In this enlightening episode, Tiffany Grant is joined by financial expert Justin Buonomo, who delves into the topic of biblical principles regarding money. Justin shares profound insights on how viewing money through the lens of spirituality can create clarity and direction in our financial lives.

Check out the full show notes: https://moneytalkwitht.com/podcast-show-notes/financial-prosperity/

About Our Guest

Justin Buonomo is the visionary CEO & Founder of Journey to Financial Freedom, dedicated to empowering business owners to achieve their dream lifestyle through financial mastery. With a passion for helping business owners live their dream lives fueled and funded by their dream business, Justin believes in the transformative power of taking control of your financial destiny.

Episode Highlights

Principle #1: The Love of Money vs. Money Itself

Justin explains the often misconstrued Bible verse that states, "Money is the root of all evil," clarifying that it is the "love of money" or idolizing money over God that leads to problems.

Principle #2: Stewardship

Justin discusses the vital concept of stewardship, emphasizing that managing your current finances responsibly is key to being blessed with more. He asserts that God will not bless you with more until you can handle what you currently have properly.

Principle #3: Money as a Magnifier

Further, Justin elaborates on how money magnifies one's existing character and values. He encourages using money as a tool to further good causes and expand God's kingdom.

Personal Stories and Examples

Justin shares personal experiences, including his support for a school in Kenya that helps refugee girls, illustrating how properly managed finances can make a significant impact.

Key Bible Verses Referenced

1. 1 Timothy 6:10 - "For the love of money is the root of all evil..."
2. Matthew 6:24
3. Luke 6:38
4. Matthew 25:29

Connect with Justin Buonomo

Follow Justin on Instagram: @justin_buonomo

Tiffany and Justin tie together the principles discussed, emphasizing the importance of understanding and applying these biblical concepts to foster not only personal financial success but also to contribute positively to the community and God's kingdom.

Connect with Tiffany

Website: MoneyTalkWithT.com

Social Media: @MoneyTalkWithT

Visit MoneyTalkWithT.com for access to all past episodes and resources.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform!

Support this Podcast

Copyright 2024 Tiffany Grant

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

episodes@moneytalkwitht.com 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.