Financially Content 1

Isaiah 55:2

I grew up believing that my mother was the meanest person in the world. As a child my mother would never buy me toys and candy when she went to the store, no matter how much I whined and cried. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized how poor we had been when I was young.

My mother did not buy me toys and candy because we couldn’t afford toys and candy. Instead, my mother made certain that our income was spent on necessary items – milk, bread, meat, potatoes, vegetables. I was never lavished with luxuries like toys and candy, but I was provided the very healthy and essential foods I needed.

In Isaiah God speaks to His people and invites us to enter into His abundance. What rhetorical question is asked? What is offered?

The Bible addresses many issues about life, including our finances. No matter what your income level is in our society, we all need to be aware of where we are spending our money. We are called not to waste our money on pointless efforts and on useless items. Instead, we should be careful with where we spend.

But beyond money, God encourages us to be aware of where our focus is, and what we value. Why should we invest time, money and effort in things that do nothing for our benefit? Why do we spend time in foolishness and not in spiritual endeavors?

Personal interests, frivolities, fun, entertainment all have their places and are certainly available for our pleasure. But we should not allow them to consume all of our lives. Just as we need to be judicious in where we spend our money, we need to consider where our heart and our thoughts are.

God does not want us to waste money or effort on those things which will not satisfy us or build us up. We are invited instead to enter into the kingdom of God and find the guidance and fulfillment we can find in our heavenly Father.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How much money have you spent this year on things that do not satisfy?