Serving Bread

In a recent issue of “Money Magazine,” columnist Jean Chatzky talks of having a buddy system when it comes to how we spend our money. The idea is that entering in some sort of financial discipline (i.e. paying down credit card debt) with someone else will insure that we stick to our commitments.

She’s right on. Many people call this accountability. Whether we call it a buddy system or accountability, disciplines in our finances will only be strengthened when we employ such a system. Like everything else in our lives, left on our own, we will probably stray.

We probably got in a financial mess because we were on our own. We got in deeper debt because we didn’t know how to ask for help. On our own, we may not have the motivation to be generous or to tithe.

But finances are a sticky issue to talk about with others. Some of us have have a lot of wealth attached to our name, while for others of us, we may be struggling. We need a buddy whom we can trust, who can help us make right decisions about finances and keep us accountable to our convictions on how to spend our money.

I recently asked a group of 20 Christian student leaders to raise their hands if they were in some sort of regular and intentional accountability relationship. I recall only one person raising her hand. I was surprised. I imagined that more of these leaders would have some sort of accountability system in their lives (especially since it is such a part of my DNA of Christian leadership). For those who are not in an accountability relationship, the first step is to get into one. For those who are, my advice would be to regularly include conversations about our finances. Many of these accountability relationships may cover a myriad of issues, but very few nurture regular conversations on how we spend our money.

A few years ago, I was leading a small group at my Church. For two weeks, I asked people to bring their budgets (it was their homework assignment to draft one if they didn’t have one) and their best estimate on how they actually spent their money. We exchanged those numbers with one another and gave permission for people to speak into what they see in those numbers. It was a fantastic exercise of community. What is unfortunate is that we only did that once and I have never done that since.

Whatever the challenges that are before us when it comes to stewarding our finances, an accountability relationship will empower us to face those challenges. Alone, we may give up paying down our debts or living simply or giving sacrificially.

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