Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
In America today we are very fortunate to have very few people who would quality for absolute poverty, since anyone can get almost all of our basic human needs for free if they so choose. More difficult than making money is the learning how to not waste it.
What people spend their money on says a lot about their character. If you want to see whats most important in a person’s life go look at their check book. Go look at where their money goes, whatever gets the most money is probably the most important thing to that person.
An employee came to me; his family was on the brink of homelessness, and he made no qualms about making me feel guilty if I didnt help him financially. And of course I did, but I also made a chart of his spending habits. Both he and his wife smoke and drink alcohol. I charted out his smoking($10 per day for the two of them) to be $3650 a year. They spent $7300 a year on drinking ($20 per day on whiskey). Together that’s $10,950! He could buy a nice used car for that, or better in a year or two he could put a down payment on a house!
When I showed him this his jaw was on the floor. I also knew they were getting food stamps, and had no bills outside of rent and utilities. So the guy really had no excuse for being poor except for the fact that they spent all their money on luxuries while they neglected their necessities.
Most of us are not as extreme as this guy, but I wonder how much non-essential stuff we waste our money on. Cellphones with Internet and data plans, satellite tv or cable, netflix, smokes, alcohol, fast food, coffee, etc. All that stuff adds up to be quite expensive at the end of the year. Imagine at the end of 10 years… imagine if all that money and not only saved but was invested it in a mutual fund earning interest. That coffee that cost a few dollars every day may be costing over $100,000 by the time you retire… whoa! Would you give up coffee for a house?
“How long will you lie there, O’ sluggard” scripture says to me. I cant give to the needy if I’m giving to line the pockets of entrepreneurs. I cant support my Church, or that orphanage in Africa, or cancer center for children in Nicaragua, or whatever if I dont watch over my finances.
There are people out there a lot smarter than me thinking up new ways everyday to get my money. It’s up to me to spend it wisely. And when I do I bring honor to God. It shows that I value what I’ve been given.
By choosing to spend and save my money wisely I show Christian character, but wasting it and indulging at the expense of others, my family, my own retirement, my kid’s college savings, etc, I show that I am growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
Proverbs 6 – Ants
In America today we are very fortunate to have very few people who would quality for absolute poverty, since anyone can get almost all of our basic human needs for free if they so choose. More difficult than making money is the learning how to not waste it.
What people spend their money on says a lot about their character. If you want to see whats most important in a person’s life go look at their check book. Go look at where their money goes, whatever gets the most money is probably the most important thing to that person.
An employee came to me; his family was on the brink of homelessness, and he made no qualms about making me feel guilty if I didnt help him financially. And of course I did, but I also made a chart of his spending habits. Both he and his wife smoke and drink alcohol. I charted out his smoking($10 per day for the two of them) to be $3650 a year. They spent $7300 a year on drinking ($20 per day on whiskey). Together that’s $10,950! He could buy a nice used car for that, or better in a year or two he could put a down payment on a house!
When I showed him this his jaw was on the floor. I also knew they were getting food stamps, and had no bills outside of rent and utilities. So the guy really had no excuse for being poor except for the fact that they spent all their money on luxuries while they neglected their necessities.
Most of us are not as extreme as this guy, but I wonder how much non-essential stuff we waste our money on. Cellphones with Internet and data plans, satellite tv or cable, netflix, smokes, alcohol, fast food, coffee, etc. All that stuff adds up to be quite expensive at the end of the year. Imagine at the end of 10 years… imagine if all that money and not only saved but was invested it in a mutual fund earning interest. That coffee that cost a few dollars every day may be costing over $100,000 by the time you retire… whoa! Would you give up coffee for a house?
“How long will you lie there, O’ sluggard” scripture says to me. I cant give to the needy if I’m giving to line the pockets of entrepreneurs. I cant support my Church, or that orphanage in Africa, or cancer center for children in Nicaragua, or whatever if I dont watch over my finances.
There are people out there a lot smarter than me thinking up new ways everyday to get my money. It’s up to me to spend it wisely. And when I do I bring honor to God. It shows that I value what I’ve been given.
By choosing to spend and save my money wisely I show Christian character, but wasting it and indulging at the expense of others, my family, my own retirement, my kid’s college savings, etc, I show that I am growing in the fruit of the Spirit.
Like this: