Financial wisdom

My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
I will turn my ear to a proverb;
with the harp I will expound my riddle:
Psalm 49:3-4

In times of misfortune and deception it is very easy to be controlled by fear. When the powerful people realize that we are easy prey of trials, they turn against us with much fury to seek our destruction. They feel confident that because of their great wealth and financial resources they will never be involved in a similar situation. Their reward will be to see their wealth disappear overnight and how all that for them represented a source of security and strength fades to make way for pain and insecurity. This is the main danger of riches. When we have much we feel a sense of security and power that makes us forget God and his protection and we seek refuge under the false shield of the abundance of material goods. When the shield is proven false, and its weaknesses are discovered we lose all confidence that we can keep ourselves alive.

Riches are uncertain. They come and go and are not guaranteed. So we must never put our trust in them or live with the hope that one day we will enjoy a really comfortable financial position that will allow us to live without problems or complications. This is just fooling ourselves. God gives us everything we truly need. And rightly so because if he would give us a lot and we do not know how to handle the abundance, we would soon forget about him, which is very serious danger for a child of God. And if God would give us very little we would fall into such despair that we might be inclined to act inappropriately, bringing sin into our lives and therefore we would be moving away from God. Do not trust in riches but in the owner and giver of them. Pray always according to the perfect will of our Father in the name of Jesus. That is the only real treasure. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word for July 22, 2011

By the waters of Meribah they angered the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words came from Moses’ lips.
Psalms 106:32-33

Oftentimes when things go wrong the responsibility for what happened lies with the leaders. No wonder, since those who are in leadership positions are granted more power and this implies a greater accountability for the outcomes of their decisions. A good leader knows what he is exposed to and when something does not go as expected he takes full responsibility for what happened. However, on rare occasions, the responsibility lies not with the leader but on the followers. In the case of the popular protest against Moses because the shortage of water in the desert, the level of gossip of the people was so strong and so repetitive that it made Moses, an extremely humble man, to loose his cool and he ended up acting stupid and rashly carrying out the instructions that God gave him. Moses could blame the people, in fact, God disciplined the people for this and many other instances of complaint and murmuring. Moses’ failure was a result of his rebellious spirit which considered that what God had ordered him to do was a nuisance for his life.

We all receive God’s direction but sometimes we believe that the way we resolve the issues is better than God’s way and we end up rebelling against him. The basis for rebellion is pride and disobedience and we know that none of these things is pleasing to the Lord. When God commands us to do something and we think that there is a better way to do it, we should immediately stop and analyze where we are failing and identify what we need to do to fulfill God’s instructions to the letter. Otherwise it is very likely that we will end up falling into the deep pit of error and sin. Let us heed the voice of God and let us allow his Holy Spirit to lead us into the path of righteousness. To God alone be the glory!

Today’s word for June 13, 2011

From the fruit of their lips people enjoy good things,
but the unfaithful have an appetite for violence.
Proverbs 13:2

I, for one believe that we should always be thinking and speaking positively. I do not go as far as to share the position of those who say that words repeated often end up becoming a reality as if a magic formula or a mantra could have power over creation. Positive thoughts help us to maintain positive attitudes. Negative thoughts, on the other hand can only hurt the heart. Same goes with the words we speak. The bad words, i.e. bad sayings or curse talk, can only bring evil to our lives. Good words, in turn, bring blessing upon us and upon those around us. A person who is constantly engaged in speaking ill of his neighbor will have to accept that people who listen to him will take him for someone who cannot be trusted with much information. The risk of this person misusing the information provided is too large. In contrast, a benign and caring person who always has a word of encouragement or recognition in their lips for those around him, will be sought by those who need good advice for their lives. His teachings and exhortations will always be in high demand and people will have a good opinion of him and he will enjoy the approval and good wishes of others.

Remember what the apostle Paul said in his letter to the Galatians: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” What are you sowing with your thoughts and your conversation? Do you speak well of others, or do you express yourself bitterly of your neighbor? Do you think what you’re going to say before actually saying it? Are your words constructive or destructive? Do you speak always the truth? Is your everyday language suitable for all audiences or limited to mature audiences? Speak always well and you will enjoy good things from the fruit of your lips and you will grow in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man, as our incomparable Lord Jesus Christ, our example par excellence. To God alone be the glory!