In Need of Financial Wisdom?

By Sharon Fullerton

The book of Proverbs offers great wisdom: The ant is wise because she stores up resources for less abundant times – we must store away out of our income. The word tells us not to spend everything we make – we need to refrain from spending every part of our paycheck.

Look at an ant; let it teach you a thing or two. At harvest it stockpiles provisions.

Proverbs 6:6–7 MSG

In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.

Proverbs 21:20 NIV

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I can testify of this wisdom! A couple of years ago, we took a portion of the money that my husband earned from the sale of our business and put it into a savings account. Financial expert Dave Ramsey suggests keeping about six times the amount of your monthly income in a separate account that is easily accessible.

Recently we had an unexpected tax bill. The amount due was significant. But since we had an emergency fund, we simply transferred the money from savings, wrote the check, and went on with life. What would have happened had we not had money to cover that unexpected bill? Most likely we would have had to scramble or borrow the funds, which would have certainly caused us to worry and be distracted from our current course.

Jesus said that the "rain will fall on the just and the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). John 16:33 says, "in this world, you will have trouble." He was right. Regardless of the level of our faith, we live in a fallen world, and there will be trying times.

Too many times we think that life's answers are mostly "spiritual." But the Bible is full of practical wisdom and guidance on how we should manage our time, our money and ourselves. The less burdened we are by the things of this world, the more we can focus on God's kingdom.

How many times do we show up at Bible study or church with our minds fretting about how to fix this or that particular situation? As women, we need security. I have found that having a healthy savings account—whether it’s just a portion of our income, the suggested six months, or anything in between—takes the edge off of emergencies.

Being ready with resources for life's unexpected happenings can give us peace and confidence. We can be in a position not to be "overcome by fear," avoiding negative emotions because we listened and followed the wisdom found in the God’s Word. And when our own needs are covered, we are in a better position to help others.