What if your money problems were more than math issues?
Just like we attack rampant weeds, we need to attack the root of the issue surrounding money and having more than enough. I’m sure I will oversimplify this discussion for some. But what is at the root of our decisions? Is it emotions that drive us? Is it our logic? What are the things that influence our soul level on how we think and act?
These root and soul-level influences are spiritual, heart-level, and foundational. Our family of origin and past play large roles. This is not simply modifying behavior or cutting off the branches. We can’t simply cut off the thistle’s flower; we need to address the issue deeper down. Habits and past patterns often create these roots.
Our past patterns are key. Over time, our reactions form deep patterns. Our past is often the best indicator of the future.
Jay Stringer says it this way, “We look to the past not to find excuses for reprehensible behavior, but because narrative holds the key to unlocking destructive patterns and implementing all future change.” These patterns then help us see some of the logic. The legendary seminar professor Howard Hendricks is famous for saying, “Experience doesn’t make you better. Only evaluated experience makes you better.” Taking time to evaluate our experience is wonderfully beneficial. Careful evaluation allows wisdom to shed its needed light on our emotions and experiences.
Learning the correct lesson from the past, however, is not simple. “We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stop there,” as Mark Twain once said, “lest we be like the cat that sits down on the hot stove lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is well; but she will also never sit down on a cold one anymore.”
Learning what the actual lesson is and not extraneous points requires, as Professor Hendricks says, proper evaluation.
Call to action
1) Talk to someone about this. What patterns are in place in your life that are not helping? Decide. Pick the person and open up.
2) Find a professional who can help guide your family.