Proverbs 21:20
Be sensible and store up precious treasures-- don't waste them like a fool.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
We all know people whose money “burns a hole in their pocket.” If they have a dollar, they will find something to buy with it. Early on, I became a tightwad. Some probably consider me “cheap”… I prefer to think I am conscientious and thrifty. Or maybe I have gone to one too many estate sales and seen a lifetime of “treasures” be sold in a matter of hours for pennies on the dollar. But I truly believe that God expects us to be good stewards of our money and possessions.
God wants us to be smart and honest… to work hard for a fair wage, and then pay our bills with our earnings. God doesn’t want us to live beyond our means… to max out credit cards and live on borrowed money – or the kindness and sympathy of others. To do this makes us a slave to money and possessions – and potentially to other people. And it takes our focus in the wrong direction.
God wants us to be realistic and responsible. He wants us to “save for a rainy day,” and to pay our own way. We can’t do this if we are wasteful and mis-manage our assets. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet these days. And through no fault of their own, some are finding that there isn’t enough “month in the money.” Still others seem to be “fiddling while Rome burns”… continuing to live and spend like they once did, even though their job is in jeopardy and they can’t pay the mortgage.
Regardless of your age or your income, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer and ask God to help you prepare a budget. With His guidance, determine exactly how much you need to save… and what you can afford to spend. Do this with the intangible things, too… like your time, your talents, and your abilities – and even your relationships. Ask God where you need to spend your resources… and where to conserve them.
At the end of the day, remember that everything belongs to God. He has placed us in charge of certain things, but we need to be very careful how we handle them. Are you being a good steward of what God has placed in your care? Or are you foolishly spending everything you have… and wasting precious treasures in the process?
©2011 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for July 3, 2011
Proverbs 22:1
A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I could easily name two dozen people who are (or were) both well-recognized and wealthy – and I would get two dozen different impressions of these people. Let me give you a few examples… Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Bobby Knight, Ken Hatfield, Billy Graham, Ted Haggard, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates. When you think of each of these people, their reputation comes to mind, doesn’t it?! You may think of how successful – or “powerful” they are (or were)… what they accomplished, and how much money they have made.
But let me ask you a question… do you respect all of these people equally? Have they conducted themselves in the same manner… and with the same integrity? Has money brought them happiness… have they utilized their wealth and “position” well? Now let me ask you another question… in the scheme of things, don’t you know people in your own community or circle of influence who have done as much – or more – with far less? Don’t you know people in your own back yard who you respect far more than any celebrity… and whose reputation is beyond reproach?
Reputation DOES matter. Take some time to think about your own life… and how you believe people see you. When your name is spoken, do others envision someone with integrity… a person worthy of their respect? Do they see a reflection of Jesus in your behavior and accomplishments? Or do they see someone known as a gossip, a party animal (and not in a good sense)… someone with loose morals and poor business practices… someone who drinks too much or spews foul language… someone who neglects their children and family members and blows money at every turn?
Money can buy reputation… but not necessarily a good one. Money cannot buy genuine respect. A close relationship with God… an earnest desire to serve Him and please Him with the gifts and resources He has provided builds the kind of reputation we should hope people will remember. Reputations that are less than stellar can be changed… especially for those who will draw close to God and ask Him to help them accomplish this. It may take time – and it will most certainly take effort – but it can be done.
What sort of reputation do you have? Does your reputation earn you the respect of others… or merely the notoriety that grabs their attention? Are there areas in which you need to improve? Isn’t it time to get started?
©2011 Debbie Robus
A good reputation and respect are worth much more than silver and gold.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
I could easily name two dozen people who are (or were) both well-recognized and wealthy – and I would get two dozen different impressions of these people. Let me give you a few examples… Elvis Presley, Robert Redford, Angelina Jolie, Ashley Judd, Bobby Knight, Ken Hatfield, Billy Graham, Ted Haggard, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates. When you think of each of these people, their reputation comes to mind, doesn’t it?! You may think of how successful – or “powerful” they are (or were)… what they accomplished, and how much money they have made.
But let me ask you a question… do you respect all of these people equally? Have they conducted themselves in the same manner… and with the same integrity? Has money brought them happiness… have they utilized their wealth and “position” well? Now let me ask you another question… in the scheme of things, don’t you know people in your own community or circle of influence who have done as much – or more – with far less? Don’t you know people in your own back yard who you respect far more than any celebrity… and whose reputation is beyond reproach?
Reputation DOES matter. Take some time to think about your own life… and how you believe people see you. When your name is spoken, do others envision someone with integrity… a person worthy of their respect? Do they see a reflection of Jesus in your behavior and accomplishments? Or do they see someone known as a gossip, a party animal (and not in a good sense)… someone with loose morals and poor business practices… someone who drinks too much or spews foul language… someone who neglects their children and family members and blows money at every turn?
Money can buy reputation… but not necessarily a good one. Money cannot buy genuine respect. A close relationship with God… an earnest desire to serve Him and please Him with the gifts and resources He has provided builds the kind of reputation we should hope people will remember. Reputations that are less than stellar can be changed… especially for those who will draw close to God and ask Him to help them accomplish this. It may take time – and it will most certainly take effort – but it can be done.
