Up, Close & Personal

“Riches can disappear fast… so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and herds.” Pr. 27:23-24 [LB, emphasis added].

I made up my mind a long time ago that if I do not have something, I do not need it! You might consider that a little hard but the truth with finances is that if you are not a little hard, you are going to go way down the drain. You need to draw the line at some point. I used to do a lot of marriage counseling and I discovered that in a lot of marriages, one party is kept in the dark in one of these four facts – What we Own…Owe…Earn…& Where it goes. Maybe one party does not know how much we own, or how much we owe, or how much we earn, or where it’s all going.

Whenever one party does not know at least one of these four things, you are heading for disaster. Except you have both agreed that how much you earn is not your business. That is a different thing entirely. But you cannot say how much I owe is not your business because when the creditors cannot find the man, they will go after his wife and children [2 Kings 4]. You cannot say where it is all going is not your business, because someone might be spending the money meant for baby food on narcotics. Do you understand what I am saying? You need to sit down with your spouse and discuss these facts.

If you can iron out these four things, if the financial pressure you are feeling in your marriage is at eighty percent, I can assure you it will come down to ten percent [it is on its way out]. I understand that this type of confrontation can be tough. But ultimately your life would be better, in Jesus Name. You need to face these tough tablets and swallow them.

“Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too quickly you will never have enough.” Pr. 21:5 [GN, emphasis added]. What does  it mean to act too quickly? It is impulsive buying. Every advert is channeled at impulsive buying. Buy now, think later. They know that if they can get you to keep going back you would be hooked. Shopping can be an addiction. Once you get addicted, you just go there for your fix. When you are depressed, you go shopping. When you have challenges in your marriage, instead of trying to fix it, you will  go shopping.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing [Ps.143:10], in Jesus Name.