Begin With Personal Needs

In Old Testament times, many of the children of Israel were farmers

and shepherds. Thus, some of God’s promised blessings were couched

in farm language. For example, in Proverbs 3:9, 10, God says that if we

are financially faithful to Him, our “barns will be filled with plenty”

(NKJV). It is likely that many Christians don’t have a barn today. So, we

understand that God will bless our work or business if we are willing

to follow and obey Him.

Read Proverbs 27:23–27. How would you interpret “Be diligent to

know the state of your flocks” (NKJV) for Christians living today?

However much the Bible warns against the rich trampling on the

poor, or being greedy with their wealth, Scripture never condemns

wealth or people’s efforts to acquire wealth, provided of course they

don’t do it dishonestly or through oppressing others. In fact, the texts

for today, in Proverbs, indicate that we should be diligent in our finan-

cial affairs in order that we may have enough for ourselves and our

family. “You shall have enough goats’ milk for your food, for the food

of your household, and the nourishment of your maidservants” (Prov.

27:27, NKJV).

How would we rephrase Proverbs 27:27 for today? Maybe we would

suggest, “Review your financial records and determine the state of your

affairs.” Or “Do a balance sheet and understand your debt-to-equity

ratio.” From time to time during your earning years, it would be appro-

priate to review your will or other documents and your present assets

and update them as necessary. Such documents as wills and trusts are

put in place early in the estate-planning process in order to be a pro-

tection against untimely death, or not being able for health reasons to

decide about where your assets should go. The idea is to plan ahead for

what will happen to your possessions once they are no longer yours.

In short, good stewardship of what God has blessed us with doesn’t

deal only with what we have while alive but also with what happens

after we are gone—because, unless the Lord returns in our lifetime, we

will one day be gone while our material possessions, whether a little or

a lot, will remain behind. Hence, it is up to us now to make provisions

so that what we have been blessed with can be a blessing to others and

the furtherance of God’s work.

“For riches are not forever” (Prov. 27:24, NKJV). Why is it impor-

tant to keep this thought before us?