Saving an emergency fund is one way we follow Christ in our finances. In fact, Christ commands us to commit to accomplishing this very act of stewardship (Prov 6:8). So, I’d like to give just a little encouragement and help in how to follow through on this:
There’s an old saying I picked up somewhere: if you chase two rabbits at once, you won’t catch either. If you want to accomplish a particular goal, you have to train all your faculties toward that one goal. If you have more than one goal, that’s fine–just be sure you do them one at a time, in the right order.
Emergency funds are an essential element in this. Why? They allow you to maintain financial focus while riding out the smaller ups and downs of life.
For example, if you are focused on paying off debt and about half way to your goal, your car needs four new tires. You should have prepared for this, but it slipped your mind. That’s okay! No need to abandon the mission, that’s what the emergency fund is for.
If you’re maintaining a long term goal of putting away 15% of your income to retirement, you don’t want to be distracted from this mission. You certainly don’t want to have to take money out of your fund and pay all the taxes and penalties. An emergency fund can save you from that distraction as well.
Anyway, I hope this is helpful. We want our church and Christian households to be strong and resilient. We want them to increase in wealth and prosperity over the next several generations. Emergency funds are a must for helping us stay focused.
