Clear Thinking About Your Finances Part 2
Luke 16:11-13 – 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” (New International Version)
1 Five Habits for Financial Clear Thinking
1. Earn an honest living
▸ Principle of work
2 Thessalonians 3:11-12 – 11 Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. 12 We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. (New Living Translation)
2 Thessalonians 3:10 – Don’t you remember the rule we had when we lived with you? “If you don’t work, you don’t eat.” (The Message)
2. Plan your spending
▸ Principle of budget
Proverbs 27:23-24 – 23 Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, 24 for riches don’t last forever, . . . (The Living Bible)
▸ The starting point is keeping good records
Proverbs 23:23 – Get the truth and don’t ever sell it; also get wisdom, discipline, and good judgement. (New Living Translation)
Proverbs 21:5 – Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly, you will never have enough. (Good News Translation)
Proverbs 21:20 – . . . stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it. (Good News Translation)
3. Save for the future
▸ Principle of investing
Proverbs 21:20 – The wise man saves for the future, . . . (The Living Bible)
Proverbs 13:11 – Money that comes easily disappears quickly, but money that is gathered little by little will grow. (New Century Version)
Proverbs 6:6 – 6 Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones, Learn from their ways and become wise. 7 Though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. (New Living Translation)
4. Return _________________________________________
▸ Principle of ______________________________
Malachi 3:10 – Bring to the storehouse a full tenth of what you earn so there will be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord All-Powerful. “I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessings you need. (New Century Version)
1 Corinthians 16:2 – On every Lord’s Day each of you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week, and use it for this offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn. . . . (The Living Bible)
Proverbs 3:9-10 – 9 Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and 10 he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines. (The Living Bible)
5. Enjoy __________________________________________
▸ Principle of _____________________________
Ecclesiastes 6:9 – . . . It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else. (Good News Translation)
Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (New International Version)
What most people do:
1. Earn it
2. Enjoy it
3. Repay it
4. Save it
5. Give it
The order God blesses:
1. Earn it
2. _____________________________________
3. _____________________________________
4. _____________________________________
5. _____________________________________
Isaiah 55:2 – Why spend money on what does not satisfy? . . . (Good News Translation)
Job 31:24-25, 28 – 24 “Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? 25 Does my happiness depend on my wealth and all that I own? . . . 28 If so, I should be punished . . . , for it would mean I had denied the God of heaven. (New Living Translation, 1st ed.)