WISDOM FOR LIVING DAILY DEVOTIONAL
JUNE 26, Â 2021
TOPIC: SAVE FOR THE FUTURE
BY T. O. BANSOÂ
“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets” (Proverbs 21:20 The Living Bible).
He was the Head of Department in a higher institution and he was surprised when the departmental secretary informed him that he would be packing to his newly built house at the weekend. In disbelief, he asked, “Where did you get the money?”
He had a higher academic qualification than the secretary and so earned more than him. But his surprise was not really because of the lower salary of the secretary but because he had not built a house despite earning more than him. He seemed to be saying if he couldn’t build a house with a higher salary, how did his secretary do it?
The H.O.D was not envious of his secretary or looking down on him. His secretary was not on trial! Rather, his boss was interrogating himself about where all the money he had earned over the years had gone.
People earn different amounts of money and spend their money on different things. Some people plan their finances even when their income is small and make decisions about how to spend their money. They spend their money on purpose. Others have no plan for their money. They have no budget. They spend their money on just anything and wake up one day to ask where all the money that appeared to be so much had gone. Did they think that money increases as one spends it?
I was discussing recently with two older friends the confession of an ex-international footballer that I read about how he wasted all the money he made playing football, including playing for cubs in London and Spain. He played for top clubs but wasted all his money on expensive cars, trips, and dinners. He didn’t spend his money wisely.
He seemed to have forgotten that he would not continue to be playing for a long number of years from then. Age would catch up with him or injury could stop his career at any time. There have been cases like that. Their career ended abruptly due to a sudden injury.
One of the two persons we were talking, being a sports person, shared stories of footballers that he knew, who, literally, were begging for money some years after their football career abroad, including playing for top clubs, ended. As young people, they mismanaged their opportunities by wasting their money on frivolities. I told him this could be because they didn’t have good advisers.
But he politely disagreed with me. He candidly told me that what these young people who are suddenly earning more money than they ever imagined are guilty of, many older people who should know better because of the experience of life, unfortunately, also waste their money. They never think that no condition is permanent. They never think that the opportunities they have to make the money that is intoxicating them could end.
He said most people don’t listen to honest advice when they suddenly become rich. As he puts it, “It takes the grace of God to be clear-headed or sober.” He never hid the fact that he and some of his colleagues were guilty of the same thing.
I am not excited about how much you are making now. I don’t envy you because of the cars you’re driving, the house you’re living, or the clothes you’re wearing. I am concerned about the quality of life you will live in years to come. If you’re not going to regret tomorrow, you must stop your wasteful spending now. Money doesn’t increase when you spend it; it increases when you invest or save it.
Some people display their fleet of cars even when they can’t drive more than one car at a time. Yet, they are not operating car hire services! Learn to invest your money and save just as you give to God, meet your legitimate family responsibilities, and give to good causes.
Proverbs 21:20 says,  “The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets” (The Living Bible). Are you a wise man or woman? Save. Don’t waste your money on extravagance. The opportunity you have today may not be there tomorrow.
Those who cannot delay gratification but prefers immediate enjoyment can neither save nor invest. Lack of self-denial is evident in them. They cannot deny themselves some of the things they spend their money on – new cars, shoes, bags, dresses, wristwatches, or perfume. They always like acquiring new things. Many times, they buy the things they don’t need, things they can do without. They could go on unnecessary journeys. Just because they have the money, they do whatever they like. They’re no prudent.
Everyone who engages in savings and investment does so not because he has plenty but because he has decided to postpone gratification in order to enjoy tomorrow.  Don’t eat your tomorrow today. Avoid impulsive purchases; don’t buy what you don’t need. Don’t cultivate obsession for new things. Discourage stupid purchases; they put pressure on your finances. Don’t be deceived by adverts to always try new things. New things are not always better. Don’t buy anything to impress anybody or prove a point.
The Bible tells us to learn from the ant. “Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest” (Proverbs 6:6-8 New King James Version). We can learn both diligence and savings from this scripture. It is not wise to say you have faith, therefore, you don’t believe in savings. It simply shows your inability to manage the resources God has given you.
After interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams to him, Joseph told him what to do to prepare for the seven years of famine that would follow the seven years of abundance. “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine” (Genesis 41:34-36 New King James Version).
Save for the future; don’t waste your money today. The wealth you gather little by little will increase (Proverbs 13:11). The money that is squandered is gone. When that happens those who would not listen to the Word of God before or wise advice would begin prayer and fasting, praying for a breakthrough. Save yourself needless pain. Wisdom is profitable to direct. Save.
Learn from the prodigal son. He got his inheritance from his father, not waiting for him to die. To make matters worse, he left for a far country where he squandered everything in riotous living. “Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father” (Proverbs 28:7 King James Version). Thank God his father had not died by the time he returned home empty-handed (Luke 15:11-24).
You could be a young man currently making so much money that nobody in your family has ever made. Don’t be blinded by that and start engaging in reckless spending. Be sober. Don’t join the league of wasteful spenders who soon became poor. Don’t let foolishness take you back to where you started. Maybe you are not a youth but you’re living a prodigal life. Repent. Don’t be an old fool.
John Wesley, in his sermon, “The use of money”, said, “Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.”  Don’t waste your money. Save for the future. save so that you can give too. Give your life to Jesus and be delivered from living a life of vanity.
TAKE ACTION!
If you are not born again, you need to give your life to Jesus now. I urge you to take the following steps: *Admit you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself and repent of your sins. *Confess Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. *Renounce your past way of life – your relationship with the devil and his works. *Invite Jesus into your life. *As a mark of seriousness to mature in the faith, start attending a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church. There they will teach you how to grow in the Kingdom of God.
Kindly say this prayer now: O Lord God, I come unto you today. I know I am a sinner and I cannot save myself. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died on the cross to save me and resurrected the third day. I repent of my sins and confess Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. I surrender my life to Jesus now and invite Him into my heart. By this prayer, I know I am saved. Thank you, Jesus, for saving me and making me a child of God.
I believe you have said this prayer from your heart. Congratulations! You will need to join a Bible-believing and Bible-teaching church in your area where they will teach you how to live your new life in Christ Jesus. I pray that you flourish like the palm tree and grow like the cedar of Lebanon. May you grow into Christ in all things and become all God wants you to be. I will be glad to hear from you. The Lord be with you.
PRAYER POINTS: Father, I thank you for your provision. Help me to be a good steward of the finances you have given me. Let me not be so intoxicated or blind that I will waste my money. I receive wisdom to be clear-headed and sober as you bless me so that I will not be wasteful.
(For over 600 in-depth and powerful messages by T. O. Banso, visit www.cedarministry.org).
T. O. Banso is the President, Cedar Ministry International, Abuja, Nigeria.
Phone No: +2348155744752, +2348033113523
WhatsApp No: +2349081295947
Email: cedarministryintl@yahoo.com,
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