Treasures In Heaven

Honor the LORD Joyfully and Generously

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Let us remember to honor the LORD joyfully and generously with what He has given us. It helps to remember that all we have was provided by Him. We are simply giving some of it back to honor and glorify Him. Let us do so in celebration and not resentment. Let us do so willingly and not reluctantly or out of obligation. Consider the attitude of David and his leaders under him when preparing the temple. It is reminiscent of the generous donations that the people were bringing to Moses when building the Tabernacle.

1 Chronicles 29:1-22a

Offerings for the Temple

      1Then King David said to the entire assembly, “My son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great; for the temple is not for man, but for the LORD God. 2“Now with all my ability I have provided for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the bronze for the things of bronze, the iron for the things of iron, and wood for the things of wood, onyx stones and inlaid stones, stones of antimony and stones of various colors, and all kinds of precious stones and alabaster in abundance. 3“Moreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God, over and above all that I have already provided for the holy temple, 4namely, 3,000 talents of gold, of the gold of Ophir, and 7,000 talents of refined silver, to overlay the walls of the buildings; 5of gold for the things of gold and of silver for the things of silver, that is, for all the work done by the craftsmen. Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?”

      6Then the rulers of the fathers’ households, and the princes of the tribes of Israel, and the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, with the overseers over the king’s work, offered willingly; 7and for the service for the house of God they gave 5,000 talents and 10,000 darics of gold, and 10,000 talents of silver, and 18,000 talents of brass, and 100,000 talents of iron. 8Whoever possessed precious stones gave them to the treasury of the house of the LORD, in care of Jehiel the Gershonite. 9Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the LORD with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly.

David’s Prayer

      10So David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly; and David said, “Blessed are You, O LORD God of Israel our father, forever and ever. 11“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed everything that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the dominion, O LORD, and You exalt Yourself as head over all. 12“Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone. 13“Now therefore, our God, we thank You, and praise Your glorious name.

      14“But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You. 15“For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no hope. 16“O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours. 17“Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness, I, in the integrity of my heart, have willingly offered all these things; so now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here, make their offerings willingly to You. 18“O LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, our fathers, preserve this forever in the intentions of the heart of Your people, and direct their heart to You; 19and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.”

      20Then David said to all the assembly, “Now bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed low and did homage to the LORD and to the king.

Sacrifices

      21On the next day they made sacrifices to the LORD and offered burnt offerings to the LORD, 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams and 1,000 lambs, with their drink offerings and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. 22So they ate and drank that day before the LORD with great gladness.

David and his leaders are inspirational. It is important, however, to remember we are called to be good stewards of what the LORD has given us (Matthew 25:14-30). That means we should not blindly give our resources to someone in God’s name, but rather test and use discernment and seek counsel to ensure we invest wisely in the kingdom. It often is not just writing a check to the local church.

If you are someone who receives money from people in the name of God, do not spend it wastefully, but rather with prayer and careful reflection. Be a good steward of what God brings to you and use it for His glory.

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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, 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

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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 .

Greed, Treasures In Heaven

Is It Wrong To Be Rich?

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Many are confused about money and tend to stereotype people into two artificial categories of people… the “rich” and the “poor”. For starters, even how people view these categories is very inconsistent. People in the U.S.A say there are rich and poor in our country. From a certain point of view that is correct. However, compared to people around the world, even most of the “poor” in the U.S.A. are wealthy.

God has a lot to say about money in the Bible.

Not all “rich” people are greedy and not all “poor” people are virtuous. In fact some “poor” people are greedy. Greed is best defined as the love of money, not the possession of money.

 1 Timothy 6:10 –  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 –  He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity.

Sometimes scripture can be taken out of context and misunderstood… confusing people to believe that rich people can not be righteous and that being rich is wrong or only achieved through greed.

Matthew 19:24 – “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

For starters, it is not referring to a sewing needle, but rather a narrow entry into a city… but essentially what Jesus is warning about here is not that all who have money are evil or greedy or cannot be saved. That is not the point. The warning is that often those who have much wealth come to rely on it instead of God, thus presenting a significant challenge for them. Jesus goes on to say that it is possible for the rich man to be saved with God’s help.

Matthew 19:25-26 – When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Some will then say… “why did Jesus tell the rich man to go and sell all his possessions earlier in Matthew 19:16-28 and give all the money to the poor?”

The answer is that Jesus was identifying for this specific man that he (not all rich people) was putting money before God. That was his primary obstacle stopping him as an individual from truly following God. Truth be told, we all need God’s help to be saved. Some may struggle with love of money, but others struggle with different but equally devastating idols or sin such as sloth, gluttony, drunkenness, adultery or sexual immorality, etc.

