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Day 288 Proverbs 27:23 Proverbs 27:23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. 24 For riches are not forever: and doth the crown endure to every generation? 25 The hay appears, and the tender grass shows itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered. 26 The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field. 27 And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. Nothing in life is certain. Nothing lasts forever. Yet you are to take care of what you have while you have it. Solomon used the word, diligent, to describe how you are to take care of your income. Flocks and herds were income to people of that time. Today you have jobs. You do not need to spin wool for clothes, but you are still to take care of the needs of your household. Your income is to supply food and clothes for your family. A good planner knows the state of his income. He sets up pension and retirement funds, making wise use of what God has given him. He plans for every contingency, and is aware that nothing lasts forever, it could all be gone in a moment. Saving for the future isn’t just for the secular world. It’s for Christians too. For too long I’ve heard that Christians are to plan for eternity and be content with the little they have now. Where in the Bible does it say you are to take vows of poverty? Where in the Bible does it say you are to be poor and eke out a living barely able to manage the needs of your family? Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (KJV) Mark 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s, 30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. (KJV) In this last passage there is the word, and, in the last phrase. You can expect to have wealth as well as eternal life. Yes, there will be persecutions. People will look at your wealth and condemn you and tell you your wealth should be spiritual not physical. That’s not what Jesus said. He said you would receive a hundredfold NOW in this life. There is a difference between what you treasure, and what you give out of a generous heart. Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (KJV) Whatever you put ahead of God will come to nothing. But when you look at what you have as coming from God, your treasure will be in what you do FOR God not for yourself. Jesus followed that passage with the parable about what God will provide for you when you trust him. Matthew 6:25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? 26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are ye not much better than they? 27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? When you put your life in God’s hands, he will bless it and provide everything you need: your income, your home, food, clothes, everything you need. Your wealth isn’t in taking vows of poverty, it’s in trusting God to take care of you even better than you can. Proverbs 3:9 Honor the LORD with thy substance, and with the first fruits of all thine increase: 10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Nothing lasts forever, but when you put your life in God’s hands, he will increase it and give you more than you thought possible. Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (KJV) Let’s pray: Father, help me trust you with my life and give it as a service to you. Help me trust you to give me everything I need for this life, and eternal life when this life is over. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 24 June 2017 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay