Weekly Bible Verse – God is the source of Wealth
I have riches and honor, as well as enduring wealth and justice. My gifts are better than gold, even the purest gold, my wages better than sterling silver! I walk in righteousness, in paths of justice. Those who love me inherit wealth. I will fill their treasuries. Proverbs 8:18-21 (NLT)
I spend a significant amount of time here discussing money, topics such as how to get it, how to keep it, how best to use it, and so on (this is a personal finance blog after all!). This week’s Bible verse refocuses us on the true source of all of this wealth that I and so many other people devote countless hours to.
God possesses not only riches, but also honor, not only wealth, but also justice. His gifts are ever better than the purest gold and sterling silver. Personally, I like the sound of all of that. So, let’s keep reading and see that “those who love” God will inherit this wealth from Him. In fact, he will fill your treasuries. Remember, God created and owns everything, if you decides to fill your treasuries, you won’t be able to contain all of His blessings!
Now maybe this isn’t specifically speaking of wealth as in money. Certainly, you might read “enduring wealth” as not being money since wealth is so fleeting. Whatever He is speaking of in this passage, however, it is good and I want some of it! Enduring wealth, justice, and gifts that are better than gold – I would definitely love to inherit that (wouldn’t you?). Whether this is a strictly monetary blessing or something different (better?), focus on God, love God, worship God, serve God so that you can inherit what He has in store for you. And whether that is a big pile of money to use for His Kingdom or a contented spirit such that you are just completely satisfied and happy with your life, it will be enduring and it will be good!
God bless and have a great week…
Weekly Bible Verse – Being Truly Rich
Do you want to be truly rich? You already are if you are happy and good. After all, we didn’t bring any money with us when we came into the world, and we can’t carry away a single penny when we die. So we should be well satisfied without money if we have enough food and clothing. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (LB)
I thought of the meaning of being “truly rich” often this past weekend as I drove to North Carolina with a college friend for the visitation of another college friend who died suddenly and quite unexpectedly last week. Now I may be old but I am certainly not old enough that my friends should be passing away from cardiac problems! My friend was a wonderful woman who leaves behind a husband, a three-year old, and a two-week old baby!
Times like this, of course, force you to reflect on your own life. I spend a lot of time thinking about, reading about, and talking about money and finances. So, naturally, when I reflect on life, I think of concepts like being “truly rich” as this verse in Timothy explains. You are truly rich if you are happy and good. In other versions, the word “contentment” is used. If you are content with what you have (be it a little or a lot), if you are happy with your family and friends, then you are rich!
I was reminded again this past weekend that life is short and that you should never take anything for granted. I urge you this week (and this is a reminder for me as well) to focus on what is really important in life. As it says above, you “can’t carry away a single penny when you die,” so spend your time working for the things that endure – namely kingdom works, relationships, memories, and the like. Maybe we should focus a little more on being truly rich and a little less on being monetarily rich as we go forward.
God bless and have a great week..
Weekly Bible Verse – Acquiring Wealth and Honor
Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honour and life. Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)
So the latest get rich quick scheme of using Twitter to send out tweets about selling an e-book that shows other people how to get rich by sending out tweets about selling an e-book is maybe not the best way to ensure wealth? (note to self: cross that off todo list)
In fact, according to Proverbs 22:4, you can acquire not only wealth but also honor and life by following this piece of advice (even if you can acquire some wealth by sending out those tweets, I can pretty much guarantee you that path won’t lead to honor for you!). So how do you get acquire all this, you ask? The answer is through “humility” and “fear of the Lord.”
Maybe that’s not the answer you were looking for? It certainly falls about 180 degrees from the manner to achieve wealth and honor preached by our society. No, the world tells us that we need to be hard-charging, to work longer hours than everyone else, to devote ourselves to our work above all else in life, and certainly not to ever be humble about anything! Are you surprised that’s not the exact path laid out by the Bible?
In contrast, what the Bible is telling us is to devote ourselves to God above all else and to rely on Him to provide us a path to wealth. Now, I’m not a Biblical scholar, but from what I can tell this isn’t a case of the word for “wealth” actually meaning something possibly more nebulous like “prosperity.” It appears to be used in the Bible to mean actual “riches” and “wealth.” That notwithstanding, please don’t skip over the other two words in this verse – especially the last. I would argue that “Life” is much more valuable than money.
So, humbling yourself before God, having that healthy respect/fear for Him, devoting yourself to His purpose, relying on Him, that brings you not only wealth and honor but also life? Yes, please – sign me up for that!
God bless and have a great week…
Weekly Bible Verse – Even More Important than Planning
Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
I have lots of ideas (most of them collected in a huge and therefore virtually indecipherable mind map) and I’m sure you have many as well. They run the gamut from being pretty good, well-formed ideas all the way to pie-in-the-sky, no-way-I-could-make-that-happen ones! The most important aspect of planning for my ideas, though, is something that I don’t have much control over actually. As stated, God’s purpose is what will prevail.
Previously, I discussed the importance of planning and committing your works to the Lord. And today’s verse builds on top of what I discussed in that post. I previously stated that the purpose of committing your plans to God was not to convince God that we have a great idea so that He agrees to bless it. Rather, it was to get yourself in line with what God wants you to do.
Today’s verse further underscores the importance of aligning yourself with God. Why waste your time by running off on your own attempting to pursue that which is not God’s purpose? Go through the process of committing your plans to God and discover whether you should pursue your ideas or abandon them and move on to something more worthwhile. And it’s a win-win since you’ll be a better person as a result of going through the process!
God bless and have a great week…
Weekly Bible Verse – A Departure
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (NIV)
Wait – what does that have to do with personal finances? On the surface, nothing, I guess. But I’m going to use it to celebrate the birth of my fourth child!! My wife gave birth to our third daughter last week and we are so excited to welcome her and her chubby cheeks into the world! (It’s also the main reason there haven’t been that many posts here at BFN lately)
Now, sure this does have personal finance ramifications. For instance, it’s another mouth to feed, more clothes to buy, more diapers, wipes, etc. On the other hand, we do get another exemption on our tax return. Of course, all of that is trumped by the big ticket items such as medical bills, health insurance, college tuition, a wedding some day, and so on and so forth.
But I’m not worrying about any of that right now. Allow me to share a bonus verse with you:
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Psalm 127:3 (NASB)
A gift from God? A reward from Him? I like the sound of that! I’ll worry about all the financial changes later (to be honest, these are the reasons we’ve been saving up and why we created an emergency fund in the first place) but right now, when I look upon her chubby cheeks and perfect round little face as she sleeps contentedly, I wholeheartedly agree with Psalm 127:3: she truly is a gift from God!
God bless and have a great week…
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