This week we continued the marriage series in our RMG and talked about two big scary words, the “A” word and the “B” word.

Each word by itself is ominous.

When you hear either one of them, you become flush, your pulse rises and a wave of warmth creeps up your neck. Either of them can cause you to look down at your feet, hoping that the remembrance of them quickly passes.

These are words that you pretend to understand in the middle of a discussion, because you are embarrassed to admit that you don’t even know what they really mean or how they work.

So, what are these two foreboding words? “Accountability” and “Budget”.

Yes, we dared go down that road that others dare not take and talked about both of these words – together! And, we did so with a small group of husbands and wives; we had a dangerous combination for the perfect storm!! But, as we know, God is sovereign over all things at all times, including storms.

It was such a blessing to sit with fellow believers and talk about budget and money issues openly. No one was there to condemn; instead we were there to exhort and encourage one another. And, by having an open dialogue with God’s Word as the centerpiece, we came to the realization that the accountability for a budget was secondary to accountability for the establishment of idols of the heart.

Money can – and does – quickly become an idol. We think about it in one way or another more than anything else. Not having enough bothers us, wanting more distracts us, not spending too much burdens us, and spending too much weighs us down.

We talked about how we can avoid this idolization of money and – don’t panic – it is not to give it all away. It is actually harder than that. It is to give it to God by recognizing it is His money, not ours. And, once we do that, we then understand that the 2,000 plus verses in the Bible regarding money are actually there to help us to be better stewards of God’s stuff. Amazingly, when we take ourselves out of the picture, the idolization goes away.

This does take work, and we do need the “A” word to make sure we stay on track. But, if we are faithful, all of that stress regarding the “B” word dissipates, and we live much more peaceful lives.

The RMGs are continuing with the marriage series for a couple of more weeks. So, if you have not had the chance to take advantage, please do. You are really missing out on something very, very good.