It’s foolish to buy things you don’t need and can’t afford, especially when your bills are overdue and you’ve nothing set aside for the future. Your financial security is determined by what you owe, not by what you earn! Having to work for years to repay debt severely limits your options. So, determine your lifestyle by your actual income, not by what you wish it was or hope it will be. And when you get a raise, don’t automatically spend more. The Bible says, ‘There is…treasure…in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it’ (Proverbs 21:20 NKJV).
One of the wisest things you can do today is to start saving for the future, and sowing at least one-tenth of your income into God’s Kingdom so that you’ll have a harvest when you need it (see 2 Corinthians 9:6).
Author John Kennedy writes: ‘Peddling biblically-based financial advice has become a cottage industry. It’s not that the counsel is new, or that people haven’t heard it enough. The fact remains…Christians have racked up debt with no plan for financial accountability…they’re tapped out keeping up with interest payments.’ Is your philosophy in life, ‘Why wait and save when a credit card will let me have what I want right now?’ If you’re buying things you don’t need with money you don’t have, stop it! Before you purchase anything else, ask yourself if you really need it. And even if you think you do, ask yourself if you can live without it for a while; otherwise you’ll become a slave to credit card debt. Here’s some sound financial advice: pray for God’s guidance before you make any non-essential purchase.
Bible in a Year: Luke 2:25-52, Psalm 16-17
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