Category Archives: Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice

Greed, Optimizing Life, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Treasures In Heaven

Living Beyond Worry: Trusting God’s Provision for Your Needs

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Jesus speaks to us in Matthew 6:19-34 about a righteous attitude toward money and possessions and also reminds us how important it is that we ensure we are following God’s instruction, God’s light,  to guide our path.

19 “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21 Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

22 “Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. 23 But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

25 “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? 27 Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

28 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, 29 yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. 30 And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

31 “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ 32 These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. 33 Seek the Kingdom of God[e] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

34 “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Jesus reminds us that if we focus our time and energy on generating money and possessions in this world, we are focusing on the wrong things. Money and possessions are temporary. They will not last. We can not serve both money and God. One or the other may be our master, but not both.

While it is right to plan for the future, worrying about tomorrow is not helpful. It can not add a single moment to our lives, and if you study the adverse health impacts of stress you come to realize that worry may actually shorten our lives or negatively impact our health. We must put our trust in God… the creator of the universe who loves each of us individually us as a father loves a child.

Jesus reminds us also that those who think they see the light clearly… understand right and wrong… understand God and His will… but do not truly know Him are in trouble. They are in utter darkness, but not even searching for the true light to guide their path for they think they already have it. To ensure we stay connected to God’s will we must anchor our understanding of His character and will in the Bible and have an active, personal prayer life to come humbly before our lord and savior on a regular basis.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Control Spending, Diversification, Ethics, False Teaching, Generate Income, Greed, Optimizing Life, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Saving, Speculative Investment, Stewardship, Treasures In Heaven

Biblical Guiding Framework For Financial Freedom

God lays out important principles for managing finances in the Bible. He wants His people to be wise stewards of the resources He provides.

In this article we lay out a high level framework that  provides valuable insight for those who take time to genuinely understand and apply it. I have paired the elements of the framework with some of the scriptures that support them, but there are many other scriptures that could be added.

You can also check out our Resources section of the website for other organizations with a great depth of material on this subject.

1 – Earn Money: Develop a skill and work hard to generate income.

  • Colossians 3:23 – Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
  • Proverbs 6:9-11 – But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? 10 A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— 11 then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.

2 – Control Spending:  Set a budget that matches your income and stick to it in order to control spending. This budget should include short term “monthly expenses” but also saving ahead for long term expenses like a house, university education, future medical expenses, retirement, and contingency funds for the unknown.

  • Proverbs 6:6-8 – 6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! 7 Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, 8 they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.

3 – Control Debt: Carefully consider any debt before committing.

  • Proverbs 22:7 – Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.
  • Romans 13:8 – Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another.

4 – Invest: Choose to invest your financial resources for growth. Don’t stuff your mattress with cash in hopes of avoiding risk.

  • Matthew 25:14-30 – Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents. Click the link to read the scripture.
  • Ecclesiastes 11:1 – Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.

5 – Diversify Investments: Diversify investments to manage risks.

  • Ecclesiastes 11:2 – But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

6 –Consider Carefully and Seek Wise Counsel: Whether choosing how you will earn income, how to control spending or debt, or how to invest to grow your finances you should carefully consider your strategy and seek wise counsel.

  • Proverbs 22:3 – A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.
  • Proverbs 15:22 – Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success
  • Proverbs 14:15 – Only simpletons believe everything they’re told! The prudent carefully consider their steps.

7 – Steward Your Financial Strategy: Once you establish your financial strategy you must periodically review and analyze all elements to ensure you are following it and it is effective. This applies to earning income, spending, debt, and investment.

  • Matthew 25:14-30 – Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents not only that we should invest, but that a good steward periodically checks on the effectiveness of his investments and makes adjustments according to their performance.

8 – Ethics: Following God’s instruction in how we manage our finances is more important than the actual dollars themselves.

  • Proverbs 22:1 – Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold.
  • Proverbs 22:5 – Corrupt people walk a thorny, treacherous road; whoever values life will avoid it.
  • Ecclesiastes 12:13 – That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

9 – Do Not Be Greedy: To those who love money, they will never have enough. Money is a tool to serve God and to support yourself and your family. The draw to “get rich quick” brings much risk.

  • 1 Timothy 6:10 –  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
  • Ecclesiastes 5:10 – Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!

10 – Store Up Treasure in Heaven

  • Matthew 6:20 – Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
  • 2 Corinthians 9:7 –  You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
  • Proverbs 22:9 – Blessed are those who are generous, because they feed the poor

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Control Spending, False Teaching, Generate Income, Investing, Optimizing Life, Parables, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice

The Way of a Fool Is Right In His Own Eyes

We should be careful to listen to God’s advice. Those who wish to become wise, who love knowledge, must accept discipline and correction… must recognize that others may have more wisdom in some areas than ourselves. That is how we learn and get better.

Proverbs 12:1 and 15

1Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
But he who hates reproof is stupid.

 15The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

If you are not humble enough to acknowledge that others may have wise input worthy to consider, that you may have made or be making mistakes than you will continue to make mistakes.

Be humble. Seek wisdom. Accept correction from God and from others. Learn from it. Grow in wisdom.

These fundamentals apply to all aspects of life… and certainly to all aspects of managing your finances. There are great examples of public organizations or private advisors that can help. Most people even have others around them that may have good input.

For a few examples, please visit our resources section of our website.

Resources

Our mission is to help you. We provide the Resources section of GrowGodsMoney.org to help provide you with greater depth of resources by referring you to high quality organizations that have a lot of great content or provide a financial service (e.g. broker for investments).

We do not get paid by these organizations for referrals. We do not “compete” with these institutions, but rather see ourselves as part of the body of Christ in connecting you with helpful resources they already provide.

If there are resources you would like to recommend or give us feedback on, please send us information from the Contact Us page.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Control Spending, Ethics, Generate Income, Investing, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Proverbs, Saving, Stewardship

Victory Comes Through Wise Counsel

We are all at different experience levels and have different gifts in regard to many aspects of life that affect our finances. We have a certain perspective that contains some bias based on our prior experiences and personality. We will better understand a situation well if we approach it from multiple perspectives including wise counsel from those we trust.

Proverbs 11:14

  14Where there is no guidance the people fall,
But in abundance of counselors there is victory.

I remember a great example where my family was walking from a van to the entrance of some entertainment we were going to on vacation. I was focused on the destination, where is the gate, where do I buy tickets, and “marching” quickly with purpose. Yes I was focused on my goals. My wife, however, also interested in our shared goal, had a very different perspective. As I promptly walked passed a beautiful flower display she gently tugged at my arm and showed it to me. I am glad she did. We were approaching the same situation and had the same goals, but very different perspectives while doing so. Together we had a better view then individually.

This same concept is true for controlling debt, controlling our spending, behaving according to the ethics and guidelines that God has lined out for us in the Bible, making decisions with regards to generating income, saving, investing and stewarding our finances. Seek wise counsel from people you can trust or from professionals. To seek counsel does not mean you must follow it. It simply provides more background and understanding and perspective to help you make wise decisions and achieve victory on your goals. Of course, we should be cautious as to who we trust and how we weigh the opinions and insight of others. To listen to the counsel of a fool is to join him in his folly.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Optimizing Life, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice

Choose Your Own Adventure… But Do So Wisely

I remember as a child reading a style of book that was called a “choose your own adventure” book. Basically this style of kids book has a basic story line with several outcomes for each situation the characters encounter based on which choices you as the reader make for them. For example… if in the story the main character faces a choice to go into a cave, or continue in the forest… the reader chooses and turns next to the page that continues the story based on that decision. The outcome is always different based on the choice the reader makes.

The same is true in life. Yes, for each of us there are some preset assumptions for our adventure… who our parents are, where we are born, what value system we are taught, etc. However, we each have the opportunity to make choices for ourselves that influence the outcome of our personal story. This is true whether or not we choose to admit that we are making decisions that matter. Do we get up and find a job? Do we work hard? Do we show love to others? Do we obey God?

We make decisions every day. It is just that we at times overlook the importance of how even our seemingly daily, “small” decisions influence the outcome of our life.

I used to think it would be helpful to have a guide to help me choose wisely as each situation came up in those kids books. What if I had a map that showed which choices led to success and which to destruction? Wouldn’t that be great! It would help me navigate to the best possible outcome for whatever story I was in.

While no one made a guide or map for the choose your own adventure books, God did in fact provide a guide for helping us in our every day life decisions while we deal with other people and with God. While the Bible as a whole provides much value and insight here, Proverbs in particular comes to mind as providing lots of specific applications of wisdom for how we make our daily decisions. Many of the Proverbs are laid out in such a way as to contrast righteousness and wisdom to wickedness. We do well to study Proverbs consistently and apply it as God intended as the guide to help us navigate our lives to the best possible outcome.

Consider this as you read excerpts from Proverbs 17 below. Do not think of it as something old and out of date. Instead, think of it as part of an instruction manual that God has given you… yes you, specifically… for your life. Read it as if God meant for you to use it in making your daily decisions, because He did!

Proverbs 17

      1Better is a dry morsel and quietness with it
Than a house full of feasting with strife.

      2A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully,
And will share in the inheritance among brothers.

      3The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold,
But the LORD tests hearts.

      4An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

      5He who mocks the poor taunts his Maker;
He who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.

      13He who returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.

      14The beginning of strife is like letting out water,
So abandon the quarrel before it breaks out.

