Count the Cost

Jesus was a builder’s son. He knew what an unfinished building looks like.

“If any of you planned to build a tower, would you not sit down first and add up the expense, to find out whether you could afford to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)

In the story, the man who doesn’t plan lays a foundation, runs out of money, and becomes a joke. Everyone who walks past laughs: “Here is someone who started to build and could not finish” (Luke 14:30).

Jesus told this story to make a point about discipleship. Following Him costs everything, so count the cost before you start. But He used an illustration from everyday money because the principle is so obviously true. Wise people plan before they spend.

Wisdom plans

The book of Proverbs, which is full of practical wisdom about money, keeps returning to this idea:

“The plans of the diligent bring nothing but gain, but all who rush in haste come to nothing but need.” (Proverbs 21:5)

Planning and diligence lead to plenty. Haste leads to poverty. That’s as true now as it was three thousand years ago. Impulse buys, unplanned spending and decisions made in a hurry are some of the main reasons people end up in financial trouble.

Proverbs sends us to the smallest of teachers:

“You lazy one, go and look at the ant; watch how it lives, and learn wisdom. It has no chief, no overseer and no ruler, yet it gets its food ready in summer and gathers its supplies at harvest time.” (Proverbs 6:6-8)

The ant plans ahead. When there’s plenty, it stores some away for winter. It doesn’t need a boss to tell it to. It is simply wise.

Know your flocks

Here is another proverb that could have been written for anyone with a bank account:

“Know how your flocks are doing, and keep your mind on your herds, for riches do not last forever, and a crown does not pass down through every generation.” (Proverbs 27:23-24)

In an agricultural world, flocks and herds were your wealth. A wise farmer knew how many sheep he had, which ones were sick, and how the lambing was going. He didn’t leave it to chance.

Today that means knowing what comes in, what goes out, and what you owe. Many people, including many Christians, have no idea where their money goes each month. They are surprised when it runs out. Knowing the state of your flocks is not unspiritual. It is simple faithfulness. You can’t manage what you don’t measure.

A budget is a plan

A budget is just a plan for your money. It is deciding ahead of time where God’s money will go, instead of finding out afterwards where it went. It doesn’t need to be complicated. At its simplest, it has four parts:

• What comes in. Your income after tax.
• What goes to God first. Your giving, decided in advance (see chapter 13).
• What you need to live. Housing, food, utilities, transport, debt payments.
• What’s left. Saving, then other spending.

There’s a simple one-page money plan at the back of this book (Appendix 2). If you have never made a budget, start there. It might feel restrictive at first, but most people find it brings freedom. Instead of vague guilt and anxiety about money, you have a plan. You can spend what is in the plan without worrying, because you know it’s covered.

Save all you can

Wesley’s second rule was “Save all you can.” By this he mainly meant: don’t waste money. Don’t spend it on things that just feed pride, vanity or the desire to be seen. Live simply, so that more is left over.

But the Bible also commends saving in the modern sense of putting some aside for the future. “Valuable treasure and oil are stored in the home of the wise, but a fool gulps it all down” (Proverbs 21:20). The fool spends everything as soon as he gets it. The wise person keeps something in reserve.

Joseph saved Egypt from famine by storing up grain in the seven good years. Paul told the Corinthians to set aside money regularly, “On the first day of each week, every one of you should put something aside at home, saving as much as you have gained” (1 Corinthians 16:2), so that it would be ready when it was needed.

Saving gives you margin: room to breathe when the car breaks down or the boiler fails, so that a small crisis doesn’t become a debt. It means you can say yes when God puts a need in front of you. And it means your family won’t be a burden on others.

When saving becomes hoarding

There’s a line, though, and Jesus drew it sharply in the parable of the rich fool. The man’s problem wasn’t that he saved. It was that he saved everything for himself, built bigger and bigger barns, and planned to spend his life eating, drinking and having a good time. He saved out of selfishness and a desire for security apart from God. And he died that night.

How do you know if you have crossed the line from saving to hoarding? Ask yourself why you’re saving. Saving for a specific, wise purpose, such as an emergency fund, a home, your children’s needs or your old age, is good stewardship. Saving endlessly with no purpose except feeling safe can be a sign that money has become your security instead of God. A good test is whether your giving grows as your savings grow. If you are saving more and more but giving the same or less, something may be wrong.

Spend well

Finally, planning includes spending. Spending money is not wrong. God “richly gives us everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). A holiday, a meal out, a gift for someone you love, a beautiful thing for your home: these can all be received with thanks. The question is not whether you spend but whether you spend wisely and gratefully, as a steward.

Spurgeon, in his folksy John Ploughman’s Talk, put it like this:

“Economy is half the battle in life; it is not so hard to earn money as to spend it well.”

Charles H. Spurgeon, John Ploughman’s Talk

A voice from the past

John Wesley taught that once you have gained all you can, “by honest wisdom and unwearied diligence,” the second rule of Christian prudence is “Save all you can.” He meant it as a guard against waste, so that there would be more to give. He was not commending hoarding but freeing money for the third rule.

Practice this week

Track every penny you spend this week. Write it all down, even the coffee. At the end of the week, sort it into categories and look at it honestly. Then fill in the one-page money plan in Appendix 2. If you are married, do it together.

For groups

• Do you find budgeting freeing or restrictive? Why?
• Read Proverbs 27:23-24. What would “knowing the state of your flocks” look like in your life?
• Where is the line between wise saving and hoarding? How can you tell which side of it you are on?
• What is one area of your spending that needs a plan?