Lesson Five

“The Necessity To Spend Wisely”

“And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”       (Luke 15:13)

 

Jesus told the parable of a man who had two sons: one stayed at home, the other desired to leave with his inheritance to go into a far country. He wound up spending all he had on immoral and ungodly activities and pleasures. As a result: he came to be in want, he lost his companions, his self-respect, and his hope…..until he came to himself. This young man could have used a good study session on how to use money wisely, as well as how to choose his companions.

The wise man in the book of Proverbs states that the foolish person devours all his living, but the wise are able to save some (Proverbs 21:20 ). He also adds this observation, that those who will remain poor are those who love pleasures, wine, and expensive foods (Proverbs 21:17 ). Then again he adds: A lazy person and a waster are identified as one (Proverbs 18:9).

One of the most obvious basic requirements of successful money management is the need to control our spending and do it intelligently, wisely, and Scripturally. To do so will help to assure financial success as well as Spiritual success! If we do not properly control our spending, there is no way that we can give an acceptable accounting to God in the day of Judgment. And it might be added also, that God is not glorified by man’s foolish use of what has been entrusted to him (1 Corinthians 6:20 ; 10:31 ). And in addition to the above, he will be plagued by debt and lack of financial success!

SHOWING WISDOM IN THE USE OF MONEY

The necessity of recognizing our stewardship before God will definitely help us to learn to spend wisely. We are not owners, but managers! We will give an accounting of our use of what has been intrusted to us (Luke 12:42 ; 16:10 -12; 1 Corinthians 4:2). Misuse will bring punishment (Luke 12:45-46; 16:1-2). Thus, we need to be wise and faithful stewards before God! Our efforts, actions, decisions are made to please Him and to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31 ).

 

One needs also learn to buy wisely (Proverbs 23:23 ). The wise man’s admonition to buy the truth illustrates the wisdom in what is being purchased! In order to show wisdom in purchasing, one needs to constantly evaluate his spending. Is he recognizing his stewardship in the way he spends money? Is he wasting money by going on a spending spree?

Wise use of money is possible only when one learns to be frugal in the use of what he already has. Questions need to be asked: “Do I need this?”; “Will something else that cost less do just as good?”; “Is it priced right?”. Improper use and abuse of what one has is wasteful and not good stewardship. One must learn to take care of things so they will last. We need to get the most use out of an object that we can. It is necessary to develop sales resistance, to watch and compare prices, to avoid debt at all cost, and concentrate on our needs, not our wants. It has been said that debts made for luxuries are a loss. What is not needed is too expensive at any price. And one of the hardest things to do is not to increase spending when one gets a salary increase.

 

A very important concept that helps to control spending is to “live within one's means.” The “Pay as you go” principle has great merit. It requires that a person spend no more than he can afford or have the money to pay for.

 

Proper use of money is to take care of one's needs (Ephesians 5:29 ), the family’s needs(1 Timothy 5:8), the needs of the Cause of Christ(1 Corinthians 16:1-2), and the needs of those about me (James 1:27 ; Galatians 6:10 ). But wise stewardship can also include careful planning in the use of what I might leave behind                     (2 Corinthians 12:14 ). It is normal for parents to want to leave something to their children. But in some instances it may not be a wise use of what has been intrusted to us (Ecclesiastes 2:21 ). Wise stewardship means wise disbursement of my possessions even after death! Another view of this concept can be seen when a man dies suddenly and has made no provisions to care for his family left behind…..causing them to be cared for by the state or by others that are related to him. Leaving money for good causes so that it will keep doing good is wise stewardship.

FOUR CONCEPTS TO HELP CONTROL SPENDING

1.     Find Contentment. Philippians 4:11 admonishes Christians to learn to be content with what they have. Get out from under the concept of depending on money for one’s happiness. If such is done, it will change one's whole value system (Matthew 6:19 -20). It will rid our lives of worry over money or the lack of it. We can then enjoy what we do have which will prevent us from being discontent over what we do not have (1 Corinthians 6:6).