      15He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

      18A man lacking in sense pledges
And becomes guarantor in the presence of his neighbor.

Think of situations and decisions you are facing today in your life. Which verses in today’s reading is God putting on your heart to apply in your life to help you make the right decisions?

God may also show you through His word some examples of where you handled a situation well, even if the outcome was not what you wanted… thank Him for the encouragement!

Continue to study and apply the wisdom contained in Proverbs to specific issues in your life. Use the wisdom God provides to help your find the best outcome based on choices you make that  influence your own personal adventure in life!

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Stewardship, Tools

Personal Financial Tools to Help Stewardship

Jesus teaches us in Matthew 25, through the parable of the talents, not only that we should invest, but that a good steward periodically checks on the effectiveness of his investments and makes adjustments according to their performance.

Matthew 25:14-30

Parable of the Talents

      14“For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15“To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16“Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17“In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18“But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

      19“Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20“The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

      22“Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

      24“And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

      26“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

      29“For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30“Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

There are a growing number of personal financial tools available to help us manage and steward our finances ranging from debt and spending to investing. Consider common software tools like Quicken or online tools as recently reported in an article in US News & World Report article, 10 Personal Finance Tools You Should Use Now. There are also tools to help manage personal investment performance across multiple investment accounts like the one available for free online at Personal Capital.

We have no affiliation with any of these specific tools, nor any financial incentive to recommend any particular tool. Neither have we tested all of these tools personally. Rather, our intent is to highlight to those who may not realize it that there are a lot of useful tools available today that you can review and consider to help steward your personal financial plan. Naturally, you can also consider professional investment advice, for a fee, but even with that you will want to validate the guidance they are giving you.

For those who are familiar with Microsoft Office or similar tools, there is always a simple Excel spreadsheet you can make yourself, with complete privacy to develop and steward key elements to your financial plan. And for those that prefer to avoid computers… who are probably not reading my article right now… pencil, paper and calculator still work just fine so long as you have the discipline to apply it frequently enough.

The bottom line is that to be successful in executing our personal financial plan we must steward it. We must track data on performance and then review the data and make decisions on whether to stay the course or make a correction or change to our strategy.

We must be vigilant to avoid laziness or complacency in managing the money we have already gained.

Proverbs 6:6-11

      6Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,

      7Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,

      8Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

      9How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

      10“A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—

      11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

False Teaching, Optimizing Life, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice

What Is Love?

People put a lot of focus and money into highly marketed holidays like Valentine’s Day, but should we? Is a man-made holiday really ever a reason to make major financial purchases you would not otherwise make? I think the answer is very intuitive when the question is phrased this way. No, we should not let marketing and man-made holidays dictate when we make major purchases. Love is not about how much money you spend on someone or what you give them on a designated day of the year. That is not God’s definition of love at all.

We are sharing an article posted by our sister site, HearingFromJesus.org.

What is love? This is a very old question with many answers. Context is important. We may “love pizza”, but that is different than when we say we “love our spouse”. Today, the world even steals the word “love” as a replacement for “sex”, which is completely incorrect. These are certainly not the same meaning. Greek, the language in which the New Testament was largely written, had multiple different words for different types of love. In English, we have one word and we must therefore pay close attention to context.

Many put a lot of time and focus into the highly marketed cultural holiday of Valentine’s Day. Candy makers will tell you that you must buy chocolates to show you love your spouse. Greeting card makers insist you must “care to send the very best” and thus spend $5 or more on a card, and send one to everyone you know. Flowers are a must, right? But now they even sell gold dipped flowers. Wow. Of course, not to be outdone, Jewelers insist that you are a buffoon if you don’t buy diamonds for that special someone in your life. Once company even suggests you should buy from them a new luxury car. We do well to remember that this is marketing intended to sell things and get our money. This is not how God tells us to show love to one another.

God calls us to show love to one another daily, not once a year, or on a few annual special occasions!

1 Corinthians 13

The Excellence of Love

      1If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.

      4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

      8Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

If you want to give a gift, and it is wisely within your budget to do so, go ahead. But don’t do so because you “have to” or are “expected to”.  These gifts mean little and will ultimately have a very limited impact if you do not show love the way God tells us to. Often times just giving gifts on designated marketing holidays comes to be expected and not appreciated as much. If you choose to give an expensive gift, don’t do it because it is Valentines Day. Consider intentionally giving it at some other time besides the widely marketed holidays for an even greater impact.

Warning… when you make changes in how you celebrate these marketing holidays, discuss it openly with your spouse ahead of time! Don’t surprise someone by not giving them something they already expect from years of habit.