Not all rich people struggle with love of money. Abraham is an excellent example of a wealthy person who routinely trusted God and did not fall prey to the love of money. There are multiple examples in Genesis including where he lets Lot pick the best land to take for his flocks instead of Abraham picking first (Genesis 13) and again after battle when Abraham is offered the treasure recovered through Abraham’s efforts, Abraham refuses it (Genesis 14:17-24).

Despising people because they have a lot of money or feeling that it is wrong to have money is not biblically sound. It makes no more sense than despising someone because they are poor. Neither position is correct.

Money is a tool , which can be put to use to serve God or used selfishly. It is the condition of our heart rather than how much money we have that determines whom we serve and if we are righteous.

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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

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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 .

Ethics, Optimizing Life, Proverbs, Treasures In Heaven

How Can I Share Generously and Yet Increase What I Have?

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It makes no sense by our logic. How can we possibly scatter what we have to share with others and yet increase all the more? How can it be that someone who withholds what they are due to pay someone results only in want?

Our sinful, selfish nature often encourages us to hold tightly to whatever we have, regardless of whether we are due to pay it to someone else. It certainly wants us to believe that we can’t possibly share generously with others… “scatter”.

We are to trust in God’s ways rather than the world’s ways. Obey and watch Him bless our lives through our obedience. Rebel and you will experience hardship and lose your joy. Happiness found in the moment will only vanish all too quickly.

Proverbs 11:24-28

      24There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want.

      25The generous man will be prosperous,
And he who waters will himself be watered.

      26He who withholds grain, the people will curse him,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

      27He who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

      28He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

Reflecting on the scripture… consider that when we find contentment, purpose, and peace through Christ we will have plenty regardless of our bank account balance. When we clutch tightly to every dollar as if our life depends on it… even when it is due to someone else… we will never have enough. There are always more things to buy or more money to accumulate.

When we bless others through our generosity, we will find greater joy in our lives and prosper in what we do. When we help others, God and others will help us. When we withhold what we have that others need we will be cursed, but when we provide what others need we will be blessed indeed.

Whether we seek favor of others or seek evil, we will find it. Let us not trust in riches as they may come and go like leaves on a tree. One season brings riches and the next takes them away. Instead put our faith in God who created all things.

Take time to consider how you may apply these truths from scripture in your own life. Pray that God will help you. Identify at least one or two you need to work on in specific situations and make a simple plan to get started addressing it this week. Do not delay or make excuses to come back to it “someday when things are not so tough or busy”. Someday may never come. Don’t delay.

Matthew 6:31-33

31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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

Ethics, Treasures In Heaven

Exploring (and Obeying) God’s Instructions In Finances

For most of us it can be a challenge to focus and read through the detailed sections of the Old Testament like Leviticus where it covers many of the laws and instructions that God set forth for His people. They seem different and strange at times. We have not been taught this material as a serious part of our church life in the modern Christian church. Some of the ceremonial laws and instructions relating to animal sacrifices no longer apply.

However, there is rich insight into what our Father values and wants from His people embedded in the text. We have to treat it like a gold mine and go mining. Take as an example, Leviticus 19. It instructs us about reaping the harvest of our land and not reaping every corner or gathering fallen fruit. It may be easy to say, “I am not a farmer, so I will skip ahead”, but that is missing the point. Farming is just a context common to the people of that time. The principle is that we should not be so greedy to claim every last nickel of what is “ours” such that we leave nothing to help others who are in need. Surely this principle can be applied to all of us today, regardless of our trade or skill. Notice, the government has nothing to do with taking the extra that is left and giving it to the poor… it is direct from the person to those in need and freely given.

Not stealing… not dealing falsely… not lying not swearing falsely by His name… that is certainly still applicable and quite straightforward.

Notice in verse 13, we are not only to avoid robbing our neighbor, but we are not to oppress him either. We are to pay to others what is due them as hired workers without delay and stalling. Do not treat the blind and deaf badly just because the deaf man can’t hear what you did to him or the blind man can’t see what you did to him. To do these things is to not revere and respect God Himself.

I encourage you to fully explore the scripture and challenge yourself to ask “How might this apply to my life?”

Leviticus 19:9-37

Sundry Laws

     9‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

      11‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 12‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

      13‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. 14‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD.

      15‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 16‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD.

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      35‘You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measurement of weight, or capacity. 36‘You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin; I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt. 37‘You shall thus observe all My statutes and all My ordinances and do them; I am the LORD.’”

Much of this text is obvious and straightforward. Some requires additional study of the context of the culture and nearby neighboring cultures to fully understand what God is instructing. Some instructions are intended to show love to other people and some show love and honor to God. We are to seek to understand and obey if we are to truly live a life that shows love to our Father.

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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, Ethics

Pay What You Owe

Many who find themselves deep in debt may be tempted to look for an easy way out. Bankruptcy or refusing to pay the debts you owe may seem an easy solution to their financial difficulties.

