Proverbs 13:11 (NIV)
Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Money is a huge issue in our world. It always has been. It seems even more of an issue today.
- Housing is very expensive.
- Living costs are increasing.
- Wages are low.
The gap between the haves and have-nots is increasing. It’s no longer the rich and the poor, it’s the very rich and the poor. Or as the title of a recent book puts it “The Haves and Have-Yachts”
It seems that no matter how hard one works, one never seems to get ahead.
You have one or two part-time jobs. Or a full-time job and a side-hustle.
- On the one hand, you work really hard for every dollar you earn.
- On the other hand, we are lured by the promise of easy money, of something for nothing.
Two common wisdom sayings compete at just this point.
- On the one hand, it's: "Easy come easy go,"
- and on the other hand, it's: "A penny saved is a penny earned."
Isn't that exactly what today's proverb says?
Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
There is no such thing as easy money.
To one degree or another, this battle wages in all of us. We all want a fail-safe scheme to make easy money. Anyone who has ever bought into a multi-level marketing program likely got in because someone convinced them it was easy money. Every one of them quickly learned that if they were going to make any money, it would take far more labour than their recruiter represented.
There is no such thing as easy money. This proverb gives us three words that capture a fail-safe alternative. Did you see them? Go back and look.
Dishonest money dwindles away,
but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
We had a senior friend who lived on very little. But she always saved. She always had a little extra for missions or for those in need. “Little by little.”
Face it. You are not going to win the lottery, so stop buying tickets. There is no such thing as easy money.
And those three wise little words?
Little by little.
It's the smallest, biggest truth about money.
PRAYER
Our Father, thank you for saying so much about money and how to use it. I want your truth to be my wisdom and not just another proverb on the page. Teach me the grace of little by little. Even more, lead me away from the temptation of treasuring money. You are my treasure. I pray in the name of your Son, Jesus, amen.
PROMPTS
- Why do people buy lottery tickets?
Do we really believe there is no such thing as easy money?
Why or why not? - Am I practicing the wisdom of "little by little"?
Am I always on the hunt for a get-rich-quick scheme?
How might I become more of a little-by-little kind of person?
Where in my life right now could that become actionable?
Comments