If you are concerned about prosperity, then you can't ignore the benefits of saving money. As Christians, if we are not making enough effort towards saving our hard earned money,then now is the time to change that habit. To understand savings means to understand abundance and scarcity.It also means understanding time itself.
Time is essential because it's role is to regulate life. And the one book in the scripture that talks of the role of time is found in the third chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes. In chapter 3 vs 1 we are told;
"To every thing there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the heaven.!
This verse is significant because it makes us understand that time is a regulator of all of life's activities. It regulates the seasons so that we have spring, summer, autumn and winter. It regulates the day so that we have day time and night time.And while it does more,it also regulates the flow of goodness.
The flow of goodness can be best described as a time of abundance and prosperity.It is a
period in life when things are extremely favorable such that there is no shortage of necessities. It is a time of plenty and there is no lack. So businesses are doing well,commerce is booming and people are generally content with life.
One thing about this period of abundance is that some people have the erroneous belief that it will last for a long time.So most people while they are making money, are also spending it unwisely because they believe that the supply of abundance will not diminish.
But this is not always the case.There suddenly comes a time when the abundance diminishes giving way to a period of shortage and eventually scarcity. When this period comes, most people are not prepared to face it.
The book of Genesis chapter 41 tells the story of a dream which Pharoah, king of Egypt had. This dream bothered him so much that he decided to find out the meaning of the dream. In the dream
he found himself standing by the river. In Genesis 41 vs 1-7 we learn that,
1 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that
Pharaoh dreamed:and, behold, he stood by the river.
2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven well
favoured kine and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.
3 And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of
the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the
other kine upon the brink of the river.
4 And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the
seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 And he slept and dreamed the second time: and, behold,
seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.
6 And, behold, seven thin ears and blasted with the east wind
sprung up after them.
7 And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ear.
And Pharaoh awoke, and, behold, it was a dream.
Being so troubled by the dream, the scripture says he called all the magicians and the wise men of Egypt to interprete the dreams for him but they couldn't. He was furious and sent them away. Then his chief butler told him about Joseph and how he Joseph had interpreted his own dreams for him while they were in prison together.
Pharoah quickly sent for Joseph to be released from prison to interprete the dream for him. In Genesis 41 vs 29-30 Joseph gives the interpretation;
29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt:
30 And there shall arise after them seven years of famine;
and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt;
and the famine shall consume the land;
The dream foretold seven years of abundance which was to be followed by seven years of famine. Abundance when it comes covers a period of time.This period while it lasts, brings contentment.But then it almost always gives way to a period in which the abundance diminishes. Pharoah's dream was clear about this. But Joseph had found the solution and shared it with Pharaoh. Here is what Joseph says;
33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise and
set him over the land of Egypt.
34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over
the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in
the seven plenteous years.
35 And let them gather all the food of those good years that come
and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh,and let them keep
food in the cities.
36 And that food shall be for store to the land against the
seven years of famine,which shall be in the land of Egypt;
that the land perish not through the famine.
Joseph's solution was simple.It was necessary to exploit the 7 years of abundance to gather into barns as much food as possible so that during the seven years of famine there would be enough food in all the land of Egypt.
A time of abundance is a favorable time. It is a time when good things abound everywhere such that people are not afraid of the future, but look to it with great optimism. And it is a time to make good on saving money. The good times always comes and goes.When it comes and goes it almost always leaves most people regretting why they didn't do what they planned on doing.
Joseph made Pharoah to understand that the only way he Pharaoh could avoid famine in the land of Egypt was to make use of the seven years of abundance. And that is exactly what Pharoah did.
Favourable times comes for everyone.It is that period when things are just going in the right direction for us, be it in our jobs or business concerns.It is that period of time in which you and I can do more to improve our life because, as a paid job worker, you are asked to put in more time which means more money.
As a business owner, your clients are making more orders than before and this means more profits.So this period must be used to "bring into the barn more of the grains." Understanding this will save you from an uncertain future as the future is most certainly an unpredictable event.
If by using the favorable period we are able to make more money and also save more money, then we can hope for a future with little or no financial worries. For the Christian who intends to build a strong financial future the Genesis story could be the best resource in understanding about savings and its relation to abundance and scarcity.
The Christian must always live in abundance but should understand the times when they are favorable and when they are less favorable and take then necessary steps to ensure that even in times of lack, there is always enough to live by.
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