So if our first priority is in giving the first ten percent what is the second priority?
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”--1 Timothy 5:8
“The good leave an inheritance to their children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous.”-- Proverbs 13:22
“The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave of the lender.”-- Proverbs 22:7
Well I guess that spells it out! If you don’t provide for your family then you are worse than an unbeliever. Furthermore you need to provide for your grandchildren. Furthermore if you think you can get there by borrowing you are going to make a slave out of yourself.
So what does it mean to provide for your family, your grandchildren, or to be a slave? In my opinion it means different things for different people. For an entrepreneur it might mean leaving a business for future generations to grow. For a teacher it may mean making sure your kids and grandkids get an education that will lead them to nice careers. For some it could mean teaching their progeny about stocks and bonds. For some it could simply be putting what food on the table you can and keeping alive a hope that tomorrow can be better.
Providing for our Children’s children is a truly Christian outlook towards money and a largely foreign concept for most of us. I don’t remember hearing the verse about leaving your grandchildren an inheritance until the last couple of years. I grew up in church and went to seminary AND didn’t hear or read (or at least it didn’t register) that verse till I was in my mid-thirties? Why?!!
In my opinion the church as a whole has let us down on the financial front. As Christians we should teach each other sound financial concepts, live those concepts, and reap the rewards of those concepts. What I mean by that last comment is not that we should all be rich nor did I mean to espouse some sort of prosperity theology where God’s favored have more money. What I meant was that sound finances give us a foundation for better relationships.
Do you think the divorce rate among Christians would be the same as the divorce rate among non-Christians if more of us lived in financial security? Do you think individual churches might have more financial resources to carry out mission work? Could we fund Christian schools to take, not our children out of public schools, but disadvantaged children out of public schools who need extra time and attention? What kind of impact could we make on the church’s relationship with the world if we had our financial act together?
“The good leave an inheritance to their children's children.” The contrast of that concept with our culture is stark to say the least. Leviticus and 1 Chronicles say that we are “sojourners” in the land. This place doesn’t belong to us. Neither the earth, nor the culture do we own. We are to be in a word from the hippy days of the 1960’s “counter cultural.” Well isn’t living a financially responsible life counter cultural? …now back to our story. It doesn’t say provide for yourself, or provide for your family. It says leave an inheritance for your grandchildren. The thing is those verses don’t necessarily give us the details on how to do it. There are fortunately other verses that do speak to the subject.
“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and count the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it?—Luke 14:28
“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.”—Proverbs 21:20
These two verses tell us we have to; first, see if we have enough money to spend for what we want to buy, and second, to live on less than we make. What does counting the cost mean? It means a budget you dummy. Oh gee that’s no fun is it?
“For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."—Matthew 11:30
It’s actually not that bad. A budget is a yoke that guides us. It will help us pay off our debts and save for the future. It is a tool not a master. If we use a tool like this we will truly be counter cultural in this materialistic society we live in.
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