Step 5 – Enjoy What You Have
Ecclesiastes 6:9 “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless; it is like chasing the wind.”
Hebrews 13:5 reinforces what Solomon says, “Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have.”
If we are not satisfied with what we have, we need to ask the deep question, “Why?” and be honest with the answer. We are told not only to be satisfied with what we have, but to enjoy it. Are you enjoying what you have?
When our yearnings exceed our earnings and we try to fill that gap by being overextended financially, we become over-busy, head toward burn out, and take on the absentee parent syndrome - buying stuff for our family instead of giving them ourselves. They would much rather have us than have the toys.
Do you really want financial freedom? Follow the five steps listed in the previous posts in order – 1) Keep good records. 2) Plan your spending. 3) Save for the future. 4) Return 10% to God. 5) Enjoy what you have.
Celebrate your progress on the journey to financial freedom. Follow God’s Word and you will please Him by the way you handle your money.
Making it my goal to please Him ~ Bob
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label money. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Step 4 Toward Financial Freedom
Having taken the first three steps toward financial freedom – Accounting, Budgeting, and Saving, you are now ready for STEP 4 – TITHING.
Malachi 3:10 “’Bring all the tithe into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple. If you do,’ says the LORD ALMIGHTY, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!’”
Proverbs 3:9, 10: “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.” (Note: God is not telling us that giving to Him is an investment strategy or a motive to satisfy greed - Solomon is simply stating a fact that he discovered was true.)
Tithing (giving the first 10% of our money to God) puts God in His rightful place – it makes a statement that He is first! Everything comes from Him and is His. Since everything (all of our money) belongs to Him, every financial decision is a spiritual decision. Though He does not need our money, He knows how important it is to us, so He wants us to use it to: 1) thank Him, 2) to show Him that He is first, 3) to express our faith, and 4) to express our gratitude.
There is no way that we can out-give God.
He laid out the challenge: “Try it!” Though tithing sounds totally illogical when we are in financial bondage, it works! It is the next step on the road to financial freedom.
Principle: Whatever you want God to bless in your life, put Him first in that area!
Affirming that these steps work ~ Bob
Malachi 3:10 “’Bring all the tithe into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple. If you do,’ says the LORD ALMIGHTY, ‘I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!’”
Proverbs 3:9, 10: “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then He will fill your barns with grain, and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.” (Note: God is not telling us that giving to Him is an investment strategy or a motive to satisfy greed - Solomon is simply stating a fact that he discovered was true.)
Tithing (giving the first 10% of our money to God) puts God in His rightful place – it makes a statement that He is first! Everything comes from Him and is His. Since everything (all of our money) belongs to Him, every financial decision is a spiritual decision. Though He does not need our money, He knows how important it is to us, so He wants us to use it to: 1) thank Him, 2) to show Him that He is first, 3) to express our faith, and 4) to express our gratitude.
There is no way that we can out-give God.
He laid out the challenge: “Try it!” Though tithing sounds totally illogical when we are in financial bondage, it works! It is the next step on the road to financial freedom.
Principle: Whatever you want God to bless in your life, put Him first in that area!
Affirming that these steps work ~ Bob
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Step 3 Toward Financial Freedom
Now that we have learned to 1) WRITE DOWN what we owe, own, earn, and spend, 2) Make a BUDGET and stick to it, we are ready for STEP 3 – SAVE
Proverbs 21:20 says, “The wise have wealth and luxury, but the fool spends whatever he gets.” Statistics I recently saw said that Americans spend 1% more than they earn! That practice produces financial bondage.
Proverbs 6:6-8 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy-bones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”
The rule of thumb is to save 10% of what you make each week and put it away.
Why don’t we save? We want to have what others have; are worried about what others will think; practice envy, comparison, & competition – it’s a matter of the heart.
The question to ask is, “Am I handling my money to please my own deep heart issues, others, or God?”
Following these three steps in order will move you down the road toward financial freedom. Two more steps to go!
Encouraging you to act like an “ant” ~ Bob
Proverbs 21:20 says, “The wise have wealth and luxury, but the fool spends whatever he gets.” Statistics I recently saw said that Americans spend 1% more than they earn! That practice produces financial bondage.
Proverbs 6:6-8 “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazy-bones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”
The rule of thumb is to save 10% of what you make each week and put it away.
