Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Self-control”
Our Bible verse for today: “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.” Luke 15:14-15 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “We must control ourselves in how we spend our money.”
We live in a society that is addicted to conspicuous consumption. Not just consumption, but conspicuous consumption. We don’t just consume what we need, but as a nation we consume on a grand scale far beyond what we need.
In the USA we have the highest standard of living that exists anywhere in the world. In terms of adequate housing, abundant food, safe water, quality healthcare, and creature comforts galore, nobody has it as good as we do. But most Americans aren’t satisfied. The average American spends their entire paycheck striving to maintain the highest standard of living possible. Then we seek additional income by both spouses working, or by taking a part-time job, or by starting a home-based business. Then when that still isn’t enough we go deeply into debt – and we’re still not content. We want more and more and more. The love of money and the love of possessions has become an all-consuming obsession in our society.
There are few subjects the Bible teaches more about than money and possessions, and we’re taught there that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). In other words, an obsession with money and possessions will lead us into all sorts of unbiblical behaviors and patterns of living.
In the scene cited above from Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, we read of a young man who squandered his wealth in wild living. I think that describes us as a society too. We squander so much of our wealth on frivolous living. The Bible calls us to live simple and modest lives, using our wealth to help others and to honor God, and to be content with what we have. In the book of Proverbs alone there are more than 100 references to the proper handling of money and possessions.
When it comes to the issue of self-control, most of us need to give much more thought to how we handle our money. The pursuit of increased income and greater numbers of possessions controls us much more than we realize. And, our lives are actually worse off for it, not better.
One of the best resources available in the Christian community today to help Christians get our financial lives in proper (Biblical) order is Dave Ramsey’s “Total Money Makeover”. I recommend it to you. Within a relatively short period of time you can come to the point that you have firm control over your money, rather than your money controlling you.
When we do it God’s way we discover that all of life improves as your financial habits become increasingly driven by Biblical principles rather than by the pressures of an obsessively consumer-oriented society.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 