What does the Bible say about debt?

The Bible warns against the danger of debt, encourages and praises avoidance of debt, but does not explicitly forbid all kinds of debt.

  • The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. [Proverbs 22:7] 
  • Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. [Romans 13:8] 

If you take on debt, the Bible also has a lot to say about how to handle it. Pay the debt you take on… do not default.

  • The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives. [Psalm 37:21]
  • Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. [Romans 13:7]
  • “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.” [Luke 6:31]

If you do find yourself in a position where you cannot repay, you should be humble and repentant and change your lifestyle to avoid such an outcome in the future. If you agreed to a loan agreement, take responsibility personally. You agreed to it. Don’t just blame the person or business who loaned you the money.

Similarly, we are not as lenders supposed to take advantage of those seeking a loan by crushing them with large interest payments…  knowing that they will then never be able to repay. Better not to loan the money in the first place than to make the problem worse for those seeking help through a loan.

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

Control Spending, Optimizing Life, Proverbs

The Greater Treasure

As we go forth in pursuit of our daily activities and priorities in life, such as providing for our families, let us not be deceived that monetary wealth is the greatest treasure. There are greater treasures… such as godly wisdom. Often when we pursue God, and thus godly wisdom, we will also find sufficient or even abundant finances. This may have more to do with how we view our finances and how we spend and not always how much we can earn. Of course, succeeding financially is not the primary reason we should pursue a relationship with our Creator, but a godly perspective on finances should come along with the relationship. Often we already have sufficient or abundant finances, but don’t recognize it because we lack true wisdom even in understanding “wants” vs. “needs”. There is always more money and always someone else with more stuff. We need not compare ourselves to them, but rather look first to God and find our peace and rest in Him.

Proverbs 8

     1Does not wisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?

      2On top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;

      3Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:

      4“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.

      5“O naive ones, understand prudence;
And, O fools, understand wisdom.

      6“Listen, for I will speak noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.

      7“For my mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

      8“All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.

      9“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.

      10“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.

      11“For wisdom is better than jewels;
And all desirable things cannot compare with her.

      12“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.

      13“The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.

      14“Counsel is mine and sound wisdom;
I am understanding, power is mine.

      15“By me kings reign,
And rulers decree justice.

      16“By me princes rule, and nobles,
All who judge rightly.

      17“I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.

      18“Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.

      19“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.

      20“I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,

      21To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.

      22“The LORD possessed me at the beginning of His way,
Before His works of old.

      23“From everlasting I was established,
From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth.

      24“When there were no depths I was brought forth,
When there were no springs abounding with water.

      25“Before the mountains were settled,
Before the hills I was brought forth;

      26While He had not yet made the earth and the fields,
Nor the first dust of the world.

      27“When He established the heavens, I was there,
When He inscribed a circle on the face of the deep,

      28When He made firm the skies above,
When the springs of the deep became fixed,

      29When He set for the sea its boundary
So that the water would not transgress His command,
When He marked out the foundations of the earth;

      30Then I was beside Him, as a master workman;
And I was daily His delight,
Rejoicing always before Him,

      31Rejoicing in the world, His earth,
And having my delight in the sons of men.

      32“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.

      33“Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.

      34“Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.

      35“For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the LORD.

      36“But he who sins against me injures himself;
All those who hate me love death.”

Not sure how to get started in pursuit of godly wisdom? Fear the Lord and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all that you need will be added to you.

Proverbs 9:10

      10The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Matthew 6:31-33

31“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you

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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, Proverbs

He Who Is Guarantor For A Stranger Will Suffer For It

Surely as God’s people we are called to be generous and giving to help one another. However, that does not mean we are to stop being wise. We must thoughtfully consider to whom we lend money or for whom we guarantee their debt.

Proverbs 11:15

15He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it,
But he who hates being a guarantor is secure.

This scripture warns about strangers. It is very likely that it is not only referring to people we never met before but also people we do not know very well. Perhaps we know their name and see them at work or in church, but we do not really know them. It seems unlikely one would need to highlight not being a guarantor for what we consider today in our culture as a total stranger… someone we never met before. Not many would ever consider this risk.

Of course the obvious risk is that we do not know them well and they may not have the character or means to pay back what they borrow. If we become guarantor for them then we are at risk to lose the money they took as we pay for their debt. Out of a good heart and desire to help, many get themselves in financial trouble.

Notice that it does not say “Do not give to a stranger”. If the sum of money is such that you would be willing to give it… go ahead, if you feel that is appropriate. You understand the financial impact with no expectation you will be paid back. This mindset helps us use wisdom. We will be less likely to extend ourselves as responsible for major expenses we really can not afford in our effort to help others.

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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 .

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