Why Isn’t Your Worth Found in Your Wallet?

Speaker A00:00:00

Money has a quiet way of talking to you, doesn't it? It's not out loud, it's not direct.But through the numbers, through those balances, through the statements, through those constant notifications, and they send us subtle messages. You're doing okay. Sometimes it's not that it you're behind, and sometimes it you should be further along by now.And over time, those messages start to feel personal, don't they? Not about money, but about you as a person.Friend, if your confidence rises when your balance goes up and sinks when it goes down, you're not shallow. You're human. But what if money was never meant to define you in the first place? What if your wallet was never supposed to tell you who you are?Today we're setting that weight down. So here's the question you and I are answering today. Why isn't your worth found in your wallet? And here's what you're going to walk away with.You're going to understand why money feels so tied to our identities. And you're going to feel less shame about the ups and downs you've had because, listen, we've all had them.And you're going to learn how to anchor your worth somewhere steady and safe, no matter what the numbers say. Hey, friend. Ralph Estep Jr. Here.Welcome to Financially Confident Christian, where we learn how to walk through life and money with wisdom, with peace, and with a heart anchored in God's truth. My mission is simple.I want to help you break that cycle of financial shame and build steady habits rooted in faith and become financially confident Christians. I am really glad you're here today.Yesterday we talked all about shifting from that consumer mindset to biblical stewardship, and that conversation was about posture and how you hold money. But today we're going to go even deeper. We're going to talk about identity.Because even when your habits improve, even when you start to make wiser choices, your sense of worth can still quietly rise and fall with money. And that can drain the life out of you. So let's talk about that today. A listener sent in this question.Ralph, why do I feel better about myself when my bank account looks good and worse about myself when it doesn't? And friend, that's an honest question. That's a vulnerable question. It's a brave question.And if you've ever felt that same way, you're not alone feeling that way. I felt that same way so many times in my life. But let me ask you something.Have you ever checked your balance and felt a rush of relief because it was Higher than you expected. Hey, look at this. I can't believe it. Doesn't make any sense.Or you looked at it and you felt your stomach drop like you did something wrong, like, oh, I'm the problem here. Well, if money has ever made you feel more confident or more ashamed, that doesn't mean anything is wrong with you.It means money has been asked to carry a burden it was never designed to hold in the first place. But here's the truth. Money is a shaky place to build your identity. Why? Because money moves in all of our lives. It fluctuates. Like me. It disappears.And it surprises you. And when your worth is tied to something unstable, your peace becomes unstable, too. And that anxiety you feel, that's not failure.That's misplacement. Big word. And I've walked with people who made more money than you can ever imagine, and they still feel unsecure.And I've walked with people who had very little. I'm talking about just enough to survive. And they carried with them a deep peace like you can't even fathom. The difference was never the money.It's always where they found their worth. That was the secret to it. And I once talked with someone who said this, Ralph, I only feel like I'm doing well when my numbers go up.And I felt bad for that person. Because then life hit an unexpected Bill. A hard season, a drop in income. The numbers fell, and so did their sense of value.And they told me, they said, rob, I feel like I'm failing at life, even though I know this isn't my fault. It wasn't their fault they lost their job. It wasn't their fault that this surprised Bill. It wasn't their fault their kids were sick.It wasn't their fault they had an emergency dental thing. And I would love to tell you we fixed everything overnight, but we didn't. What we did was we started separating identity from income.And when we did that, over time, slowly, the pressure eased a bit. So here's the deeper question today. Who gets to tell you who you are? Is it your wallet? Or is it your father in heaven?Because those two voices tell very different stories. But let's slow this down together. I want to start by saying something. Over time, money quickly becomes a mirror.Money starts reflecting back messages to you. It reflects back things like you're responsible, or like I said earlier, you're behind. You should have done. You should know better by now.But money can only show you numbers. If you don't hear anything else I say today, hear that money can only show you numbers. It will never measure your character.It will never measure your effort, and it certainly won't measure your faithfulness. But the problem is culture trains us to find and tie our worth to wealth. Because from a young age, we learn this.More money, more success, less money struggling. And that message gets repeated so often, it becomes true in our lives. But just because something's repeated doesn't mean it's true.The truth is, God anchors worth in the relationship. God doesn't measure you by income or your net worth. You are valued because you are his.See, before the paycheck, after the paycheck, it doesn't change. Your worth doesn't rise or fall when your income increases, your value doesn't go up. When your savings drop, your worth doesn't go down to God.Your worth is steady because God is steady. And this secure identity brings calm decisions. See, when your worth is anchored in Christ, money decisions feel lighter. That fear quiets down.That comparison that so many of us are trapped in loses its grip. And money becomes a tool again, not a verdict. And see, that's what money's supposed to be. Money's supposed to be a tool, not a verdict on your worth.Now, you gotta be honest with yourself, though. This doesn't remove responsibility. A lot of people say, okay, well, I'm just not gonna worry about it. Rob, what you're telling me is God's got this.No, that's not what I'm saying. You still have responsibility. You still got a budget. You still got a plan. You still have to grow.You just do it without shame driving the entire process. And over time, that peace replaces the panic. Because in the end, your wallet reflects a season.It's not your character, it's not your future, and it's not your value. It's just a season. And guess what? Seasons change. Let's look at our scripture today. Comes to us from Galatians, chapter 3, verse 26.So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. And I just love this verse of the Bible. It means that your worth is received. Think about that for a second.So in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God through faith. You didn't earn anything, you didn't achieve it. And that truth right there can quiet a restless heart. So here's what I want you to do today.Something simple. I want you to write this sentence down, and I want you to write it down a couple times.I remember when I was in school, we got in trouble in school to write the same thing. Ten times on a piece of paper. I want you to think that same thing today, but this is what I want you to write down.My worth is in Christ, not my wallet. My worth is in Christ, not my wallet. I'm going to say it one more time. My worth is in Christ, not my wallet.And then put it somewhere you're going to see it. And when money tries to shout at you, when it tries to speak louder, let that sit and speak back. How about we pray together?Lord, thank you for calling us your children. Help us release the false identities we've built around money.Teach us to rest in who you say we are, not what the world tells us or what our bank account balance tells us. Calm our hearts, Lord, as we learn to trust you. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.Friend, if this touched something tender to you today, you don't have to carry this alone anymore. The financially confident Christian community is a safe place. It's a place with no judgment, no shame, and absolutely no pressure.And people often tell me, ralph, I finally feel safe talking about money again. And friend, you're welcome here. Join us at financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join again. That's financiallyconfidentchristian.com/join.I would love for you to come and join us, friend. Your value was settled long before your first paycheck, and it will remain steady long after your last one.No balance can add to it and no mistake can take it away. You are already loved, you are already secure. And listen to me, you are already enough.And tomorrow we're going to continue this conversation and we're going to talk about how renewing your mind can lead to financial freedom.We're going to talk about how the thoughts you rehearse shape the choices you make and how real financial freedom starts in your mind, not in your bank account. Going to be a great show tomorrow.And if today's episode brought relief, I want to encourage you share it with someone who needs a gentler voice around money. So many of us carry that shame. But this show isn't about financial shame.It's about learning to walk in wisdom, learning to be financially savvy, and in the end, truly becoming a financially confident Christian. God bless you, friend, and you have a great day today.