How do you tell the difference between wise provision and loving money too much?

General Faith
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I’ve found the difference shows up less in the amount saved and more in the emotional attachment to it. Wise provision usually brings steadiness and freedom, planning responsibly so fear doesn’t run the show. Loving money too much tends to bring anxiety, comparison, or reluctance to be generous even when it’s clearly needed.

Another clue is flexibility. Provision says, “I’m preparing for the future.” Attachment says, “I can’t feel secure without this.” One is stewardship; the other starts to look like identity or control. The same action, saving, investing, budgeting, can come from very different motivations. The question often isn’t “Do I have resources?” but “Do my resources have me?”

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We often make plans for tomorrow, considering where we want to live, what we want to drive, and how we envision our retirement. We all keep track of our 401(k) accounts and our savings for the future. But have you ever thought about your 401(E)? You have one! Think about the home you will live in for a much longer time than just the 15 to 20 years after your retirement here on Earth.

Let me ask you this. Are you trusting in yourself, or is God in charge of your tomorrow? Look at what Jesus says about tomorrow.

“Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34

We have no idea what tomorrow will bring.

“Do not boast about tomorrow,
for you do not know what a day may bring.” Proverbs 27:1

James warns us about this also.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” James 4:13-15

We can have the best-laid plans. But what if—bear with me now—tomorrow never comes? This is a great illustration. This is real life.

It is just a normal, average, mundane Tuesday. People woke up. Commenced with their routines. Some took showers, some didn’t. Some had breakfast, some didn’t. Some kissed their loved ones one last time. Having no idea, it was the last time. Then they went out the door. Then at 8:13 am, everything changed. Everything in the entire country changed. You see, we do not know what is going to happen in the next hour. You may not even finish reading this. We do not know. But it does not have to be the end of the world. It does not have to be 3000 plus people losing their lives.

There is no tomorrow except what comes. However, we do not have to worry about it. Matthew 6: Start at verse 19. Remember, this is Jesus, talking.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

This is your 401 E or your eternal “retirement fund.” Tithes and offerings, serving others. Sacrifices we make daily. Sharing the Gospel. Why?

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

This is why it is so important to change your mindset. Verse 24

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Stop relying on yourself. Stop leaning on your own understanding. You do not know what tomorrow will bring, but God does.

"Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Paul writes in his letter to the Philippians, Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Getting long-winded again. Sorry.

Peter

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Continued…

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Isn’t life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

Not only does God love you so that He laid down His Godhood, came to earth while we were in the middle of our sins, was born into the flesh as we did, and lived a perfect life only to be mocked, stripped, beaten, and murdered for you. For me. But He loves us so much that He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to be His children and Him to be our Abba-Father.

God does not want the worst for us. He does not want us to just work and pay bills and die. Look here

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

Jesus said this in Luke 11:11-13

“What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

We must put God in charge of our tomorrow. Why would you not want to do this? He is there. He knows what is coming. He is the Alpha and the Omega, The Beginning and the Last. He is the great “I Am.” He is also our Daddy. Our Father. The only one who can do anything and all things. Oh, and? He knows better than we do. I know, right?

Peter

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I can’t remember his name but maybe you’ve heard the story. An evangelist in the 19th century ran an orphanage in England. They were out of food to serve the kids and he began praying. He had all the kids come down to dinner and sit at the table. Just then, a knock at the door revealed that someone had left a donation of food.

I don’t think how much money you have or don’t have is the issue. It’s what you’re trusting in - your bank account or God. Our whole life involves money and how you spend your money says a great deal about you. As someone who worked in finance, this is what I would do. I studied their cash flow in detail before meeting that person. I already knew quite a bit about them before ever seeing them. Here’s a story you might like.

The husband was an engineer and the wife was a principle of a posh private high school. Financially they should have been fine, but weren’t. They had twin teenage daughters. One went to a public high school and the other daughter, who had struggled in high school was sent to a private school where she flourished.

A financial plan was done, where their cash flow was scrutinized to find the problem. The problem ended up being with the wife who spent a great deal on her wardrobe and entertaining the parents of her students. Beneath that expense was her desire to keep up, to be accepted, to be seen as one of them. This is where their discretionary spending went and it was causing problems.

The end result and the solution they chose was to pull their daughter out of private school. She was sent back to the public high school where she had incurred so many problems before and was failing.

So its easy to see that how we choose to spend our money, whether its great or small, says so much about us. What we spend our money on speaks to who we are.