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There you are in the department store—face-to-face with an unbeatable sale! Yet you know the money in your wallet is allocated for dry cleaning and that you agreed not to charge anything on your credit card. Still, you need this blouse, and it normally sells for twice as much. If you buy it, what will you tell your spouse?

Financial accountability in marriage either can be a burdensome obligation or a sweet gesture of unification. When you and your spouse agree on spending limits, treasure him so much that you won't violate your agreement.

Of course, some days you won't feel like treasuring him, especially when he violates spending agreements. That's why your marriage vows made before God help. On those days, you can ask God for a willingness to honor agreements with your spouse.

Money issues often pose tough questions. Do I serve God and treasure my spouse, or do I serve my desires to own more things and spend more money? Too often, these questions are dismissed lightly with words, such as, Look at how much I saved! But there's a deeper issue involved. Who do you serve? Who do you treasure? (See also Psalm 49:16-20; Malachi 3:8-12; 1 Timothy 6:6-10; Hebrews 13:5, 6.)

Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also …. You cannot serve God and mammon. Matthew 6:21, 24

In what ways do you treasure your spouse through what you spend?

Copyright 2003 by the author or Christianity Today International/Christian Bible Studies.

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