A Reflection | Wanting More and Living Within Your Means

Hello Readers & Followers

How are you doing today? It's December, the month that we have chosen to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. Have you started feeling "Christmassy"? I have attended at least two Christmas parties so far that have set my mood in preparation for Christmas. Another thing that has also helped set my mood for Christmas is the culture of giving and shopping during the Christmas period. Here in England, there is a culture of sharing gifts with one another during Christmas, therefore, a lot of us shop for various items during the Christmas period. What better way to start this month by writing about spending within our means.  Keep reading...

"Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer (food/manna) for each person you have in your tent" (Exodus 16:16 NIV)

Reading the story in Exodus 16:1-31, God gave specific instructions to Moses, He said He was going to bless the Israelites with food from heaven. However, there was a clause to this. God said that everyone would go out each day and gather as much food as he needs and God would test them in this, to see whether they will follow His instructions.  

So what were the instructions?

Firstly, God instructed them to gather an omer for each person they had in their household and they were not to leave the food overnight. Guess what? Some of them did not listen to the instruction, some gathered more and left the omer over night. Something terrible happened in the morning; when they looked, the food was full of maggots and had a terrible odour.

The second instruction came that on the sixth day, as the seventh day was going to be a day of rest, the Israelites were to gather what they would need for two days and they should keep what was left for the next day. Now, remember that for the first six days, God told them not to keep the food until the next day and when they didn't listen to the instruction, the whole food ended up with maggots? God is indeed a God of principles and order. 

Back to the second instruction, God now told them to keep the food until the next day. Guess what?  When they checked the food the next morning, the food was wholesome and good, without maggots or odour.  Do you know why? Because they kept to the instruction to the letter.

Are you thinking that it may have been wise for the Israelites to gather extra food and save it when the first instruction was given? A lesson God wants us to learn from this is that while we are spending and planning smartly, God wants us to trust Him with our needs both now and in the future. He also wants us to be guided by Him when it comes to our spending. 

Let me tell you another story that I recently read...

"An elderly couple was looking for a piece of property in a neighbourhood dotted with brand-new, expensive homes. Through careful planning and spending, the elderly couple had paid off their first home and put their children through university. Now they wanted to build their dream home in which to retire.

As they drove around the neighbourhood, the husband was impressed with the number of young families living in the neighbourhood. He noticed they all had nice expensive cars. He was curious because the local economy was suffering. He asked the estate agent that was showing them around: 'How can these young people afford such nice houses and cars?'

The estate agent responded: 'Many of them can't, they live on debts and loans, they are funding their lifestyle through loans, debts and credit cards. A lot of them grew up in nice homes and with nice cars, they think they deserve everything their parents have even though their parents worked for years to get those things.'"

The question for you this morning is, are you living and spending within your means? While it's okay to borrow for necessities, you should always pay for luxuries.

• Work hard, spend within your means, pay cash for your items, if you can't afford some things that are not necessities, it clearly means you do not need those items at this present time
• Be clear about your wants and your needs
• Also, understand that God's blessings aren't necessarily monetary
• Don't be in a hurry to accumulate unnecessary things in debts and loans
• Recognise that there's a time for everything. You may not own that brand new car and brand new house at the same time with everyone else
• Be aware of peer pressure and society pressure. Some may question why you are living in a particular house or driving a particular car and you may end up putting pressure on yourself to accumulate debts that are unnecessary.

Finally, remember that the borrower is always a servant to the lender. A borrower cannot rule over the rich (Proverbs 22:7). 

The charge for you this week is to spend and live within your means. Avoid spending on credit.

Have a lovely week! Sage will be writing for the next three weeks. Make sure you watch out for his write-ups.

Mysses Lafunky