This week, we will gather to celebrate Independence Day with fireworks, barbecues, homemade ice cream, and gatherings of family and friends. Every July 4th, we pause to take stock and consider the state of our country and our lives.

So it was shocking to open the Wall Street Journal and see this headline glaring back at me: They’re in the Top 10% of Earners. They Still Don’t Feel Rich. The article highlighted a family whose annual income is $350,000, yet they feel financially strained and unable to save for college or retirement. Going on, they described families with incomes of over $250,000 (the top 10% of earners in America) as not feeling poor, but not feeling rich either. Dissatisfaction rules the day, and it never feels like it’s enough.

As I read about these trends, I realized that unless you have some kind of anchor for understanding money and wealth, the number could be anything, but you’ll never find satisfaction. Our envy, our hunger for more, must have some kind of backstop or framework that gives it meaning and context. If not, no matter how much we may make or accumulate, we’ll always be hungry for more.

And into that reality, long ago, God gave us a boundary called “tithing.” It wasn’t for HIS benefit; it was for OURS. After coaching and listening to financial angst for a few decades and after being mistaken for one particular financial “guru,” I have come to realize what God was doing for us in the discipline of tithing, and it’s quite simple.

“EVERYTHING actually belongs to HIM.” We get to use it, manage it, and make decisions with it. Still, our decision-making and management take on a different meaning when we realize two truths: Everything we have is because of His creation and grace, and He has entrusted us with the responsibility and opportunity to manage all of that wisely.

It is very rare to find someone who practices tithing (setting apart the first 10% of income for the Lord) AND continuously struggles financially. Why? Because discipline begets discipline. That one discipline then brings further discipline to how you spend and use the other 90%. Other kinds of planning can achieve similar goals, but they don’t address the foundational condition. I can decide to send my kids to college and set an amount for each child each month. But I will still be spending on ME and MY goals.

But tithing is different. It is setting a boundary on my work and accumulation because of my relationship with the Creator. I acknowledge HIS authority in my life. So I choose to HONOR Him with my tithe and seek His leadership with what’s left. And if you read the Bible, you will find that God addresses money a lot. (A L O T!) WHY? Jesus told us: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” And as much pressure as we put on accumulating money, we one day discover that we don’t even enjoy what we already have. If I believe that everything I have actually belongs to God, then I see standard of living, abilities to purchase, opportunities for vacation, education, and retirement as GRACIOUS GIFTS. It changes how I view work and it transforms how I use money.

Do you feel what the Wall Street Journal described? Then maybe your next step should be to take a good assessment of how you view the resources that God made possible in HIS creation. You can then proceed to treat life more as a grace gift and as stewardship rather than entitlement.