imonlywood.com

This post probably won’t be as long as the last one! Sorry bout that, but it’s such an important principle that we need to be aware of, I could probably post two or three more on tithing. However, this post is not about tithing, but about principle #2…storing up some money for yourself. A lot of people may have the impression that this sounds selfish or unnecessary, but actually, it’s neither. While it CAN be selfish if we allow greed to creep in, it’s really not selfish at all. Neither is it unnecessary or foolish. In fact, what it is, is Biblical!

We’ll start, again, with Abraham. I could give you several verses to verify that he was a wealthy man. So was Jacob…and David…and Solomon, along with many, many others. How did they gain wealth? They gave the Lord what was required, or more. They used what they needed to use. And they saved some for themselves! If they hadn’t saved anything, how would they have obtained all the things they had? If they gave it all away or squandered it, how did it accumulate over the years? How did they leave inheritances for their kids? They saved some for themselves!

The concept of inheritance is so Scriptural, there’s no way to include all the passages in this post. God, Himself, gave Abraham an inheritance…He gave you and I an inheritance! You can’t pass along what you don’t already have in your possession. And you can’t have it in your possession, unless you’ve gotten it and keep enough of it to pass on!

There are so many angles to pursue here, and so many verses I could share! God doesn’t want you to be selfish or greedy. But He does want you to be wise. When Joseph was sold into slavery to Egypt (the entire story can be found in the latter part of the Book of Genesis), there came a point that God told him to store up provisions because a famine was coming. God told Joseph to “store up”. Understand that God didn’t tell Joseph to hoard everything he could get his hands on, or to keep it all to himself, but God did say “store up”. The reason he was to store up, was so that when there was nothing left, he could share from his surplus! Two keys here…store up…and share! Store up IN ORDER to share might be even a better way of looking at it.

Let’s look at some Bible stuff. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, according to the Bible. It’s also interesting to note that he was “greater in riches” than “all the other kings of the earth.” (1 Kings 10:23). At the same time, he didn’t appear to be greedy or selfish. “The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones…” (1 Kings 10:27). Verse 26 says he accumulated chariots and horses. ACCUMULATED. In other words, he saved some for himself…for emergencies or the unexpected things that pop during the course of every day living!

“Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer…” Proverbs 30:24,25

Ants are “extremely wise” because they “store up” their food in the summer when it’s plentiful, to get them through the winter when it’s not!

“He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” Proverbs 10:5

“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.” Proverbs 21:20

Matthew 25:1-13 tells the parable of the ten virgins. Five of them, called foolish by the Lord,  used up all their oil and missed the bridegroom’s coming because they had to go buy more oil. Five of them, called wise by the Lord, took along some extra oil and entered into the wedding banquet. They had stored up enough to last through the unexpected delay of the bridegroom!

There are many, many others! We are not to be selfish or greedy…but we ARE to be wise! It’s not just ok to save some for yourself…it’s WISE! It’s BIBLICAL! Again, I could drag this thing on, but I hope and pray that you see the point! Now, you may be thinking you’re not making enough money to save any right now. You don’t have to save $100 a week, or $50 or $25…just save something. Even if it’s only $5 or $10. And most importantly, don’t touch it! Put it in the bank or some other place where it can draw a little interest for you.

This site offers some ways to make extra money that won’t cost you a single penny! Try some of them out! (There are more coming, by the way)! If you’re reading this, you have an internet connection available to you, so you can do them. You can do them online or off. Take what few dollars you might make a month and SAVE it! Use these as your savings money and let it add up. Just start saving SOMETHING!

As time goes by, we’re hopefully going to be giving you some ideas on how to use the gifts that God has already given you, not just to add blessings to your life, and help you break the chains of many forms of bondage, but also to increase your wealth. There are also a ton of free resources on the internet that will help you with these things, as well. The internet, itself, is a valuable tool…but it you have to begin TODAY to set a little aside for yourself, or none of it will help you out a lot.

It’s ok to save for a rainy day. It’s ok to save for the unexpected. It’s ok to save so that you’ll have something to share with others. It’s ok to save for the upcoming famines. It’s ok to store up in the summer what you will need for the winter. It’s ok. In fact, it’s not just ok…it’s a Biblical principle!

“Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.” Matthew 13:12

This passage is not speaking of money, but the principle holds true in financial situations. Ever heard the old saying that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? It’s a Biblical principle! The rich man can afford insurance to cover his medical expenses when he goes to the doctor, for example. The poor man goes to the emergency room at the hospital because he can’t afford to pay cash for the doctor’s visit, and he has no insurance.  The hospital charges ten times as much and the poor guy ends up even farther in debt. The rich man gets a credit card with 5 to 9% interest. For the poor man it’s 19% on up. That’s the worldly system. You know as well as I do that the above statements are true. It’s a Biblical principle. Whoever HAS will be given more. Whoever does not have, even that will be taken from him.

Pay yourself. Save something, even if it’s just a little, so that you can HAVE. So you can be given MORE. So you can share more. So that you won’t be the one that even what you have will be taken from you.