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October 10, 2024

HAVE THE WISDOM TO PLAN WELL



TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty….The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get.

Proverbs 21:5, 20 NLT

 

TODAY'S THOUGHT

I want to look at two passages of scripture from Proverbs 21. The truth we see here is that impulse buying is financially destructive and spending all you make will never allow you to get ahead.

 

Years ago, Cindy and I made a decision that we would never make a major purchase without a 24-hour rule. We would shop for the best deal we could find and then give ourselves 24 hours to think and pray about the issue. 

 

We have had a lot of salespeople that did not like us. They were trained to never let you leave before you signed on the dotted line. They were trained that way because they know if you leave you will not come back. I believe that if they make me a good offer it will still be a good offer after I think and pray about it. 

 

This decision has saved us a lot of regrets. I remember once at the state fair there was a massage chair that seemed so incredible. It could do everything. They were running special fair pricing and financing that offered 24 easy monthly payments. We got all the paperwork and told them we would call the next day. They were really upset.

 

I did call the next day and told them we decided not to purchase the chair. First, because there was no place to put that gigantic chair in our home. Secondly, there was no such thing as 24 “easy payments.”

 

I’m so glad we had our 24-hour rule.

 

The second verse teaches us to always have an emergency fund. Don’t spend all you make. I was taught early in life that you pay God first—that is called the tithe or ten percent of your income. Then you should pay yourself second. This should be at least five percent for savings and retirement. 

 

I have worked through the years with many people—pastors included—who never saved anything. They lived from paycheck to paycheck with no cushion for emergencies. 

 

I don’t want to be a “Debbie downer” but you will have a flat tire. You will have to replace the brakes on your vehicle. You will miss some days because of being sick or having a sick child. If you have no savings, you will have to choose between fixing the car, eating, or paying the rent. 

 

Plan for emergencies and then they are not catastrophic.

 

TODAY’S PRAYER

Holy Spirit please help me to be manage the resources You have given me properly. Help me to be a good steward of the money you have entrusted to me. 

“Scroll down to share what you feel God is saying based on today’s reading.”

 

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Lord I will always give to you first .

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