Your Money God's Way

Do you need help with your finances from a Biblical perspective?

When I began reading “Your Money God’s Way,” I thought it was about time that someone who had been through bad financial decisions and made it out of the pit wrote a book. It seems that so many financial books are written by people who haven’t really been through the experience of their clients. My one concern however, is that author Amie Streater hasn’t been free from her past spending habits for all that long and she’s only been in the financial counseling ministry for four years. Still, her advice makes sense and she isn’t afraid to tell it like it is. That’s refreshing. In addition to discussing poor spending habits, she also discusses enabling others to have bad habits. This too is refreshing and often ignored.

Streater doesn’t sugar coat. She’s willing to tell a client, “You’ve done some really dumb things with your money. Really, really, really dumb. We’re doing to spend some time figuring out why you’ve been doing dumb stuff and I will show you how to start doing smart stuff” (p. xx). Her advice is biblically based and filled with common sense. As a stay-at-home mother, I felt a little on the spot as the author talks many times about how living on one income works for few and she makes it seem lazy not to work outside of the home. I doubt that was her real intention, but it does come across that way.

I like how the author has a section at the end of every chapter where she summarizes the important points from the chapter and then offers practical solutions steps for the problems addressed. It’s organized well. Readers will like the many stories that she tells of clients with practical examples of problems. Most readers will be able to identify with one or many of the characters portrayed. I did have an issue with one statement at the end of the book though. “This book is based, in part, on true events, but certain liberties have been taken with names, places, and dates, and the characters have been invented. Therefore, the persons and characters portrayed bear absolutely no resemblance whatsoever to the persons who were actually involved in the events described in this book” (p. 189). That put me off just a little as it seemed to take away from the credibility of the stories a little. I’d rather the author disclose up front that the characters are fictional depictions.

The subtitle to “Your Money God’s Way” summarizes the content well. “Overcoming the 7 Money Myths That Keep Christians Broke.” I think this book will be well received.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers at no cost for my fair and honest review.