What sort of reputation do you have? Does your reputation earn you the respect of others… or merely the notoriety that grabs their attention? Are there areas in which you need to improve? Isn’t it time to get started?
©2011 Debbie Robus
Daily Devotional for March 14, 2011
Psalm 49:16-20
So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind. Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good, they enter the family burial plot, where they'll never see sunshine again.
We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
All my life I have heard the phrase, “You can’t take it with you.” When I was a teenager, my dad was a funeral director, and I heard him talk often about this. At the end of the day, the poor farmer who toiled all his life just to put food on the table was buried pretty much the same way as the rich man who couldn’t begin to count all of his money. Outwardly, what we accumulate or become in this life really won’t matter in the end. But what we have in our heart makes all the difference.
In The Purpose Driven Life, author Rick Warren says, “God watches how we use money to see how trustworthy we are.” Citing Luke 16:11, Pastor Warren says, “… there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my Spiritual life.” So does this mean that we can’t have nice clothes or drive a nice car… that we should give that money to missions instead? Not at all.
God does not mind that we have nice things, if we can afford them. In fact, when we get to heaven, our streets will be paved with gold… and that’s the tip of the iceberg! The problem is how we act with money… and how we react to it. If money and the things we buy with it is all we think about, we are not putting God’s priorities first in our life. If we wait more impatiently for the newest release of the iPad or iPhone, the latest sneaker from our favorite athlete or the next album from our favorite entertainer to be released than we do for our next opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone else or a chance to learn more about Jesus, we’ve got some work to do.
If we think more about money and “things” than we do about Jesus and ways to worship Him, serve Him, and grown in His wisdom and love… God can’t trust us to manage the blessings (and Spiritual wealth) He wants to give us. Luke 16:11 says (paraphrased) that if God can’t trust us with earthly wealth… what Luke calls “wicked wealth” – how will He be able to trust us with true wealth – the wealth of a life lived in and for Him? If we work night and day on this earth for the almighty dollar more than Almighty God, we have totally missed our purpose.
It’s all about priorities. Many “rich” people have done amazing things with their earthly wealth. Many “poor” people have done as much – or more. Search your heart – and your motives. See what drives you these days. What are your goals for the future… to acquire more wealth and earthly “success” – or to “store up treasure for heaven?” See where you need to adjust your focus and concentrate on what you can take with you into Eternity. Ask God to help you adjust your attitude and start using what you have to accumulate “wealth” that really matters.
©2011 Debbie Robus
So don't be impressed with those who get rich and pile up fame and fortune. They can't take it with them; fame and fortune all get left behind. Just when they think they've arrived and folks praise them because they've made good, they enter the family burial plot, where they'll never see sunshine again.
We aren't immortal. We don't last long. Like our dogs, we age and weaken. And die.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
All my life I have heard the phrase, “You can’t take it with you.” When I was a teenager, my dad was a funeral director, and I heard him talk often about this. At the end of the day, the poor farmer who toiled all his life just to put food on the table was buried pretty much the same way as the rich man who couldn’t begin to count all of his money. Outwardly, what we accumulate or become in this life really won’t matter in the end. But what we have in our heart makes all the difference.
In The Purpose Driven Life, author Rick Warren says, “God watches how we use money to see how trustworthy we are.” Citing Luke 16:11, Pastor Warren says, “… there is a direct relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my Spiritual life.” So does this mean that we can’t have nice clothes or drive a nice car… that we should give that money to missions instead? Not at all.
God does not mind that we have nice things, if we can afford them. In fact, when we get to heaven, our streets will be paved with gold… and that’s the tip of the iceberg! The problem is how we act with money… and how we react to it. If money and the things we buy with it is all we think about, we are not putting God’s priorities first in our life. If we wait more impatiently for the newest release of the iPad or iPhone, the latest sneaker from our favorite athlete or the next album from our favorite entertainer to be released than we do for our next opportunity to share the love of Christ with someone else or a chance to learn more about Jesus, we’ve got some work to do.
If we think more about money and “things” than we do about Jesus and ways to worship Him, serve Him, and grown in His wisdom and love… God can’t trust us to manage the blessings (and Spiritual wealth) He wants to give us. Luke 16:11 says (paraphrased) that if God can’t trust us with earthly wealth… what Luke calls “wicked wealth” – how will He be able to trust us with true wealth – the wealth of a life lived in and for Him? If we work night and day on this earth for the almighty dollar more than Almighty God, we have totally missed our purpose.
It’s all about priorities. Many “rich” people have done amazing things with their earthly wealth. Many “poor” people have done as much – or more. Search your heart – and your motives. See what drives you these days. What are your goals for the future… to acquire more wealth and earthly “success” – or to “store up treasure for heaven?” See where you need to adjust your focus and concentrate on what you can take with you into Eternity. Ask God to help you adjust your attitude and start using what you have to accumulate “wealth” that really matters.
©2011 Debbie Robus
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