Financial planning might be the least fun part of adulthood — the personal growth equivalent of eating your vegetables. It’s tedious, uncomfortable and, let’s be honest, doesn’t feel like it pays off fast enough. For many of us, the idea of planning for future expenses feels absurd when the present is already a financial juggling act.
But for Christians, the stakes are even higher. We’re called to live with open hands, to hold money lightly and to give generously. As Jesus put it, “You cannot serve both God and money.”
Art Rainer wants to help us get there. Author of books like The Money Challenge, Rainer is on a mission to teach Christians how to stop letting money call the shots. In a conversation with RELEVANT, he shared how financial freedom isn’t really about a bigger savings account — it’s about a healthier heart.
“What I do now is help people not only with practical financial issues, but also help them understand the why,” Rainer said. “What does God’s scripture say about money? How do we flesh this out practically? My hope is that I can be a part of a generation that gets financially healthy — not so they can spend on whatever they want, but so they can live and give generously as God designed us to do.”
It’s a perspective that feels almost alien in today’s world, where money is often seen as the key to happiness, safety and meaning. According to Rainer, this is exactly the trap we fall into: mistaking money for hope.
“We’re putting our hope for security, our hope for a better future, a hope for a sense of satisfaction, contentment — all those things we’re placing on money,” he explained. “But it was never meant to do that.”
Rainer points to 1 Timothy 6:17-19, where Paul urges the rich not to place their hope in wealth but in God.
“Paul goes on to say, be generous with others. Be willing to share,” Rainer said. “And then by doing that, we find true life — the contentment that comes when we start to align ourselves with God’s design.”
The problem isn’t money itself. It’s what we think it can do for us.
“Money in and of itself is not a bad thing,” Rainer said. “God didn’t give us money to make us miserable. We can use those things for His purpose and His glory.”
But it’s easy to slip into subtle forms of idolatry.
“A red flag would be regular disappointment, when something you wanted to achieve doesn’t happen,” Rainer explained. “Maybe you find yourself scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, seeing these images of people on vacations and cars, and you feel jealous. That shows you’re placing your hope in something other than Christ.”
This is where Rainer’s message becomes more than just practical advice — it’s a spiritual wake-up call.
“God talks about finances all the time because He’s passionate about our hearts,” he said. “Money management reflects heart management.”
For many Christians, the idea of saving or giving feels out of reach. Living paycheck to paycheck doesn’t leave much room for building an emergency fund, let alone investing or making big donations. Rainer knows this firsthand and insists that even in tight times, we can start small.
“My encouragement is to start somewhere,” he said. “I have something I call the 8 Money Milestones, and the very first milestone is to start giving. Some say, ‘Well, I can’t give anything because everything’s too tight.’ But once again, just start somewhere. Trust God. This is what He tells you to do.”
For Rainer, giving isn’t just a financial decision; it’s a spiritual discipline rooted in Scripture. He outlined four biblical principles of giving: it should be a priority (Proverbs 3:9), it should be proportional (percentage-based), it should be sacrificial, and it should follow God’s example.
“God tells us to make giving a priority, and He leads us in that,” Rainer said. “Jesus is His first and His best. He gave us the greatest gift known to man.”
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the endless opportunities to give — there are so many causes and nonprofits doing meaningful work. But Rainer encourages Christians to start with their local church.
“The local church is God’s plan to advance His kingdom around the world,” he said. “After you give to your local church, start considering other kingdom-advancing nonprofits that resonate with who you are and what you’re passionate about. But start with the local church.”
Of course, all this is much easier said than done. Breaking the cycle of comparing ourselves to others, of feeling behind, of tying our worth to our bank account — that takes real work. But for Rainer, the payoff is worth it.
“We get into cycles of discontentment and dissatisfaction,” he said. “We continue to try to get more, and it just never works out. But when we start to align our financial habits with God’s design, that’s when we find contentment. That’s when we find real life.”
In the end, Rainer’s advice isn’t about finally affording the big vacation or landing the perfect job. It’s about a deeper freedom — one where money becomes a tool instead of a master, and where giving isn’t an obligation but a joy. It’s about living out a kind of financial faithfulness that points beyond ourselves to something bigger.
Maybe that sounds like a paradox in a culture obsessed with bigger, better and more. But as Rainer sees it, that’s exactly the point.
“God is not concerned about the size of your 401(k),” he said. “He’s concerned about where your heart is. And money management is heart management.”
So yes, financial planning might be broccoli. But, as Rainer makes clear, it’s broccoli that feeds a life of true freedom and purpose — and that’s something worth savoring.