Why don’t we save? We want to have what others have; are worried about what others will think; practice envy, comparison, & competition – it’s a matter of the heart.
The question to ask is, “Am I handling my money to please my own deep heart issues, others, or God?”
Following these three steps in order will move you down the road toward financial freedom. Two more steps to go!
Encouraging you to act like an “ant” ~ Bob
Friday, February 13, 2009
Step 2 Toward Financial Freedom
After taking Step #1 of writing down what you own, owe, earn and where it goes, you are ready to take Step #2 on the journey toward financial freedom.
Step 2 – Plan Your Spending (Budget) - Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Solomon tells us that financial freedom is not determined by how much you make, but by how much you spend! Your yearnings will always exceed your earnings. Solomon teaches us that financial freedom comes not from making more, but from spending less. We will spend less as we carefully budget our expenses and match it with our income. The budget then becomes the guide for our spending.
“Haste leads to poverty” speaks about impulse buying – the trigger word is “SALE”. Proverbs 21:20 “Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.” Spending can be an addiction that attempts to fill a deeper inner need for love, acceptance, or approval. Shopaholics most generally need help in dealing with their addiction.
How do you spell “relief?” B-U-D-G-E-T.
Plan your fixed and your flexible expenses and you will be surprised how quickly you have more money than you thought you had. Be impulsive in your buying and your money will slip out of your fingers. Plan for that expenditure, save for the expenditure and then buy it if it is necessary.
After taking Step 1 and Step 2, you will be ready for your next step on the journey.
Planning it all carefully ~ Bob
Step 2 – Plan Your Spending (Budget) - Proverbs 21:5 “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
Solomon tells us that financial freedom is not determined by how much you make, but by how much you spend! Your yearnings will always exceed your earnings. Solomon teaches us that financial freedom comes not from making more, but from spending less. We will spend less as we carefully budget our expenses and match it with our income. The budget then becomes the guide for our spending.
“Haste leads to poverty” speaks about impulse buying – the trigger word is “SALE”. Proverbs 21:20 “Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.” Spending can be an addiction that attempts to fill a deeper inner need for love, acceptance, or approval. Shopaholics most generally need help in dealing with their addiction.
How do you spell “relief?” B-U-D-G-E-T.
Plan your fixed and your flexible expenses and you will be surprised how quickly you have more money than you thought you had. Be impulsive in your buying and your money will slip out of your fingers. Plan for that expenditure, save for the expenditure and then buy it if it is necessary.
After taking Step 1 and Step 2, you will be ready for your next step on the journey.
Planning it all carefully ~ Bob
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Step 1 Toward Financial Freedom
Many have overextended themselves, mortgaging tomorrow for purchases today. The result is financial bondage and credit card debt – Jesus wants us to be free. There are over 2300 references to money and its use in the Bible. In the next few posts, I would like to briefly map out five steps to financial freedom.
Step 1 – Keep Good Records - Proverbs 27:23, 24 – “Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.”
Solomon tells us to “know the state of our flocks” = keep good records of:
1) What you own.
2) What you owe.
3) What you earn.
4) Where it all goes.
Ignorance of your financial state plus easy credit = disaster! A wise person once said, “Money does not talk, it slips away quietly and never tells you where it is going!” If you don’t know where your money is going, you are slipping into debt.
While talking about this very point with a person a while ago, they mentioned that they had just discovered they had spent over $2000 on lattes in the past year! Wow! That money just slipped away.
Keeping good records is your first step on the road to financial freedom.
Appreciating God’s practical wisdom ~ Bob
Step 1 – Keep Good Records - Proverbs 27:23, 24 – “Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.”
Solomon tells us to “know the state of our flocks” = keep good records of:
1) What you own.
2) What you owe.
3) What you earn.
4) Where it all goes.
Ignorance of your financial state plus easy credit = disaster! A wise person once said, “Money does not talk, it slips away quietly and never tells you where it is going!” If you don’t know where your money is going, you are slipping into debt.
While talking about this very point with a person a while ago, they mentioned that they had just discovered they had spent over $2000 on lattes in the past year! Wow! That money just slipped away.
Keeping good records is your first step on the road to financial freedom.
Appreciating God’s practical wisdom ~ Bob
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