Making an impact in our community, city, nation and the world.
Making an impact in our community, city, nation and the world.
Making an impact in our community, city, nation and the world.
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The first principle is that God is the source of everything. Philippians 4:19 says, "My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Proverbs 8:20,21 adds, "I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures."
And 2 Corinthians 9:8 says: "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." Whenever we need money or possessions, prayer is the answer. Look to the Lord, because He will provide it-according to His will.
The second principle is tithing. Simply put, a "tithe" is ten percent of your income. That's literally the definition of the word, and so from there we can see what God wants us to do with that ten percent. In Deuteronomy 14:28-29 we see God commanding the Israelites to put a tenth of their yearly income into a common storage, so that the priests, widows and orphans would be taken care of. The tithe is not for God directly, for He has no need of money, but it is His provision through the Church for those that have need.
The third principle is giving, as God also us to give, not out of desire to please Him, but out of genuine faith and compassion to those who are in need. There are stories of those people who are blessed with much giving a poor family a new car to replace one that had broken down, or have paid for an electric bill for an entire year, that when asked what they felt in that moment, reply that they felt joy. True faithful giving produces joy for the believer, for in the Bible it says, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." (Matt. 25:40)
Everyone ought to live on a margin-a physical margin, a spiritual margin, a time margin and a financial margin. Living on a margin simply means allowing room for things to happen. God provides a surplus when we allow him to.
With money, this means using a budget to figure out what kind of room there might - or might not - be. Whether you discover that you only have cents left after all of your expenses, or find out that somehow you're left with $100 extra every month, this is a good principle to have as it allows first for the practice of tithing, but also for the next Biblical principle for money.
The fourth financial principle concerns saving money-setting something aside for a rainy day. Proverbs 21:20 says, "There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spends it up." And Proverbs 22:3 emphasizes, "A prudent man foresees the evil, and hides himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished."
For a simple example, if a couple with an income of $12,000 a year would save $1000 of it each of those years and let this money earn 6 percent interest, compounded annually, they would have $24,672.56 at the end of a 15-year period.
If at the end of 15 years of saving faithfully, a son or daughter is ready for college or the family needs to move into a bigger house or wants to serve the Lord on a full-time basis, the couple can start to withdraw their savings. They can withdraw $2000 a year for 10 years and still have $15,322.17, or slightly more than they set aside. Isn't this making your money work for you? God has a reason for the principle of saving money.
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Gretna Brethren Church