Spend!!!

The woman of Proverbs 31 had a head on her shoulders. Last night, before I fell asleep, the radom thought wandered through my mind "did she have a budget?" Did she plan how she spent her money?

I'm a firm believer in being a good steward of what God has given me. He's given me much more than just money, but for the sake of brevity, let's take a look just at money.

At this stage in my life, I don't handle a whole lot of mammon. I also don't have a big need for it. What would I do with millions of dollars? I live with my family; Dad supplies a roof over my head, food on the table, and other needs of life. But I know that the older I get, the more I'll have to deal with money - or the lack thereof.

Does seeing how the world centers around money ever frustrate you? I have several jobs that bring money into my hands. I am able to make purchases and give gifts. But why does everything have to cost money? Why does everything have to cost so much money?

I don't know. The fact is; money is an almost nessecity to life. So how should I handle mine? It's not really mine - it's God's. It's also my parents', in a-round-about-way. If they are over me in authority, certainly they are over everything I own. But if I use it badly, I'm the one who is respondsible to God for that.

There are four basic places to spend my money:

#1 - Things that last a few hours (food, pleasures, etc.)
#2 - Things that last a few years (clothes, machines, etc.)
#3- Things that last a lifetime (education...)
#4 - Things that last forever (missions, helping someone, etc.)

I have God's command to store up treasures in Heaven. I really believe God means what He says when He talks about treasures being up there for me if I will store them up. Just think - these little green pieces of paper will mean less than nothing in Heaven, but I can use them to buy treasure worthy for Heaven! That's something I can touch. I can give money to buy Bibles for believers in Peru, and have absolutely certainty that I just invested money in my Heavenly account. If I wanted to, I could even keep account of every penny I invest in eternity, and know how much is in my account. ...Of course, who knows what the exchange rate is there?

There's also the wide subject of saving, ...but, really, what are you saving money for, if not to spend it? I have several savings accounts, and I plan what I'm going to do with the money once it reaches a certain amount. I plan to spend it. Who holds on to money just to get inky prints on their fingers? We're all going to spend all of it eventually...or leave it for someone else to spend.

So let's spend it where it counts!

And let's spend deliberatly, with purpose. Out with impulse buying! Let's pray, plan, then spend!