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Probably the most well-known "shock talk" disc jockey is Howard Stern, who has accrued over $1.5 million in FCC fines for his vulgar and crude antics. Back in 1994, Stern decided to run for governor of New York, but when he found out that running for governor would require that he provide a public financial disclosure statement, he withdrew his candidacy. He reasoned that going public with his finances was far too personal.

What’s wrong with that picture? Here’s a guy who regularly details his sexual behavior on radio for millions of listeners and yet he feels his personal finances are too private for public scrutiny. The reality is that we’re not all that different from Howard Stern in our discomfort with talking about our finances. Most of us want to keep our income, spending, debt and giving habits private. We don’t even like to talk about it at home with those closest to us.

Yet the Bible addresses the money issue head on. Prayer is mentioned about 270 times. Loving others is mentioned about 370 times, but money is mentioned over 2,000 times. Why so often? God wants us to wise up about money, and that begins by simply talking about it openly.

When it comes to our finances, the best-question ever is not what is the legal, moral, acceptable, right, permissible, or the cool thing to do. Instead, ask: In light of my finances, what is the wise thing for me to do? Only this question strips through our self-deception and provides the potential for fool-proofing our financial decisions.

If we had applied this question a few years ago, there’s a good chance we’d be living in slightly smaller homes with slightly less expensive furniture. We’d be driving slightly older cars, experiencing slightly less expensive vacations, and wearing slightly less designer clothes. On the positive side, we’d probably have more discretionary money, little or no credit-card debt, a larger retirement, and more opportunities to give generously to impact lives for God.

So why do we have such a difficult time managing money when it’s one of the easiest to monitor and predict outcomes? Why do we spend foolishly? Why do we strap ourselves financially? Why do we finance things that are worn out or broken before we’ve paid them off? The answer is based on the premise of this series—we’re asking the wrong questions.

Let me illustrate. You find the perfect car sitting on the dealer lot. Drool starts running down your chin. After you recover from the initial sticker shock, wrong questions flood your mind: Can I afford it? Are there any rebates? Is it on sale? How much will the monthly payments be? How much trade in will I get for my Yugo? Do I have any home-equity money I could borrow? Is it cheaper to lease? How much could I pull out of my savings?

Standing in your drool, you make the following wrong assumptions: if I can make it work, I should pull the trigger. If I can somehow afford the new car, I should buy it. If they’re going to loan me money, then by all means, I should sign my life away for four years. This is where conventional wisdom and the best question butt heads. It’s not can I afford it, but should I afford it. It’s not can I borrow for the car, but should I borrow. It’s the wise question.

In light of my past financial experiences, my current financial situation, and my future financial hopes and dreams, what is the wise thing for me to do? We need to wise up when it comes to our money. The eighteenth-century English preacher John Wesley summed up his wise perspective toward money. "Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."

Here are four ways you can wise up about money: 1. You wise up about money when you work hard to reach your earning potential. Proverbs 10:4 says. "Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth." This proverb is not saying that all poverty is caused by laziness, but one potential cause of poverty is laziness. Proverbs 14:23 says, "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." We must work hard if we’re going to reach our earning potential. Work is an essential part of God’s plan for you and me.

2. You wise up about money when you avoid foolish debt. Proverbs 22:7 tell us "… the borrower is servant to the lender." Clearly, in most cases, borrowing is not the best approach. Besides, much of what the Bible says about borrowing is negative. In ancient Israel, when this particular proverb was written, this was literally true. If you borrowed and couldn’t pay it back, you or a family member literally became a slave of the lender until you paid off the loan.

We, too, become servants to the lender through overextending ourselves with credit. The average American household has about $8,000 in credit-card debt. Just ten years ago it was $3,000. The average college student has $2,000 in credit-card debt. Last year, American charged $1.3 trillion on credit cards. Most people will need at least 20 years to pay off their balance by making the minimum payment and not charging any more. If you want to wise up: Avoid incurring foolish debt and dump the debt you do have.

3. You wise up about money when you seek moderation in your lifestyle. Proverbs 23:4-5 says, "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle." When your sole mission in life is to get money and the stuff it buys, you will end up exhausted and broke, just like Buddy Post who won $16.2 M in the 1988 Pennsylvania lottery.

This proverb tells us to show restraint—literally to know when to stop. We must decide when enough is enough—to define and draw a line and settle on what is a wise standard of living. Jesus said in Luke 12:16, "'Beware! Don't be greedy for what you don't have. Real life is not measured by how much we own.'" Greed shows no restraint. It’s craving for more and more of what you have enough of already. Jesus is saying that real life is not about stuff. Yet isn’t that the message we hear screaming in the media: Life is all about getting stuff.

We’re like the donkey with the carrot dangling in front of him. The donkey sees the carrot and wants it, so the donkey moves toward it, but the carrot moves too. The carrot is always there, promising to fill the appetite. But what it promises, it doesn’t deliver. SHOW RESTRAINT!

Boston College sociologist, Juliet Schor, says in her book, The Overspent American, that in the 50s and 60s we measured our standard of living by the Joneses next door. Now our standard of living is compared to those we see on TV who have incomes way beyond what we make. No wonder credit cards are so popular—you can act like the rich and famous, even if you aren’t.

4. You wise up about money when you share generously with God and others. Here it comes. "Roger is turning on the guilt trip about giving to God’s work. He’s coming for my wallet or purse." Friends, I’m not after it. But God is. Proverbs 3:9 tells us, "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops."

Jesus said in Luke 6:38, "'If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving—large or small—it will be used to measure what is given back to you.'" Giving is an invitation for God to become active in the world of your finances.

Now the reason we struggle to pay God is not that we don’t want to, but because when all the bills and taxes are paid, there are only leftovers for God. When we have friends over for dinner or take a meal to someone, we don’t serve them leftovers. That would be rude, tacky and embarrassing—"here’s some overcooked chicken we didn’t finish last night. Hope you like it."

Andy Stanley says, "If you wouldn’t serve your guests leftovers, why would you give your leftover money to God? That’s like saying, 'Sorry, Lord, I wish I could do more, but I can’t because I spent most of it on me and gave the rest to Uncle Sam.'"

Let me illustrate it this way. Ron Blue in his book, Master Your Money, says there are five basic ways to use money. 1. Spend it. 2. Repay debt. 3. Pay taxes. 4. Save it. 5. Give it. This is the typical American pattern for doing money. Now you can see why there are only leftovers for saving and giving. We end up hurting ourselves in the future and shortchanging God’s work in the present.

In one of Jesus’ famous sermons, he made a huge promise to his followers to meet their practical earthly needs of food, clothing, and shelter. But there was one stipulation. Matthew 6:33 says, "God will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern."

Here’s the offer Jesus makes. "God, the Father will take responsibility for your basic life needs if you will prioritize His Kingdom work. If you will transfer your concern to what’s important to Him, He will take responsibility for what is important to you." Now if you are willing to accept Jesus’ promise or guarantee, then what is the wise thing for you to do in light of your finances? I would suggest you reverse or reprioritize the "five ways you use money" list. 1. Give it. (First fruits—not leftovers) 2. Save it. 3. Pay taxes. 4. Repay debt. 5. Spend it or go shopping on the leftovers.

Let’s be honest, this is not the easy button approach, is it? It’s not easy money. But it’s the wise thing to do. Where would you be today, if you had reversed this order five years ago? Imagine the possibilities. So in light of your past financial experiences and current financial situation, and your future financial hopes and dreams what is the easy thing to do—I mean, what is the wise thing to do? Isn’t it time to reprioritize the way you do money? Try if it for a few months and see if God isn’t true to His promise.