2.     Make our life count for God. Romans 12:1 admonishes Christians to be living sacrifices to God. It is the giving of ourselves in service to God by serving others! When we give to or serve them, we are giving to or serving God (Matthew 25:35-40). Serving God and others gives purpose and meaning to our lives. Blessings come when we live as He commands (James 1:25 ). To work hard, to live honorably, and reach out to others is making our lives count for God!

3.     Choose God for our Master, not Mammon! Man is given the choice of which is to be his master “God or Mammon.”(Matthew 6:24). We make the choice! But Jesus has shown us why we should make God our master and mammon our servant. The dangers of wealth are real (1 Timothy 6:9-10). Covetousness, Greed, or hoarding of money is evil idolatry, (Colossians 3:5) and dangerous to our soul (Luke 18:23 ; 12:13 -21). The wrong outlook

about money can lead to arrogance and false independence (Proverbs 28:11; Ecclesiastes 10:19 ; Revelations 3:17; Luke 7:36-50). It can cause us to become insensitive to the needs of others about us (Jeremiah 5:27-28; Amos 6:1-6; Luke 16:19-31). It can make us unfruitful and spiritually dead (Matthew 13:22 ). We need to determine priorities, what is truly valuable, so that we can keep a proper view of money and thereby make proper use of it.

4.     Let Mammon be our servant! Money becomes our master when we:               (1) Make money an end in itself (1 Timothy 6:10; Matthew 16:26; 1 Timothy 6:19-20); (2) When we are willing to acquire it in the wrong way (Ephesians 4:28); (3) When we idolize wealth (Colossians 3:5); (4) When we want to horde it for ourselves (Luke 12:13-21); (5) When we think that life consists in the abundance of what we possess (Luke 12:15); (6) When we let possessions make us high-minded (1 Timothy 6:17); (7) When we are willing to trade possessions for our souls (Matthew 16:26); (8) When we allow the getting of possessions to choke out the word from our hearts that we become unfruitful in spiritual things (Matthew 13:22); (9) When we become insensitive to the needs of those about us (Jeremiah 3:17; 5:26-31). All of these tend to show that we have made mammon our Master not our servant! God intended that money be our servant because of the good it can do (Luke 8:1-3; 19:1-10; Romans 15:26-27;           1 Corinthians 9:11-14; Philippians 4:10, 18; Titus 3:8; Matthew 6:20). But using money as a servant can bring many blessings: (1) The joy of using it well (Acts 20:35); (2) The knowledge that we are maturing (being like Christ)(1 Peter 2:21); (3) It increases our capacity for continued giving (2 Corinthians 9:8-11); (4) It will bring material blessings in various forms (Luke 6:38; Matthew 6:33); (5) It is the way of laying up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20).

CONCLUSION

A positive cash flow margin is necessary if we are to accomplish our basic financial goals, much less our long range goals. But wise spending is a “must” if we are to have a positive cash flow margin. There are several areas in which one can increase his cash flow margin: (1) By cutting living expenses; (2) Reducing & paying off minor debts; (3) Reducing taxes; (4) Restructuring his investments; (5) By increasing his income. Every dollar saved can go directly into a savings program to reach our financial goals.

Homework

The following questions have been designed to not only survey the concepts in this lesson, but as well, to hopefully challenge us to do some thinking. Additional questions will come up during the classroom discussion as well.

TRUE FALSE

Q1. God calls the person who devours all he makes a fool (Proverbs 21:20). True False


Q2. God is pleased with us even though we waste the money He has entrusted to us (1 Corinthians 4:2). True False

Q3. Contentment causes one to stay poor (Philippians 4:11). True False

Q4. When we serve others, we also serve God (Matthew 25:35-40). True False

Q5. Mammon is my master when I am covetous (Colossians 3:5). True False

Q6. A positive cash flow margin is when I have money left over after taking care of all special and living expenses each month. True False

Q7. 'Pay as you go' is not possible in our society today? True False

Q8. Making a Will is a wise use of money (1 Corinthians 4:2). True False


Q9. Trying to spend wisely can cause me to worry about money (Matthew 6:33). True False

Q10. I have begun curtailing my spending as I should. True False

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