The Number One Financial Mistake
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Psalm 46.10 proclaims, be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. God is at work in the world making Himself known, working to reconcile the world to Himself. When men are at peace with God men are at peace with each other.
It is the enemy of God who comes to steal, kill and destroy thus motivating the havoc we experience in families and nations. God doesn’t want us to be anxious but to trust Him that He has the world under His control. Yet God doesn’t work alone.
God works through His people to accomplish His purposes. God doesn’t send angels or some other heavenly beings to earth to get His will done. God instead speaks to and empowers those who love Him and earnestly seek Him with everything they need for accomplishing His purpose – which is ultimately God being honored in every nation.
When we are at work solving problems we are not anxious like we are when we are only watching the result of problems. Those who look at the world’s chaos and wring their hands live in fear. Those who engage the work of turning men from lies to truth, from foe to friend and from ignorance to revelation find themselves hopeful, cheerful and fruitful.
What the world needs is reconciliation with God, the One True God Who loves everyone and invites everyone into a personal relationship with Himself through Jesus the Savior. The will of God is for all of the people of God to participate in this work of reconciling the world to God through Jesus Christ.
Those who engage this work are those through whom God is working to bring honor to Himself among the nations and thus peace to men throughout the world.
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MONDAY MANNA
A service to the business community
A Publication of CBMC International
May 9, 2016
The Number One Financial Mistake
by Austin Pryor
An approach we occasionally use in marketing my organization, Sound Mind Investing (SMI), is to ask, “What is the No. 1 financial mistake many Christians make?” Our answer: They ignore biblical principles when managing their money and follow advice from other sources instead.
Do you believe that when you use God’s protective biblical principles as a guide, you will manage your money more wisely and prudently – and glorify God at the same time? I do, because I have lived it. From the early 1970s through the mid-‘80s, I relied primarily on my innate skills and intellect for making financial and investing decisions. My successes were many, but my failures were more.
In the late 1980s, I faced up to my limitations and turned to the teachings of my friend, Larry Burkett, who had become a leading voice in the evangelical community on the importance of followers of Jesus applying biblical principles for managing their finances. Aligning with God’s ways laid a foundation for future financial success I experienced and continues to shape the work we do at SMI.
We all must learn to set financial priorities that honor God and point toward the attainment of God-given goals. For managing our finances, conducting ourselves at work, or being the people we should be in our homes, I have discovered the things worth knowing are, first and foremost, rooted in God’s Word, the Bible. As it states, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). We should look primarily to God’s wisdom, not the conventional wisdom, for practical principles to guide our decision-making. Here are some examples:
Our responsibility. We must each accept personal responsibility for making knowledgeable, biblically consistent financial decisions. We cannot expect others to make the tough choices for us. “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).
Our financial freedom. Debt can be enslaving, so we should avoid it as much as possible.“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is a servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).
Our balance. Maintaining a proper balance between current spending and long-term saving requires wisdom. “In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Proverbs 21:20).
Our decision-making. We should consistently invest using a carefully considered strategy rather than by making impulsive choices. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty” (Proverbs 21:5).
Our motives. We must guard against greed, wasting energy in futile attempts to get the highest possible returns. “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint” (Proverbs 23:4).
As we “renew our minds” with these guiding principles, we can apply them to our day-to-day financial decisions we each face. If we follow them consistently, we can be confident we are making wise choices for spending, saving, and investing.
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