A wise man saves for the future – Proverbs 21:20.
Money little by little grows – Proverbs 13:11.
Pay to everyone what is due them—tribute to whom tribute is due; tax to whom tax is due; respect to whom respect is due; honor to whom honor is due. Romans 13:7.
Wealth gained by fraud dwindles, but he who gathers by labor increases it. Proverbs 13:11.
Money is something we all deal with, and most of us wish we had more of it. My grandparents were survivors of the Great Depression. Years later, my grandmother was still counting her pennies, washing out her pantyhose, mending socks and shirts, gardening, canning, and not wasting anything. Every dollar and cent was accounted for. Today we have become more wasteful. We may have excessive spending, spoiling others and ourselves. Balance is needed. We even have a reality show called hoarders.
As I have been pondering how I could do better in the area of money, I was reminded of my childhood and my children’s. As a child, going out to eat was almost unheard of at our house. McDonald’s, the Dairy Dip, or White Castle was a huge treat. We ate at home. We packed our lunches. Heck, we packed coolers with sandwiches for vacations.
A visit to the hair salon? No. Our mother learned to cut hair. Clothing? My mother made a lot of our clothing from McCall patterns. We went to yard sales.
A closet full of shoes? No. We got a new pair of tennis shoes before school started, and we had a pair of sandals and boots for winter. Fashion wasn’t the biggest concern. We painted our own nails.
Have we forgotten how to respect money and be good stewards of money, but what about how we speak? Do we say, “I’m so broke? The money is already gone, and I haven’t got paid yet. I’ll never have any money because I’m uneducated, poor, disabled, or too old to keep trying,” or do we often discuss how high prices are and how bad the economy is? Remember, it was terrible for a widow in the Bible, but God showed up. He fed a prophet by way of birds. I want to change my language concerning money. Please offer any advice in the comment.
Question: Are you afraid to step out in faith and try your hand at a new business or creative gift you have that could open the door to prosperity? Remember, money isn’t the only gift involved when you are doing what you love and blessing others. This, too, is prosperous even if you aren’t making thousands.
Another question: Who do you give to? Are you planting good seeds? Are you sowing into good ground? Are you giving just to be giving? What do you want to see your money do? It takes money to help the needy, the poor, the homeless, widows, and orphans. It takes money to do work for the Kingdom. It takes money to take classes and better educate ourselves.
How can we start looking at our money differently? Speaking about money differently.
We must discuss our money if we want to be good stewards. We need to sit down with our spouses or if single, with an advisor, friend, mentor, someone. It’s not tabu to discuss money.
What goals do we have concerning finances, debts, and being a blessing to others in need? Do you have assets collecting dust? Possibly, opening an account on Facebook market or Ebay is a start. When the widow who had been left a debt and was in need went to the prophet, he said, “What do you have in your house?” This could be furniture, crafts, odds and ins, items to sell, but it could also be talents untapped. Know your worth. Be honest about your money. If friends invite you on a cruise, out to an expensive restaurant, or for a manicure that you can’t afford because you have set aside savings or are paying off a student loan, tell them you can’t afford it. Who knows, they might treat you or you may get them thinking about ways they can save money.
Are we watching our spending habits? Are we making a monthly budget or looking over where most of our monthly money goes?
Sometimes we need visions and goals. Sometimes we need to move, change jobs or careers, and make changes so we are not living above our means. Ask the questions: If my spouse or child were to get sick and could not work, (Yah forbid) could we make it? If our air conditioner of furnace went out, do we have the money to replace it. What about the car? Retirement?
We must allow the Father to move on our behalf and trust Him. He will supply all our needs, but sometimes our wants and desires get in the way of our needs being met. We know that several people in the Bible were known for their money and how they used it. The centurion whose servant was sick and dying had built the synagogue. Another man’s prayers and giving had reached the heavens.
“When the centurion heard about Jesus/ Yeshua, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus/Yeshua, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue. Luke 7:3-5.
Cornelius’s prayers and alms were a sweet-smelling fragrance, so much so that an Angel told him that his generosity had reached heaven and the Father of glory.
“Now, in Caesarea, there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort.
He was a devout man, revering God with all his household. He gave tzadakah generously to the people and prayed to God continually.
About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” The angel said to him, “Your prayers and tzedakah have gone up as a memorial offering before God.
Acts 10:1-4.
Tzadakah —charitable giving.
What new visions do you have for your money? Meditate. Trust the Father. Make savings a habit, even if you are short on something else. If you never set any money aside for an emergency, you’ll end up charging money you do not have. Little by little, money grows, and if we cut corners in one area, Abba will supply our monthly bill money.
May we not become like this man:
“But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.”
Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’
‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed. Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return, I would have received it back with interest.”
Matthew 25:18, 25:24-27, BSB.
This is an oldie but a goodie. The flip side, the “love” of money. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil—some, longing for it, have gone astray from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” I Timothy 6:10, TLV.
Here are more verses concerning money:
Ecclesiastes 5:10
10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
Hebrews 13:5
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Matthew 19:21
21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Exodus 22:25
25 “If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.
Deuteronomy 23:19
19 Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest.
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
