No doubt the hot topic of late has been the rising cost of living in Malaysia. A RM10 budget for lunch can barely get you anything nutritious, and a RM50 budget for a trip to the supermarket will likely only include vegetables, dry goods and low-nutrition foods like instant noodles.

Coupled with stagnant wages, and the high-life that’s constantly sold to us on social media, it’s no wonder that many are overwhelmed by the suffocating situation and worried if they can ever provide for themselves, their family or even for retirement. 

The harsh reality is forcing us to rethink our spending, savings and future plans, or even to migrate elsewhere. How then, are Christians supposed to live out our call to trust God and be generous amidst this financial reality? 

Here are three healthy perspectives about money to consider:

1. Money has a very real and useful role in modern life, and there is nothing wrong with working hard and saving wisely. But instead of letting money rule our decision-making process, why not hand over the burdens of these decisions to God? Then, our plans will be established (Proverbs 16:3), including our lifestyle decisions when we walk in-step with God.
2. Money is a tool but have we focused too much on it being a means, rather than an end? Money is temporary; it comes and it goes, and it is never to be trusted! Therefore, if we put our faith in something fluid that can fluctuate – deflate and inflate – we are sure to be disappointed. While it may seem like money provides for us, in actual fact, it is God who will meet all our needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).
3. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenged the people of His generation – rich and poor alike – to recalibrate their value systems, that is, to not accumulate riches but to pray for “our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). Herein lies a clear call to trust God wholeheartedly each day, no matter what the future holds, especially when it would seem like our “nest eggs” are getting smaller and becoming beyond our reach. 

By God’s grace, we can cultivate a healthy perspective towards money and adjust our value systems – one that keeps Him, and not our bank balances or e-wallets – as the Master of our lives. Our hope is in God – who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment – and not in our wealth.

“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.”

—1 Timothy 6:7