Wellbeing Thought for Wednesday 10th March 2021
Wednesday 10 March
Save and Give
The 18th century preacher John Wesley famously said, “Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can.” Receiving an income helps us to gain financial margin, save wisely and live generously.
“Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.” (Proverbs 13.11)
Sensible saving makes provision for the future. Robert Morris highlights five purposes of saving:
- Emergencies – sometimes called the ‘boiler fund’.
- Needs. Many essential items (shoes, washing machines, cars) wear out, if we want to avoid debt we need to save up.
- The future. Saving for a wedding, retirement or for a time when we will earn less is sensible.
- Wants. There is nothing wrong with buying things you want as long as you don’t go into debt.
- Giving. This may be the most important reason to save (read 1 Timothy 6.17-19). If we don’t have money, we can’t save money!
There are two ‘seas’ in Israel – the Sea of Galilee in the north and the Dead Sea in the south. The difference? The Sea of Galilee has an inflow and an outflow. The Dead Sea has only an inflow – that’s why it is dead. Generosity is the outflow from our lives and a key to our own flourishing. Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” and research back that up. The Bible doesn’t teach we should give to get, instead we get to give, it’s a privilege! But many Christians have experienced that we can never out-give God – there truly is blessing in giving!
> How can you save and give more? Can you start giving regularly to a cause, an organization, a church you support? Be ready to be generous whenever you can (without going into debt!).
