What Keyboard Shortcuts Can Teach Us About Biblical Financial Planning
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One of my 2019 goals, was to get more proficient with keyboard shortcuts. I’m trying to retrain my brain how to do things in an effort to get more efficient over time. I still have a long way to go, but it’s amazing how little changes can make a big impact on your overall efficiency. As I was using some of these shortcuts (which I’ll share later), it dawned on me how there were distinct parallels between some of them and a biblical view of financial planning (hang with me, I know that may sound bizarre!).

Over the past 20 years, I’ve noticed (in myself and in others that I advise) that it sometimes can feel very “ungodly” or self-seeking when trying to formulate your own personal financial goals. There’s a feeling of selfishness that can accompany the goal setting process as we struggle to weigh the motives of purpose of our goals.

So how do you balance the setting of goals and include God at the same time?

It’s important to know that setting goals and having a financial plan can (and should!) align with God’s purposes.   

We’re going to take a lesson from 3 Google Doc keyboard shortcuts as we explore some tips on how to mesh God’s plan for our lives and finances with our own plans.

Center Align (Control + Shift + e)

I hate having things off-center. My perfectionist tendencies get the best of me sometimes when trying to format things and it drives me nuts. Thankfully, there’s a “center align” shortcut for those of us that like things aligned and in place. Phew!

I’m even more thankful that God’s plans are perfect. They are always “center aligned” because His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). His wisdom and sovereignty far surpasses that of our own. His plan is anchored in truth and what’s best for us in our journey to become more like Jesus.

“…so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 
Isaiah 55:9

When we look at our own plans, it’s not uncommon to find that they are off-center from God’s will. They’re based on human wisdom and aspirations and not on heavenly ones. In fact, we can hardly even see how to “center align” things because our plans are so big! (more on that in shortcut #2).

The good news is that there is help to re-align our plans. Spending time with God through prayer and through the reading of his Word can help bring your plans back into alignment with His (Psalms 119:105).  This should be the first step in the planning and goal setting process, not an afterthought.

One of my 2019 goals, was to get more proficient with keyboard shortcuts. I’m trying to retrain my brain how to do things in an effort to get more efficient over time. I still have a long way to go, but it’s amazing how little changes can make a big impact on your overall efficiency. As I was using some of these shortcuts (which I’ll share later), it dawned on me how there were distinct parallels between some of them and a biblical view of financial planning (hang with me, I know that may sound bizarre!).

Over the past 20 years, I’ve noticed (in myself and in others that I advise) that it sometimes can feel very “ungodly” or self-seeking when trying to formulate your own personal financial goals. There’s a feeling of selfishness that can accompany the goal setting process as we struggle to weigh the motives of purpose of our goals.

So how do you balance the setting of goals and include God at the same time?

It’s important to know that setting goals and having a financial plan can (and should!) align with God’s purposes.   

We’re going to take a lesson from 3 Google Doc keyboard shortcuts as we explore some tips on how to mesh God’s plan for our lives and finances with our own plans.

Center Align (Control + Shift + e)

I hate having things off-center. My perfectionist tendencies get the best of me sometimes when trying to format things and it drives me nuts. Thankfully, there’s a “center align” shortcut for those of us that like things aligned and in place. Phew!

I’m even more thankful that God’s plans are perfect. They are always “center aligned” because His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). His wisdom and sovereignty far surpasses that of our own. His plan is anchored in truth and what’s best for us in our journey to become more like Jesus.

“…so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” 
Isaiah 55:9

When we look at our own plans, it’s not uncommon to find that they are off-center from God’s will. They’re based on human wisdom and aspirations and not on heavenly ones. In fact, we can hardly even see how to “center align” things because our plans are so big! (more on that in shortcut #2).

The good news is that there is help to re-align our plans. Spending time with God through prayer and through the reading of his Word can help bring your plans back into alignment with His (Psalms 119:105).  This should be the first step in the planning and goal setting process, not an afterthought.

Here’s what it can look like sometimes when “My Plan” becomes 


Align your plan with God’s…not God’s with yours


Decrease Font Size (Control + Shift + <)

I’m a big fan of small font sizes. Call me strange, but I like small print. I like to cram as many words as a I can on a single page whether it’s on a screen or the written word. I find myself using the “decrease font size” shortcut quite often in my quest to fit more words on a page.

