BUDGET BLUES
BY: ALMA BARKMAN
Verse for the day:
1 Chronicles 4:40
Passage for the day:
1 Chronicles 4:24-40
I picked up a newspaper the other day and saw that, according to the latest statistics, our family has just pulled out of the poverty level. I had never realized our financial state of affairs was so poor.
True, the kids are wearing jeans with holes in the knees, but that’s by choice, not necessity. Contrary to popular opinion, I do own two pairs of shoes, but these bedraggled, old bedroom slippers are simply the ultimate in comfort. And that old hat my husband wears is just an excuse. He claims the new styles don’t do him justice.
In spite of what statistics say, we aren’t forced to do without clothes, we enjoy three square meals a day, and the roof over our head is paid for, even if we shingled it ourselves. After starting with less than forty dollars between us, we thought we were sitting very comfortably. Now, twenty years of marriage, four kids, three cats, two houses, and five cars later, the experts tell me we have only been subsisting. I wonder what real living is like?
I realize that for some people in this world, poverty is a stark reality. For others, it’s just a state of mind.
How disturbed should we be if our income falls below the national average, or even below the neighbor’s? there is always the possibility that I am poor because I feel poor, not because I lack necessities.
Rather than striving to obtain a better standard of living by simply making more money, perhaps I need to adjust my attitude toward spending. If we are sincerely willing to try to stay within the amounts God has allotted us, I believe he will honor our efficiency.
Now and then it is wise to go over the budget systematically, bearing in mind Solomon’s wise advice:
Give me neither poverty nor riches,
But give me only my daily bread
(Proverbs 30:8)
Additional Scripture Readings:
Psalm 37:16-17
1 Timothy 6:6-10
BY: ALMA BARKMAN
Verse for the day:
1 Chronicles 4:40
Passage for the day:
1 Chronicles 4:24-40
I picked up a newspaper the other day and saw that, according to the latest statistics, our family has just pulled out of the poverty level. I had never realized our financial state of affairs was so poor.
True, the kids are wearing jeans with holes in the knees, but that’s by choice, not necessity. Contrary to popular opinion, I do own two pairs of shoes, but these bedraggled, old bedroom slippers are simply the ultimate in comfort. And that old hat my husband wears is just an excuse. He claims the new styles don’t do him justice.
In spite of what statistics say, we aren’t forced to do without clothes, we enjoy three square meals a day, and the roof over our head is paid for, even if we shingled it ourselves. After starting with less than forty dollars between us, we thought we were sitting very comfortably. Now, twenty years of marriage, four kids, three cats, two houses, and five cars later, the experts tell me we have only been subsisting. I wonder what real living is like?
I realize that for some people in this world, poverty is a stark reality. For others, it’s just a state of mind.
How disturbed should we be if our income falls below the national average, or even below the neighbor’s? there is always the possibility that I am poor because I feel poor, not because I lack necessities.
Rather than striving to obtain a better standard of living by simply making more money, perhaps I need to adjust my attitude toward spending. If we are sincerely willing to try to stay within the amounts God has allotted us, I believe he will honor our efficiency.
Now and then it is wise to go over the budget systematically, bearing in mind Solomon’s wise advice:
Give me neither poverty nor riches,
But give me only my daily bread
(Proverbs 30:8)
Additional Scripture Readings:
Psalm 37:16-17
1 Timothy 6:6-10
I am so happy you all enjoyed it! It was great meeting you and your family. Hope to see you next week!
ReplyDelete