Money & Marriage
By: Brooke Eisnor
Introduction
What God has joined together let no money problems separate, or at least that’s how the saying could go considering disputing over money is the second leading cause of divorce. It is estimated that anywhere from 20-40% of divorces are caused by disagreements on how to manage finances. Since God is the inventor of marriage and the source of all wisdom, his word must stand as the foundation for handling finances as a couple. Genesis 2:24 says, “This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.” From this verse alone, married couples are to strive to be united and live selflessly.
Strive for Unity
When two people become one, they should naturally strive for unity in all areas of life, including their finances. Rachel Cruz, from the Ramsey Show, has put it this way: “if you can share a bed, you can share a bank account.” Practically, this means that two individual incomes become one larger household income that inevitably holds both more responsibility and purchasing power. It means that any debt that either one or both parties brought into the marriage is now a shared burden. Married couples should come together in their dreams and goals for the future, which gives both parties responsibility for spending, saving, and giving in such a way that honors the plans made with their spouse. In order to strive for financial harmony in marriage, couples need to remove the word “mine” from their vocabulary and look at every asset as “ours.” The CFL holds to a principle that there are no independent financial decisions, meaning that every time you spend money in one area, it affects your ability to spend in another area. This principle applies even more to married people because every financial decision made does affect the short- and long-term goals made by the couple together.
Spend, Save, & Give Selflessly
Marriage, in a Biblical sense, is intended to be an earthly representation of the relationship between Christ and the Church, where Christ is the groom, and the Church is the bride. The goal of every Christian married couple should be to reflect this as image bearers both personally and as a unit. The husband’s role is to love his wife as Christ loved the Church, sacrificing Himself for her. The wife’s role is to honor and submit to her husband, just as the Church submits to Christ, leaving behind its old way of life and embracing its new identity in Him. Both roles require profound self-sacrifice, for marriage unites two individuals into one.
When couples unite financially in marriage, they must set aside their former ways of spending, saving, and giving to adopt a shared financial plan. This might involve sticking to a budget they create together, having regular conversations about finances, saving intentionally for retirement, or even living on one income—whatever aligns with both partners’ financial goals.
Conclusion
Ultimately, both marriage and money are earthly gifts that, when stewarded correctly, are glorifying to the Lord. In practice, striving for unity and living selflessly will look very different from marriage to marriage because each couple will have vastly different priorities and goals for the future. These are simply a few principles to guide the conversation of money and marriage.
Interested in a great resource for couples to help set common financial goals? Check out the Planning Weekend For Couples resource also located under our CFL Website in the Ron Blue Library Resources.
References:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%202%3A24&version=NIV
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGZEkwm5joc
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4012696/