Similarly, I find I often need to “decrease the font size” of my own plans and aspirations. If fact, when I think about financial planning and goal setting as a whole, sometimes I can barely even see God’s plan if my plan is so big. As John 3:30 states, we need to “decrease” in order that He might increase (John 3:30).

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

Only when we see our plans in this proper perspective (smaller) to His, do we start to gain clarity with His will. Here is what it looks like once I’ve decreased “My Plan” relative to His:



God’s plans are bigger than our plans

Bring to Front (Control + Shift + UpArrow)

The last shortcut I’ll mention is one I’m still trying to master. As I create presentations or other documents, sometimes I’ll have layers of pictures or images but I want to bring one particular image to the front in order to not get missed. This introduces us to the “bring to front” shortcut.

Sadly, even after decreasing the importance of our plans relative to His (shortcut #2), and recognizing that His plan is always perfectly aligned (shortcut #1), we still tend to put our own plans front and center which can blur the lines of what God’s clear plans are. We might be able to see glimpses of his plan, but only as a backdrop to our own.

We have to learn to bring God’s plan to the front and make that our priority and focus (1 Timothy 6:17-19) and not our own agendas and often selfish aspirations. 

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” I Timothy 6:17-19

I Timothy gives us a snapshot of what some of God’s plans often include (i.e. not putting hope in wealth, but putting hope in God, being rich in good deeds, acting generous, etc.). In the end, our goal setting should look more like this, with God’s Plan at the forefront:


God’s plan should be front & center

Summary

Setting goals and putting together a financial plan by itself isn’t bad if done through the proper lens and perspective. In fact, the goals and plans you set (with God’s guidance) can actually help you accomplish His plan for your finances.  God can use you (and your plans) to implement his larger initiatives in the world.

The problem (and temptation) we have is to put a plan in motion while not recognizing what God wants to do in our lives and through our finances. We often come to God only when our plans fail instead of involving Him in the process from the beginning.

Remember…

  1. “Center Align” – begin your planning by seeking to hear His voice through prayer and time in the Word.
  2. “Decrease Font Size” – don’t make your plans bigger than God’s. Keep your plans in proper perspective relative to His.
  3. “Bring to Front” – make God’s plans your focus and priority. Use your financial plan to help implement the God-given goals He’s laid on your heart.




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Smart Things To Do (That Many Won't) In A Down Market

By Brent Hoskins • 13 Jul, 2022
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Chasing the Wind: The Futility of Materialism

By Brent Hoskins • 01 Jul, 2022
Attempting to find meaning in "things" can often lead down a dangerous (and unending) path toward dissatisfaction and can put people in a vicious cycle of desiring more and more and yet feeling as if they never have enough. Solomon shares a number of helpful insights on materialism in the book of Ecclesiastes. I love the way author Randy Alcorn summarizes and paraphrases some of Solomon's statements from Ecclesiastes 5:10-15 : “Whoever loves money never has money enough” (v. 10). The more you have, the more you want. “Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (v. 10). The more you have, the less you’re satisfied. “As goods increase, so do those who consume them” (v. 11). The more you have, the more people (including the government) will come after it. “And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?” (v. 11). The more you have, the more you realize it does you no good. “The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep” (v. 12). The more you have, the more you have to worry about. “I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner” (v. 13). The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding on to it. “Or wealth lost through some misfortune” (v.14). The more you have, the more you have to lose. “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand” (v. 15). The more you have, the more you’ll leave behind. So here we have someone (Solomon) who never lacked having enough money, concluding his remarks by stating: "When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun" Ecclesiastes 2:11. Money is a tool... not something to endlessly pursuit, or you (like Solomon concluded) may just be "chasing the wind". About the Author- Brent Hoskins is a Kansas City-area fee-only financial planner . Focal Point Financial Group provides comprehensive financial planning and investment management to help individuals and families organize, grow and protect their assets through life’s transitions. As a fee-only, fiduciary, and independent financial advisor, Brent Hoskins is never paid a commission of any kind, and has a legal obligation to provide unbiased and trustworthy financial advice.
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