Does Your Paycheck Have A Purpose?

We have been talking a lot about work at Columbus Road over the last few weeks.  The scriptures have taught us that we are created by God for work. Genesis 1:28 states, God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 

We receive a reward for work. Sometimes it comes in affirmation or a sense of accomplishment.  I find work to be rewarding when it matches my passions and gifts. Most of the time, we look for the paycheck as the reward for our labor. Money empowers us to leverage resources for the priorities of our life. 

When you receive your next paycheck, challenge your thinking with these five simple principles and then take a moment to evaluate how you meet up.

1. God is not a fan of debt. Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.  If you have debt, what is your plan to retire the debt? It is no fun feeling like a slave. By choosing debt we often choose to place ourselves into slavery.

 2. Contentment is key. I find it hard to go to the mall and remain content. For you it may be the car lot or the furniture store. Some struggle going into a home improvement store without coming out with a cart full of "gems". 1 Timothy 6:8 says, If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. Now there is a verse that could use some consideration. So what stuff are you discontent with?

 3. Start saving. Proverbs 21:20 says, There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man swallows it up. How much money did you save in July? I know that might be a strange question, but when I asked it at a recent men's group meeting, everyone looked at me like I just stepped off of a spaceship. The reality is this: saving money takes discipline. If you did not save anything last month, the chance that you will save something this month is slim to none. 

4. Create a budget and follow it. Luke 14:28-30 says, For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?  Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish. A budget is simply a plan. Plans should be reviewed regularly. If God is the one who has the plan for our lives, it would only be logical that our budgets would reflect His plan.

 5. Work hard, really hard. Proverbs 6:6-8 says, Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer and gathers her provision in the harvest. I love this verse for a couple of reasons. One is that I like visuals. To watch ants work is an incredible thing. They never stop and they work with such purpose. 

So, how is it for you?  Are you working hard with a plan and content with God's provision?