February 3, 2004: Make Your Money Count (Part 4)
   
“The wise person saves for the future, but the foolish person spends whatever they get." Proverbs 21: 20 (Living Bible)

    Over the past three weeks, we have studied how money in itself is not evil, only the love of money. Then we looked at our attitudes toward money. We saw how the world’s view and God’s view are usually opposite. Then we looked at common mistakes made with money. The mistakes are our lack of contentment, prudence, good decision making and the lack of saving money for unexpected events in life.

    Now let’s turn toward the results of our bad decisions and wrong attitudes toward money. Debt is one of the most imprisoning traps we fall into in life. Improper debt wakes us up at night, makes us snap at those around us and causes stress fractures in our lives.

 
    A financial struggle is one of the leading causes of marriage problems today, not to mention the ill effects on our health, both physical and mental.

The Dangers of Debt:

Debt handcuffs us to a creditor

"Those who borrow are slaves of moneylenders." Proverbs 22: 7 (Contemporary English)

Debt increases out pressure to earn

“A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions, but the fool goes blindly on and suffers consequences." Proverbs 27: 12 (New Living)

    The pressure of having to make more sales, more deals or work more overtime can be overwhelming. Desperate people make desperate decisions. Often these bad decisions lead to the compounding of problems.

    Can you think of examples of debt causing increased pressure and desperate decision making in corporate America? How about in your own life?

Debt exposes your character flaws

“Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it." Proverbs 21: 20 (Amplified Bible)

 

“When the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us… self-control." Galatians 5: 22 (New Living)

 

“The key to financial freedom is to spend less than you earn, and do it for a long time.” Master Your Money, Ron Blue

    The old cliché of “show me a person’s calendar and I will show you their priorities” holds true for checkbooks and financial statements, as well. If we were to publish your calendars, checkbooks and credit card statements on a website for anyone to see, would you be proud? What character flaws would be exposed? What would you need to change before the publication, in order to look more like Christ?

The Wisdom of Saving: Saving is the antidote to debt

    Start small. Start somewhere. A simple draft from your checking to a savings account every month is a painless form of savings. Pay God first, then yourself in the form of savings, and then your obligations.

Benefits of Saving:

You feel smart and free

You feel less pressure to earn

You feel satisfaction

You respond to giving opportunities

You feel good about the way God is developing your character

“Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him." Romans 12: 2 (Contemporary English)

 

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty." Proverbs 21: 5 (New Living)

 

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed." Proverbs 15: 22 (New International)

 

“For the wages of sin is death … but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6: 23 (New International)

Points to Ponder: What do I need to do today, to start my financial makeover?

David Massey

Questions or comments? Email david@e-devotionals.org.

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