When you are ready to truly grow in maturity, turn towards God’s definition of love and begin showing it today to those you love. No warning necessary. They will greatly appreciate how you treat them. However, you may consider sharing the scripture with your spouse and helping one another as you both make the effort to shift focus from the world’s definition of love to God’s.

You can also ask yourself, if I am celebrating love, would it not be right to celebrate loving God as well as loving one another? And to come in thanksgiving to Him for all the love He has shown, shows, and will show us? If we are to focus on love in the Biblical sense, Valentine’s Day just does not match up very well at all. If you explore the origins of this celebration you will find that once again the Catholic church embraced this festival, but it was based first on a pagan celebration. As followers of Christ, we are better off not letting these pagan holidays dictate how we show love for our spouse or loved ones. Instead, love people the way God teaches.

(World Religion News: Pagan origin of Valentines day)

One last parting thought… we can love YHWH and love others because He has first shown me love. Yeshua died for us to make a way for us to be forgiven our sins.

John 15:12-13

      12“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

The best way to show love for one another is through how we treat one another every day of the year.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Control Spending, Generate Income, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice

Are You As Smart As An Ant?

Are you as smart as an ant? Yes, I mean “a-n-t”, not “a-u-n-t”. This may seem like quite a silly question, but sadly many do not fare well in a practical comparison of the wisdom of the ant compared to their own behavior.

Proverbs 6:6-11

     6Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,

      7Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,

      8Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

      9How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

      10“A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—

      11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

While I have great compassion for those to whom bad situations or poverty has come, we do well to recognize that there are many times when it is of our own doing. If we blame others, we do not address the situation. Let us take a lesson from the ant and remind ourselves to plan ahead. Let us not live only in the “now”. Let us give up some pleasure now and trade it for hard work and self discipline. In many cases we can be much more prepared to deal with the challenges which may come our way.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way and use it for His glory rather than your own. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Control Debt, Generate Income, Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Proverbs

Parental Counsel from Solomon

For those who do not know Solomon, he was a man uniquely gifted with wisdom by God. He wrote proverbs a few thousand years ago now and his observations and counsel are as valid today as they were then.

Here is some of his advice from Proverbs 6.

We should be very cautious when we pledge, with our money or resources to back it up, on behalf of someone else who is struggling to manage their money. (If they were not struggling, they would not need our help.) Do not risk in this way anything you are not willing to lose if circumstances do not work out.

Proverbs 6:1-5

      1My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,
Have given a pledge for a stranger,

      2If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,
Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

      3Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;
Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,
Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

      4Give no sleep to your eyes,
Nor slumber to your eyelids;

      5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand
And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

We must be diligent and take personal responsibility for our future needs. Do not rely on someone else or make excuses to put off getting started. The most important aspect of completing a journey is beginning it properly and at the right time. In this way we prepare wisely for our future and will also be better prepared to help others along the way.

Proverbs 6:6-8

      6Go to the ant, O sluggard,
Observe her ways and be wise,

      7Which, having no chief,
Officer or ruler,

      8Prepares her food in the summer
And gathers her provision in the harvest.

Sloth, or laziness, is a sure way to end in poverty and need. There are other ways to find poverty, but sloth is one that almost assures it.

Proverbs 6:9-11

      9How long will you lie down, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?

      10“A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest”—

      11Your poverty will come in like a vagabond
And your need like an armed man.

God considers those who are wicked and perverse to be worthless. They may feel like they are “winning” and “being successful” at their wicked endeavors, but in the end they will face God’s judgment. Often there deceitful ways catch up with them in this life as well, bringing calamity without healing.

Proverbs 6:11-15

      12A worthless person, a wicked man,
Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

      13Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,
Who points with his fingers;

      14Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,
Who spreads strife.

      15Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;
Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

Be wise in the ways of God rather than man. Seek to reflect on this wisdom from Solomon and apply it in your life. Do not just read it and say… “that is true, someone needs to hear that”. Instead, prayerfully ask God to help reveal to you any areas that you need to address personally in your life… and go start to fix them. Then consider if there are others you know that need help in this area. They will learn more from your example than from your words.

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .

Plan Carefully and Seek Wise Advice, Tools

Crown Financial Ministries May Be Helpful to You

One aspect of what we try to do is to make people aware of the types of organizations and potentially helpful material that is already readily available to them and may help them in managing the finances God has given them to steward.

Crown Financial Ministries, at www.Crown.org, is an international organization that strives to help people understand godly wisdom in properly handling finances. They provide assistance for personal, church, career, and business needs. They have a reach of over 80 nations and 120 languages.

I encourage you to click through to their website and look around to fully understand what they may offer.  I was intrigued by the variety of resources available in their store that cover a wide range of financial teaching, even for kids.

We are not affiliated with Crown and make no money off any sales, just looks like it has useful resources to help you, whether for personal, business, career, or church finances..

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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .