Prudent Spending
Spending is part of our lives. When we earn we are guaranteed to spend the money in one way or the other and this may be through payment of bills and debts, meeting our basic or social needs.lt is important to spend wisely because how one does it determines how one lives. Some people live continually from hand to mouth while others always seem to have some liquid money to spend .The difference is on their spending habits.
There are poor and good spending habits and it will interest you to know that the Lord is very interested with our spending. The book of proverbs has a lot to say on how we handle our finances. This month we shall study Proverbs 31which depicts a picture of a wife of noble character or the lady or woman of a noble character and indeed she has many virtues and one striking one is that she knows how to spend her money prudently and this is how she does it;
She does not allow impulse buying. PROVERBS 31:16 says, she considers a field and buys it, out of her earnings she plants a vineyard, it means that in the first place she knows what she wants and that is a field, then she goes ahead to assess some more qualities of the field such as the price, fertility, proximity and accessibility and if she finds those qualities meeting her desire and provision then she goes ahead and buys it and later invests in it by planting a vineyard. This is what the Lord expects of us ,to know what we want and to assess if it is within our limit to access it ,if it is not we can always save up to acquire it by considering it and prioritizing it. We should determine to try as much as we can to avoid impulse buying because it always encroaches on the money that would have otherwise meet a more pressing need.
She does not allow herself to be caught up in debts. Proverbs 31:17, she sets about her work vigorously; her hands are strong for her tasks. This means that she is a hard worker and the Lord diligently rewards hard workers and she does live within her means. Debts tend to enslave the borrower to the lender, yet the bible requires us to be lenders and not borrowers. Things like impulse buying of clothes, unbudgeted eating in hotels and restaurants and going for trips and journeys that are not necessary go along way in enticing debt your way. This is because once the money is spent; there will still be more pressing issues to meet and the way out will be to get some money through borrowing, from a friend, a bank or a microfinance institution and thereby entangling oneself in debt. However this situation is avoidable through spending our money wisely and living within our means. If one is already in debt, then there is a way out and it begins with the willingness to pay followed by setting a part some of ones income to pay the debt and then be fully committed to begin and complete paying it so that freedom may come ones way.
She spends prudently on investments.provrebs 31:18, she sees that her trading is profitable and her lamp does not go out at night. She also ensures that her investment has longevity and will cater for her and her dependents in the years to come.proverbs31:21, when it snows, she has no fear for her household: for all of them are clothed in scarlet. This prudent woman uses her money to make investments that are profitable. How does she do that one may ask, she engages in research about the investments she wants to make, she also goes ahead to seek for opinions from experts of that arena and when she finally makes the decision to go ahead to invest she uses professionals to run her businesses as she also learns from them. While it may be expensive to get experts to help you, the Lord can divinely connect you to them and bring them in your circle of friends when you believe him to do it. The reason as to why her lamp does not go out in the night is because she understands that the need of involving God in her affairs as she uses the word of God as a lamp unto her feet and a light unto her path, and whatever is grounded in the word of God, stands firm and is unshakable even in hard times.
She also understands the priceless value of being a giver and especially one who helps the needy. Proverbs 31:20: she opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. Prudent spending involves generosity and most especially to the needy. This pleases the Lord and indeed when you give to the needy you are lending God the bible says. The needy may be our neighbors or our relatives or other people we do not even know but the Lord convicts us to help.Infact being generous comes with its own reward from our God.
In a nutshell, the bible gives us strategies of prudent spending which revolve around the cycle of budgeting, ensuring that we spend less than what we earn, save up and when we choose to invest we do a thorough background search on whatever we want to invest in and get qualified people to help us so that we can make an informed decision. In addition, prayer and grounding our work in the word of God is very important. For the Lord will guide our footsteps and show us which way we should take and what we should spend on for the glory and honor of his name (psalms 32:8) .lets assess our lives and sincerely look at our spending habits. If any needs changing, then lets be challenged to change and avoid being prisoners of our finances but good controllers over them.We can manage to emulate this noble woman through the grace of God ,commitment and dedication and the rest. GOD BLESS.
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