“My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.” Proverbs 3:21-26
There’s a phrase I keep running into lately that says, “It’s hard to stumble if you’re on your knees.” While I believe prayer is a powerful tool I also believe that God calls us to act. Proverbs encourages us over and over to use judgment, discernment, & wisdom. We are to walk in our faith.
Does walking in our faith mean we won’t lose our job? No, but I have found those who serve with clarity of mind and the purpose of heart that God has given them tend to be better employees. And if one does lose a job, we can walk without fear remembering that God has a plan and look at the break as an opportunity to follow a new direction that He has laid out for us.
If we go a step further with this scripture we can see that God is calling us to use our money with sound judgment and discernment. I know I sleep much better and have far less anxiety when my financial affairs are in good order. Working to stretch every dollar, saving the pennies I squeeze out of the budget into an emergency fund is a nice cushion for sudden disaster.
Another fine cushion for sudden disaster, faithful tithing. I hesitated to write about this because it seems to be a sensitive subject. Proverbs 3:9-10 addresses it as such, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” What ever amount you give, whether it be the full 10% or something else, it needs to come off the top. If your budget starts with food, mortgage payments, car payments, insurance, gas, utilities, etc and then what’s left is your offering, your budget is upside down. First make the commitment to honor the Lord and write that amount. Then go about filling in the other items. You will be rewarded.
My weekly challenge to myself has been to go through Proverbs. I would like to encourage you and challenge myself by making a daily post of one financial action step you can take to make a positive impact on your finances.
Today I want you to locate a pocket size notebook. You can get one at the dollar store for less than a dollar. In this notebook I want you to start writing down every penny you spend and where. If you go to the gas station and fill the tank for $30, purchase a car wash for $5, and stop inside for the $.59 fountain drink and the $.99 snack, I want you to write out the break down. Your challenge is to keep this journal for a month.
Last 5 posts by Ann Anderson
- Laundry, Laundry, Everywhere - August 21st, 2009
- Proverbs 4 - Truth always prevails - August 20th, 2009
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- Daily Dishwashing - August 17th, 2009
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3 Responses to “Walking without fear – Proverbs 3”
Some say that they don't have to tithe because that was a command under the old convenant. To that I would say, "Okay, but why not give liberally anyway and train yourself to hold the Kingdom as priority over daily needs. God is your Provider."
"Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?" Luke 16:11
Good post!
It's in the new covenant as well. Jesus said, "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices – mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." – Matthew 23:23 Jesus said do BOTH, tithe along with justice, mercy and faithfulness.
Ann, I am going to take your challenge to carry a notebook with me for one month! I'll share my results in 30 days! Great idea!
As to tithing, the demand of how much we give in the new testament is actually higher than 10%. Tithing also was not just an old covenant command. Abraham tithed and so did other pre-mosaic figures to God. Many examples exist. I agree with Ann, Jesus did command it 'without neglecting the former'…that's very clear on the matter.