Proverbs 6:6-8 – Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise. It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in the summer and gathers its food at harvest.

When it comes to our personal finances, we are like the ant, in that we have no commander, overseer or ruler to tell us to store up for the winter, and because of that, unlike the ant, most of us don't. I have found that one of the biggest reasons why many budgets fail is that we forget to budget for the "winter", those yearly, intermittent bills like Christmas and the annual house or car insurance. Jesus taught us, "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'" (Luke 14:28) This means we need to know where the funds are going to come from to complete the roof, while we are still building the foundation. So, this month, we need to be making allowances for all of our upcoming intermittent bills, even the ones that aren't due for a while. I can guarantee that the insurance company won't forget to send out that annual house or car insurance bill and we shouldn't forget to save for it. Then when "winter" comes we won't end up struggling financially. With no commander to force us to store up, the onus falls on us to do it. If we follow the ant's example and store up for the winter, we will rule over our bills, but if we don't, our bills will rule over us.

Prayer: Lord, enable us to face our financial situation squarely, and to plan ahead, so that those who do not believe will have less opportunity to ridicule those who do believe in You. Amen.

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About the author:

Garth McFadden <garth@rivercom.ca>
Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada
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