You know what it is. That's right. It's time to talk money with your money nerd and financial coach. Now tighten those purse strings and open those ears. It's the money talk with Tiff podcast. Hey, everyone. I am so excited because I have Justin Bouanamo on the line, and he's here to talk to us about biblical principles when it comes to money. So, hey, Justin, how are you? I'm doing fantastic, and I love the topic, and I'm over here itching to get started,
so thank you for having me. Yes. And I can't wait because I have a habit of reading the Bible every day, usually twice a day, honestly. And so I'm excited to see what biblical principles we can learn about money. So let's start off with number one. What is number one? I love this. And so, number one is, I love the quote that says, money is an
incredible tool, but a terrible God, right? And I think that helps us understand, really, what God says about money in the Bible and what he actually wants us to understand. So, you know, years ago, when I first became a Christian, right, I was a high earner at the time and had really big financial goals. But as I'm reading through the Bible and reading some of the passages and just hearing some pastors talk about money, I'm like, it kind of sounds like God wants us to be poor. And
so we're like, he's talking bad about money. And so I prayed to God. I'm like, this just doesn't feel right, Goddesse. And so, can you help me understand what you actually want us and me to know when it comes to money? And he directed me to one of the most misconstrued Bible verses of all time, which says what people say says money is the root of all evil, which why it's misconstrued is because the most important part of that verse is missing, which is the front part of the verse, which
says, the love of money is the root of all evil. And let me break that down here a little bit, right? Because if you go into the biblical translation, the greek translation of what the love of something means, it means that if you are loving something in the way that they're using that term or that phrase, it means that you're idolizing it, right? And so when you idolize, you can only idolize one thing at a time, right? And that's where it becomes a problem. Because if you're idolizing
money, guess what? You're not leaving room for God, right? And so that's what the biggest biblical principle I like to teach people about money. It's not that God says money is the root of all evil. It's the love of money is the root of all evil. Which means if you love money in the biblical translation of how it's utilized in that verse, it means that you're
idolizing it. And you can only idolize one thing at a time. And so if you're idolizing money, you don't leave room for God, and that's where it becomes a problem. And when you're idolizing money, right, you'll do anything right to keep it coming. You'll do anything to keep it around. You'll do anything to keep acquiring that, even if it means straying away from God. And so that's one of the things I love to teach to my clients and love to teach, you know, to my audiences, is that,
you know, God doesn't say money itself is the root of all evil. It says, when you love, when you idolize it, when you look at money as your master, that's where it becomes a problem, because money's a piece of paper or a piece of plastic, right? Where money goes bad is when the human being behind it decides to misuse or abuse it. Think about it this way, too, as well, while I wrap this point up. Like, God put alcohol and sex on this
earth, where did those things go bad? When the human being decide to misuse and abuse them? Same thing with money. And so money is an incredible tool, but a terrible goddess. Yes. Oh, my gosh, I'm so glad that you dove into that because I've been having these conversations lately, and it's like, it's not money. Because money, like you said, if we use it as a tool, we, for instance, give it back to charity, feed it back into the community. We're just using the money to do
certain things. And it's not that we idolize the money, if that makes sense. So I love that you dove into that. So let's go into number two. What do you think is the number two biblical principle as it relates to money? I love this. Okay, so number two is this is actually the key for anybody listening to this. If you want a better money situation, what I'm going to tell you right now is the key, and it's not earning more money, not against making more money, but people think that more money is
going to solve your problems. And unless you have good money management habits, that's not true. And so the key to acquiring more money, making your money situation better, getting blessed with more money, solving your money problems is this concept called stewardship? Right. God gives us things on a loan during our lifetime, and he expects us to take care of them in a way that when we go to give it back to him one day, it's in
better shape than when he initially gave it to us. One of those things being money. God, in most instances, will not bless you with more money until you've proven that you can handle your current situation correctly. So the key to a better money situation is taking control of your current situation, no matter what's going on. Because if you
can't handle your current situation correctly, what makes you think you can handle more? And if you're not honoring your current situation correctly, why should God bless you with more? Usually that stewardship piece is applicable to any topic in your life, but I have found in my own situation and with the thousands of people that I've worked with on their money situation, that stewardship is the key. And stewardship is
