of the vision process is determining what you need. Once you have what you need, you can begin saying no. I plan to write more about this in a future post, but there have been many who have pointed out the fact that there is a point where the amount of money you make (and spend) no longer leads to fulfillment. I believe that this number changes based on where you live and your stage of life, but there is a point for everyone, and it’s important to figure out where it is.

The final shift is that we move from anxiety to peace.

When we decide not to simply respond to culture but instead to make decisions that are rooted in vision, and when we decide to fight consumerism and instead practice contentment, there is fruit, and that fruit is peace.

I love the word “peace”, but I think about it now in a far different way than I once did. The biblical word “Shalom” is often translated as “peace”, but a better word is “wholeness.” Tim Keller defines shalom as “a state of wholeness and flourishing in every dimension of life.” I love that.

I know when my heart is anxious. It’s a part of life to feel anxiety and stress. But I also know that I can make intentional decisions that lead to anxiety, and I can also make intentional decisions that lead to wholeness.

Learning to master money leads to wholeness. I choose that.