LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Maybe you have heard the adage, “Give a person a fish, and feed him for a day: teach a person to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.”  That bit of wisdom has one unstated implication that is very important – the person who is taught to fish needs to take action and catch fish to be fed. Teaching doesn’t feed him. Fishing doesn’t even feed him. Catching feeds him. Any person will starve on good intentions. What we need is production. We need fish in the fry pan.

Today and tomorrow we will compare two passages of Wisdom Scripture. They describe two different people. Both have the same opportunity for success. Both have been provided a means of making a living – one has sheep and the other has grapevines. One will make it, one will not. Why does one succeed and the other fail? There are principles that determine who does and who does not have some degree of financial security. Today, let’s look at the principles of financial security found in Proverbs 27:23-27.

“Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in, the lambs will provide you with clothing, and the goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls.”

Principles for Financial Security

1.      Be diligent to take care of what you already have: make the most of what you have been given. Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds;

2.      Recognize the temporary nature of wealth: without discipline and proper management it will not last. for riches do not endure forever,

3.      Do not assume that past successes guarantee future success without increased knowledge and effort. and a crown is not secure for all generations

4.      Do your work in a timely and energetic way, applying yourself wholeheartedly until the task is completed. When the hay is removed and new growth appears and the grass from the hills is gathered in,

5.      Use your income to provide for your basic needs first. the lambs will provide you with clothing…You will have plenty of goats’ milk to feed you and your family and to nourish your servant girls.

6.      Use your increase to improve your financial security. and the goats with the price of a field.

Let’s all take some quality time today to reflect on our attitudes towards work, and let the Holy Spirit teach us. But don’t stop there. Put it into action! You’ll feed yourself for a lifetime.

Pastor John