stepping up. And no matter your current situation, taking control of it to the best of your ability, learning how to manage your current situation, learning how to steward your current situation, right. Making the best of whatever you have right now is the key to not only eliminating some of the problems you have, but also welcoming and acquiring more wealth. Because until you prove that you can handle your current situation correctly, you're putting a self imposed, imposed block on receiving
more. And so if you take anything away from this chat, if you're like, man, how do I make my finances better? How do I make more money? How do I save more money? How do I have God bless me with more money, step up and take control of what he's already blessed you with. If you want to welcome and receive more. That is so true. And that is a whole word I wish I had, like my tambourine or something over here,
because that is a whole word. That is something that I've been telling, especially when it comes to credit. Right? All of these people are like, oh, I'm going to just go dispute and this, that and the other. But my belief is if you use the service and it's legit, then that's your debt that you need to pay. Because at the end of the day,
you want to be a good steward over your money. And when, when I sit down with people and we go through, you know, paying off debt and all of that, their whole lives start changing and it's because of what you just talked about there. So let's get into number three. Yep, yep. And so, yeah, I love what you said. Simply put the rap number two up in the one boat, be a good steward of your money and current situation. I promise you God will open up some
crazy doors for you. Right? But until then, you're putting a self imposed block on further blessings. Blessings. And so the last thing here is money is just a magnifier of who you already are. It just magnifies your heart, right? And so I think the biggest mistake that people make with, with money is they use God as a means to money instead of money as a means to God, right? And so my goal with my company is
to put more money in the hands of great people, right? Because if great people have more money, they're going to use it to expand God's kingdom, right? Can you expand God's kingdom without money? 1000%. But if you put money into hands of good people that know how to manage it, they're going to expand God's kingdom even further. Because money is an amazing tool. It's an amazing resource. And so my wife and I like just, I guess you could
be transparent on this podcast, we tithe a decent amount of money. But outside of that, we bless a lot of people with our money situation. I'm not saying that from a braggadocious or a self righteous standpoint, but we utilize the money that God has blessed us with to make this world a better place to bring people closer to God. We are involved with a school in Kenya that takes refugee little girls and women that run away from a very toxic, abusive situation,
takes them into this school. And it's a Bible study school where they teach them the Bible, they teach them about Christ. And every year we have the blessing to be able to pay the staff salary. I'm saying this to give you an example of how when money is put in the hands of good people, you can utilize it to make the world a better place, right? And also not even just make the world a better place, but
to spread God's kingdom. In worst case scenario, when you don't have your money under control, you're putting yourself through a whole bunch of unnecessary stress and anxiety and missed opportunities, especially when it comes to being able to expand God's kingdom. So money is a magnifier of who you already are. So if you become a good person, you grow close to God. All more money is going to do is going to magnify that godliness and allow you to evangelize and spread God's word
and spread his kingdom. Oh my gosh, you are preaching to the choir. I'm like, this is exactly, exactly, exactly what we need to do. Which goes back to number one. You know, if we believe that money is the root of all evil, then we're like, oh, my gosh, I don't want to have any money. When you do that, then you can't do number three. You can't give back, you know? Cause you're gonna be. You're gonna be barely making it and things like that, which incorporates, number two, being a good steward.
So I love how all of this ties together, and like the Bible says, there's nothing new under the sun, and the playbook is right there. Yes. That's so good. Yes. So thank you so much, Justin, for coming on the show today and talking about this very important topic. And I'll make sure that I have all of those verses, reference verses in the show notes, too. But where could people find you? Okay, absolutely. I'm so happy we took this angle.
There's so many things we talk about around money, but this is, I think, most important. When you start to understand these concepts, it creates clarity, it creates direction, and it creates excitement around money, especially when you understand what God is actually calling us to do. And so when it comes to being able to find me, you can just find me on Instagram. Ustin
Bouanamo. I'm not even gonna try to spell it. The spelling will be in the show notes, and it will also be, you know, I'm sure, in the title of this. And so feel free to follow me there. Shoot me a DM with your biggest takeaway, and I'd be happy to chat. Thank you. Thank you so much, Justin, for coming on the show and just dropping all of these gems. I'll make sure I have everything in the
show notes, especially his last name. And I appreciate you so much, and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Thank you for having me. Bye. Thank you for listening, joining, and being a part of the Money Talk with TIFF podcast this week. You can check Tiff out every Thursday for a new money talk podcast. But if you just can't wait until next week, you can listen to previous podcast [email protected] or follow TIFf on all social media platforms at
moneytalkwitht. Until next time, spend wise by spending less than you make a word to the money wise is always sufficient.