Gulping Down My Resources

March 6, 2019

The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down. Proverbs 21:20

The book of Proverbs has some fabulous word pictures. Many of them bring back my mother’s wisdom in little reminders or corrections she would give us. I remember many times at the dinner table when she would gently chide, “Slow down. Quit gulping your food. You are eating so fast you can’t even taste it. You might even get sick.”

The gulping approach is the spending style that tempts and then defines many people. They see money as a means to immediate gratification. When the paycheck hits their hands, they run out and load up. Little thought is given to God’s kingdom, saving for their own future, or making true progress. This lifestyle is the genesis of the phrase, “living from paycheck to paycheck.” When we first start this way of life, it is rarely because we MUST. But you don’t have to do it more than a few months until it seems to be a necessity because you have no reserves, and urgent needs arise.

This is income tax season, and most of us are getting tax returns of varying sizes. Unfortunately, we tend to look at this as “free money,” forgetting that we worked just as hard to earn it as we did the other money during the year. Tax return season is perhaps the most “gulping” time of the year financially. We have control over an unusual amount of money at one time, and we don’t follow the guideline that leads to health. What will I share with God and others? How much will I save? What is the wise thing to do with some of this to move our goals forward? And of course, we can always use a portion of it for an unexpected treat if we choose. But if you gulp, in the words of my mother, you will be consuming it so fast you won’t even truly enjoy it. When it’s over, you might even feel sick.

• Do you tend to gulp your resources?
• How can you slow down and plan, especially for your unexpected resources?
• God’s wisdom can help you. Check out Financial Peace University. It will slow down the gulping immediately and enjoyably.