In this week’s sermon, Pastor Matthew continues our series of All You Can and talks about saving! We don’t save because times are rough, or we’re headed to the end of times, or even because resources will be scarce in the future. Instead of being in self-preservation mode, we should look for wisdom. We discussed several Proverbs that talk about money (Proverbs 6:6-8, 10:4-5, 12:11, and 13:11). Proverbs are meant for us to think on and chew on, as they are wisdom for our lives.
We want to save all we can because stewardship is what we are called to do. We don’t own anything! A steward is a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs. We are stewards of all we have, and when it comes to our money, it’s not really ours. Our money isn’t what takes care of us; God does. Saving also helps us not to be frivolous in our spending. Most of us spend money on things we don’t need. It has become very normal for us and what was once a convenience or even a luxury has become a need in our minds (Amazon, Starbucks, YouTube, and more). Having a goal to save can help us reduce our frivolous spending. It can be used as a tool to think through what we are spending before we spend it. Saving also puts us in a position to be generous. It’s fun to give and be generous, but we can’t give what we don’t have. Saving all the money we have puts us in a position to be generous. We save not to preserve ourselves or to live comfortably, but so we can give all we can! Think of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30); the one that buried his talent didn’t make the money work for him (investing), but instead he feared for his life and went into self-preservation mode and buried the talent. The master rebuked him and said, "Whoever does not have, even what they have, will be taken from them." We make our money work for our master. We save so we can make it work for Him.