MoneyWalk 455: Maybe short term pain but definitely long term gain

This program will help you undo financial bondage.

Scripture teaches that good stewards engage in the following practices and that they reap blessings from doing so:

1. Manage money and resources like Almighty God owns it all because He does. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God, and the Word is God, and nothing was made unless it was made by Him.

2. Tithing and offering to honor God for His provision and to help fund the spread of the gospel to every person around the world. And the Holy Spirit shall come upon you and you will be witnesses to me in Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the Earth.

3. Working diligently. For even when we were with you, we commanded you that any man who would not work should also not eat.

4. Living off less than your income by budgeting your spending. Know the state of your flocks and herds and write the vision down plainly on paper so that you may successfully use it to reach the desired goal.

5. Eliminating debt and moving forward to live debt-free. The borrower is a slave to the lender. God desires that you be the head and not the tail.

6. Eliminating cosigning and surety for other people’s debts. Do not cosign for other people’s debts unless you want your coat taken and be subject to ridicule and irresponsibility.

7. Diversifying assets. There is safety in the multitude of counselors. Therefore, save and invest with seven or eight different reputable sources and with a similar number of different types of investments.

8. Saving a reasonable portion of your income. There is oil and wine in the dwelling of the wise but a foolish man spends all that he gets his hands on.

9. Investing a reasonable portion of your income to produce greater profit. The master commended the faithful servants who traded with what He gave them and produced double to present to Him.

Working diligently to serve, gain experience, and develop skill that produce income to care for yourself and your family and help provide for others in need is certainly the road to take. It will help you have more provision for yourself, family, and other worthwhile priorities as opposed to the meager welfare that might be afforded by other people when you choose the other route of not seeking to consistently work.

Many forces in the world seek to pull you away from the above foundations of good stewardship by telling you that some other principle is more important in our modern, civilized society, such as having access to as much personal credit (loans) as you can get your hands on. Advisors are telling people that they cannot live without credit and that they should keep credit card accounts open at all cost. Other people are saying that you will always have bills or car notes or house notes. New sources are pointing to the need to have all of these in order to keep your credit score as high as possible.

For the unsuspecting and those ignorant of truth this sounds like great savvy advice. However, you should understand that the Word says that not one jot or tittle of His Word will ever fail to produce good in your life. Therefore, any so called principle or new method of doing something should always be measured by biblical principles for good stewardship. If it does not comply or attempts to make God’s instruction null and void, you should not only question it but also refuse to go down that road.

What good is getting, keeping, and continuing to get more credit when the very principles / methods you’ve been engaging in have or will get you in trouble in the future and cause you to have trouble over the long haul. In the short haul it may seem a benefit but looks are often deceiving. There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death.

When you choose the short haul path that is opposite God’s instruction, you eventually come to a point in time when that path leads to destruction in the long haul but also in your future short haul periods. Consider the debacle that has gripped our economy and individuals over the past few years. Much of it started by unreasonable decisions made concerning housing, real estate, unreasonable mortgage options and selections, the packaging of such mortgages as investments, maxing out loans for cars and personal pleasure merchandise and services, and people throwing diversification of investments and assets out the door.

Individuals and our nation would be in a far better place if we had chosen to apply biblical principles and not be swayed by what looks good in the short term. We would continue to gain long term favor and blessing which in turn would positively cover our future short term periods. A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that makes haste to be rich shall not go unpunished.

Please email any questions and pray for this ministry. May God bless you richly as you follow His plan!!!
Proverbs 28:20, Ecclesiastes 11:2, Habakkuk 2:2-5, Philippians 4:13, 2Thessalonians 3:10
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