Don't get me wrong..I heart my ATM card :-) But I have to keep myself in check. Checking the account says a lot about priorities. I received this devotion today and it is too awesome to not share.
I think when it comes to money...It controls us. People lie, cheat, and steal for money. They fight over it, they kill for it, they end relationships over it. I know that we need it to survive and that people work very hard to make it and deserve the nice things they work for but when it takes over your life and you can't be happy without it...it's a problem. I'm just like everyone else, I want nice things, I want to be comfortable, I want the occasional mani-pedi, but I am ok when I have money and I'm ok when I don't.
If you are still reading this...I may have lost a few people...lol Just know that it's not a bashing money blog..It's a be happy in your circumstances blog. So, what does your checkbook say about you??
Read on... :-)
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By Glynnis Whitwer |
"One man
gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to
poverty." Proverbs 11:24 (NIV 1984)
Imagine walking into church one day to
discover all your financial information on display. Your check register is
copied as a bulletin insert. Your bank statement is in the pastor's PowerPoint
presentation and his message is based on how you spent your money last week.
Some people would sprint out the back door, horrified at the thought of their
spending habits being exposed!
The way we handle money - how we earn it,
spend it and give it away - shows what's important to us. A peek inside our
checkbooks will tell what we value.
In the early years of my marriage, our
checkbook definitely revealed the truth about what I valued and trusted ... and
it wasn't God. My husband wanted to give 10% of our income to the church, and I
continually talked him out of it, bargaining the percentage down with the
promise of increasing it over time.
My lack of faith (in God and my husband)
screamed through the entries in my check register.
Years later, I finally gave in to my
husband's repeated requests to tithe. Sadly, it wasn't with serene faith and
confidence. Rather, I secretly believed I'd be able to say, "I told you so" once
and for all.
Imagine my surprise when God proved Himself
faithful in spite of my unfaithfulness.
I learned a life-changing lesson: God can be
trusted. Listening to great sermons didn't teach me this. Hearing how God
answered my friend's prayer didn't teach me this. I had to learn it for myself.
And one of the best ways to experience God's trustworthiness is to trust Him
with our money.
Though many of us are uncomfortable talking
about money, the Bible has over 2,000 verses referring to it. God knows that how
we manage this necessary part of life is important to being an effective
Christian because we practice obedience in an area few see.
Holding on to our money with an open hand
shows we trust God. He's given us everything we have: our health, our jobs, our
homes and our financial resources. Giving back to Him shows we trust that His
Word is true, and we trust God to provide for our needs.
At the very heart of the whole issue of
giving money to God is whether or not He can be trusted. The answer is "yes!"
God can be trusted! Today, through the grace of God, my checkbook lines up with
my words.
Dear
Lord, You are worthy of all my trust. Forgive the times I doubt You and choose
to trust myself. Thank You for giving me another chance to obey Your request to
give with a generous heart. Help me to be a woman who lives out her faith in her
checkbook and with her words. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
