(Prov 27:25-27 GNB) You cut the hay and then cut the grass on the hillsides while the next crop of hay is growing. You can make clothes from the wool of your sheep and buy land with the money you get from selling some of your goats. The rest of the goats will provide milk for you and your family, and for your servant women as well.
This morning we get back to our “Unlocking the Power of Proverbs – Walking in the Wisdom of God” series. These three verses flow in the same vein as the two from yesterday. Together they formulate a message and it is: make the most of what you are blessed to have. This is a good reminder while our nation is still struggling to recover from a global economic downturn. But downturn/global recession or not, the United States is still the symbol of financial hope for most of the free world. I grew up the son of a single immigrant mother, struggling to make ends meet in Brooklyn. My mother took government assistance; so welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, government cheese, etc., we our way of life. I thought we were poor, because our society categorizes people who live like I lived as ‘the poor.’ However, whenever we visited the Dominican Republic and I hung out with my cousins who had no running water or electricity, and who were always fighting over my clothes, I realized that we had more than most. Then I met my beautiful wife. While we were dating I told her that I grew up poor in Brooklyn. She believed me until she saw my childhood pictures. She too told me I grew up rich. My wife grew up on the island of Dominica with no running water, electricity, and most of the time, without any meat to eat. So while we are far from that financial situation today, when I read a passage like the one Solomon left for us, I remember how important it is to make the most of all that God has blessed us to have. Simply put, many don’t have it and they are struggling to get by today. Wouldn’t it be a shame for us to disregard and disrespect our blessings?
It’s interesting that Solomon, the richest man in the world at the time of this writing, would provide such wisdom for the common man; but that’s just one of the reasons why the Bible is so awesome. The Word of God contains the wisdom we all need to maximize our purpose and potential while we are in the land of the living. Yesterday Solomon taught us about tending to sheep (or livestock) and today he incorporates the fields. The bottom-line is that we must do our due diligence to ensure we will always be able to provide for our family. Today, instead of planning for the harvests, making clothes from the wool, or packaging the hay, the categories might be: planning for retirement, saving for college, or paying your bills. Either way, the point is that we must all actively and purposefully plan for the future. If you spend all you get, for right now, living in the moment, then you will not be prepared for tomorrow.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things:
1. Count your blessings. The United States is such a blessed country. Daily, people are swimming through rivers, trekking through deserts, and risking their lives to enter this country illegally, just so they can get a job to provide for their families. Realize how blessed you are.
2. Make the most of what you have. If we are not careful, we can waste a great deal. While I don’t believe God wants us to be penny-pinchers, He does not want us to be wasters either.
3. Prayerfully plan for the future. You have a major part in God’s provision for your life. Far too many believers live wasteful, careless, and thoughtless lives, only to blame God when their financial mismanagement causes them to face hard times. Pray about your money management and the Holy Spirit will lead you to make wise decisions that will position you to succeed both today and tomorrow.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for this reminder. You expect me to be a good steward over my finances and I declare that I will. I count my blessings. I realize how blessed I truly am. You have been extremely good to me Father and I will never cease to praise You for it. I thank You for thriving relationships, health in my body, peace in my home, love in my family, money in the bank, food in the cupboard, and clothes in the closet. I declare, by faith, that I will make the most of what You have blessed me to have and I will also prayerfully plan for the future. As You lead me, I will position my family for current and future success. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
