Fri.7.3.15...Money Matters and The Law of the Storm...Prov.28:15-28

Happy Independence Day tomorrow! As we think about independence, I'm reminded of how many people are seeking financial independence. Others seem happy to be dependent on family members or the government to take care of them. Proverbs has a lot to say about our finances and reminds us that we need to remain dependent upon the Lord, through our financial ups and downs. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Even our currency reminds us of this- "In God We Trust." Our passage in Proverbs today also reminds us that "He who trusts in himself is a fool" Prov.28:26.  Another verse in our passage says that "He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor" 28:8. Yet another says, "A stingy man is eager to get rich and is unaware that poverty awaits him" 28:22.

With all that Proverbs has to say about money matters, I need to remind you that it is a book of maxims designed to make you thirst for the God of wisdom, not make you rich. Otherwise, it's easy to get the idea that if I would just be generous, I would become very prosperous. "A generous man will prosper" 11:25. Here's another example of such, "Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing. And your vats will brim over with new wine" 3:9-10. O that we would seek first and foremost to grow the wealth of our character, caring relationships, communion with Christ, and kingdom contributions.  

Don't get me wrong; there's plenty of good, financial advice in Proverbs. Most of it is common sense advice which you already know, such as work hard, don't cheat to get ahead, save for the future, stay out of bad debt, don't pursue wild speculations, give generously to the Lord and the needy. But I want to dig out a principle in Proverbs that often gets ignored by the Christian book writers on finances. Here it is- "A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away" 13:23. For that matter, injustice can sweep away a wealthy man's hard earned money also. Proverbs often stresses the law of the farm, that if you work hard, you can get ahead. But that proverb reminds us that "the law of the storm" can sweep away all of a farmer's hard work. "Injustice sweeps it away." Powerful storms can destroy big trees, big cars and big dreams.  

Let's give modern day examples of such injustices. You worked hard to get through a specialized training institute, only to find out that the organization was a scam, with no job opportunities as promised. James Schmidt experienced that. You worked faithfully for a company for over 30 years, but now that you're ready to retire, you discover that your pension was squandered. You are one of the best workers in the company, but you just found out that the company is going out of business. You carefully diversified your money in mutual funds, as you were advised by the experts, but the stock market bubble burst and all your life's savings were decimated. (That happened to me in my mid 20's; fortunately, I didn't have much to lose.) You were safely driving when an uninsured driver hit you, and now your huge medical bills are forcing you into bankruptcy. You heard that a wise investment was to buy a two flat and rent it out, but your tenants have not paid you in months and have worn down the place. You went with a private placement that only the well informed know about, promising rich returns, but the representative absconded with your money. (That happened early in my marriage to the tune of $20,000. I wasn't trying to be greedy, but wise. It was legit, but the rep wasn't.) You bought a fixer upper just before the housing market bubble burst and now you're under water with the home. You started a small business, but it failed, losing your money and that of loved ones. (Been there too, with lots of tears.) You invested lots of money in a new business venture you carefully investigated, but you ended up losing big time when it was shut down by the SEC. (Been there also with many more tears.) 

What is the lesson here? (Don't invest where Dave is investing!:) Maybe so, but also know that despite all your prayers, due diligence, hard work and wise advice, the law of the storm still prevails. It's not fair, but the storm doesn't care. It would be nice to think that the Lord will nudge you away from such financial mistakes, but that is just magical thinking. (I know believers who think like that.) It storms on both the just and the unjust. Bottom line, trust in the Lord with all your heart, especially when you go through such storms. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world" John 16:33. "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21.

1.- The law of the storm affects everyone. You may never know if the person you're talking to is going through a storm that has them seeking for help and hope. (Or perhaps they soon will be in a storm.)We know that Christ is our rock and shelter in the time of storm. We also know that the greatest storm is yet to come to every person- death and judgment. That's why it's crucial that we are taking opportunities as we talk with people to pass on good news. We can do that so easily now with the greatestminimovies.com cards or by sending unsaved friends and family members the link to it. Please watch another one of its videos and share it's name and briefly what it was about. 

Here's what Nic P. shared a week ago on the blog about reching out: "I invited one of my students to New Life. Her name is Ronita. She is in her 50's and recently lost her husband to cancer. I gave her one of the mini movie cards and she said she had a lot of questions and is going to watch the videos on her break time at work. Those cards are great. They are non threatening and almost everyone likes watching videos. It's a great way to give out the gospel especially if you struggle with timidity."

2.- Read Prov.28:15-28 and pick out a verse and share some of your thoughts regarding it. As always, write in on your MP3 card and look for opportunities to share it.

3.- Optional: Misery loves company. If you've gone through a storm of any kind, where life just didn't seem fair, please feel free to share.

Hope you have a great Independence Day and it doesn't storm. :)

PS- Please help me and yourself out. Go directly from here to the scoreboard and update your scores. I need to tally all the results for Monday's blog totals and honors. Thanks!