Four of the Ten Commandments are directly related to our vertical responsibility to God. It is very important for our peace, health, and well-being throughout life that we allow the Holy Spirit to mold us into people who adhere to these commands. We should be encouraged to apply these commands in the financial arena of our lives as well as other arenas. When we don’t allow our lives to follow this path we receive the earthly and eternal consequences of the other path we have chosen. The first of these commands is to have no other God.
This should be really easy because there really is no other God than the LORD God Almighty. He is your Creator, maker of heaven and earth, who exists before and after time as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The bible explains that our Triune God is one God and beside Him there is no other. In His perfect counsel, He chose to cloth the Son in flesh to live upon the earth as a man named Jesus Christ who put down His divine glory and power. He was sinless in all He did on earth. He is our example of how we can hear and obey the LORD’s instruction at all cost.
He was crucified with His blood poured out as the only sacrifice that allows every human a pathway for redemption that will remove us from the sinful path we have chosen that leads to eternal destruction. He was resurrected by the Father as the firstborn of many brother/sisters as a guarantee that all who believe Him to be Savior and Lord will receive the same resurrection from the dead and eternal life.
There is no other name in Heaven given among men whereby we can be saved. The principle of having no other God should emanate throughout our lives even into the financial arena. You put nothing in the place of God when you recognize He owns everything, even all of the money and resources that come into your hands at any point in your life. In fact, He owns you and has the right to direct your steps: to tell you the principles He wants you to live by and the methods He wants you to use to manage the resources He bestows upon you. Thank God He instructs and guides you for your good. You will be better off on earth and in eternity when you follow His principles and obey methods He specifically directs you to use.
You make nothing else a god when you read the bible to find what the LORD has to say about how you live and manage finances, and when you pray asking Him to help you understand what His Word directs you to do, and when you obey His instructions and make plans to solidify this way of living. Money cannot become your god when you utilize the following principles to do His will and direct your steps:
1. Work as unto the Lord in your career path and Church ministry, doing good inside and outside the Church walls.
2. Refuse to pursue get-rich-quick and get-more-money-at-all-cost schemes.
3. Regularly tithe and give a free-will offering from your income.
4. Regularly give and/or serve to help the poor and oppressed including widows and orphans.
5. Consistently budget your income so you are keenly aware of how much comes in each pay period and how much you are expending each pay period. It is best when you do this for six months to one year to allow you to plan forward to note future financial health and problems you will need to pray about and take action against as soon as possible in order to overcome.
6. Eliminate debt and resist future debt. Repossessions, foreclosures, and bankruptcies occur because people’s future financial condition did not turn out like they expected when they took out the loan.
7. Refuse to cosign for others. Instead, when someone trustworthy is truly in need, give him/her only cash you can afford to give. This helps them the most and is the example of good stewardship needed to turn his/her life around.
8. Diligently save a portion of your income. Gradually increase it to a point where down the road you save at least 10% of your gross income each pay period.
9. After you build a reasonable emergency fund, invest additional savings into assets that have the best history of investment growth / return over 10 to 20-year periods. No load low expense stock index mutual funds from reputable financial institutions (Vanguard, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, etc.) should be the core holding for the vast majority of long-term investors because they give you equity ownership in businesses and provide a high level of investment growth throughout the years without the risk of losing anything close to the value of your holdings because of the great diversity within the fund thru ownership of hundred and sometimes thousands of different types of businesses.
10. Always believe God has His best in mind for you and that He will bless you regardless of any obstacle that confronts you, in order to help you carry out His will for your life on earth. This mindset can help you move into an entrepreneurial endeavor that could really blows your socks off with regard to the income and assets it produces and the blessing / reward it allows you to receive and use to bless your household and other people.
Living in this way guarantees money cannot be your god because the LORD’s will is always the main priority for how you live, what you envision for your future, and every action you take in every area of your life. This shows you truly love the LORD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
Please pray for this ministry and email me with any questions. May the LORD bless you richly as you follow His plan!
Exodus 20:3, Isaiah 43:10-11, Mark 12:30, Luke 16:13, Acts 4:12
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