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Save All You Can, Give All You Can with Dr. Shane Enete
Episode 752
“One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.” —Proverbs 11:24
Scripture calls us to be both wise savers and generous givers—but holding those two together can feel like a tension. How do we avoid fear on one side and foolishness on the other? Dr. Shane Enete joins us today to show how these two principles actually go hand in hand.
Dr. Shane Enete is an Associate Professor of Finance at Biola University and founded the Biola Center for Financial Planning. He is also the author of the book Whole Heart Finances: A Jesus-Centered Guide to Managing Your Money with Joy.
Living in the Tension
John Wesley famously wrote, “Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can.” It sounds simple enough, but when you sit down with a budget, the statement can feel more like a paradox than a plan. After all, how can you both save as much as you can and give as much as you can? At some point, choices must be made.
Rather than resolving the paradox with rigid rules, we encourage believers to embrace the complexity as part of the Christian life.
In the absence of clarity, many of us make rules. One common example is the “80/10/10 rule”—give 10%, save 10%, and live on the remaining 80%. While this framework may be helpful, we must also be cautious that this can risk reducing Christian stewardship to legalism.
The Christian life is a paradox. Christ Himself is a paradox—fully God and fully man. When we encounter a paradox, we shouldn’t flatten it into a rule. Instead, we’re invited into a relationship with God and to walk with Him in the tension.
Stewardship as Art
So how do we approach the paradox of saving and giving without rigid formulas? We should think of stewardship more as an art rather than a science. Just as Jesus used metaphors—such as sheep, seeds, trees, and vines—to describe the mysteries of the Kingdom, we too can use metaphors to navigate the complexity of money.
Art allows us to co-create with God, and it moves us from rule-keeping to relationship, from legalism to a life that draws us closer to Him and to one another.
One compelling metaphor is water. Water is life-giving when it flows, but when it stagnates, it becomes toxic. In the same way, money is meant to flow—received from God and passed on to bless others.
Of course, saving is still essential—as it’s like a reservoir that ensures water can flow steadily—but the point is not the reservoir itself. It’s the flow that revitalizes both the giver and those who receive.
The call to “save all you can, give all you can” is not a puzzle to be solved but a paradox to be lived. By resisting the urge to reduce it to rigid formulas and instead embracing stewardship as a creative act with God, we discover a more life-giving way to approach money. The flow is what matters. That’s what brings life.
You can read Dr. Enete’s full article—and gain access to other exclusive resources—by becoming a FaithFi Partner. With your support of $35 a month or $400 a year, you’ll not only receive Faithful Steward but also enjoy other special benefits designed to encourage and equip you on your stewardship journey.
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Published on 7 hours ago