Balancing the Budget

"Mom, what exactly are you doing?" asked Jimmy. "I'm balancing our budget," Mom answered as she looked up from her computer. "But why is it taking so long?" Jimmy whined. "You said you'd take me to the park this morning." He had already waited for what felt like hours. "I know, Jimmy. I'm almost done." Mom smiled at him. "Your dad and I believe it's important to make wise decisions with the money God has given us, and doing that takes time."Mom turned the laptop around and showed Jimmy the screen. "Look here," she said as she clicked open a new spreadsheet. She typed in some numbers, and a total popped down at the bottom. "Pretend this $20 is how much your dad and I made this month. We were able to make all our payments," she said as she highlighted some numbers in red, "and add money for other projects we're saving up for." Mom then hit enter and the bottom number turned green. "The amount that we made this month was more than the amount that we spent and saved, which is good.""Oh, so you just add and subtract like I do in math class?" Jimmy asked."Yes, I suppose it is just addition and subtraction. But there's one more thing we need to factor in." Mom highlighted three lines on her spreadsheet. "These are the places that we donate to as a family. Since our money is a blessing from God, your dad and I believe it's important to use it to show others God's love and help build His kingdom. Jesus gave us the greatest gift of all when He died for our sins to give us eternal life, so giving to others to show them His love is an important part of our monthly budget." "I can't wait to have a job one day so I'll be able to give too," said Jimmy."Well, even if you don't have money to give, you can still share other gifts God has given you with others," said Mom. "Like your time and energy. Those are blessings from God too."Jimmy thought for a moment. "Like help out at the food pantry after school?"Mom nodded. "Exactly--that's one way we could give together as a family. Now, let's get to the park!"–Naomi Zylstra