More Money Lessons from the Bible
This post is 605 words, a 4-minute read. Enjoy!
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
-Philippians 4:11-13
Key word in that passage is “I have learned”.
Contentment is a skill that you LEARN not a natural state of being.
Great lesson for me
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man.
-Proverbs 6:10-11
Don't be lazy
Don’t be complacent.
Don’t only work when someone is watching you. The greatest growth and improvements you will make in your life is usually when no one can see you. It is the things done in secret that tend to lead to the most growth.
I want to be careful in saying this because the US is a workaholic culture AND I will still say it. Rest is important but sometimes we can take it too far. Be mindful not to turn your moments of rest into a lifetime of disappointment.
A feast is made for laughter, wine makes life merry, and money is the answer for everything.
-Ecclesiastes 10:19
As Dan Sullivan once said, “If you have enough money to solve a problem then you don’t have a problem.”
Money turns problems into inconveniences.
I learned this when I finally had an emergency fund. Things that would have caused anxiety became inconveniences that I could shrug my shoulders about.
Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
-Ecclesiastes 11:1-2
You have to take risks in order to build anything. Investing is about taking some level of risk to receive a profitable return, but that return is NEVER GUARANTEED.
Get comfortable with the idea of risk.
Because of this your best bet is to diversify your investments. Don't go all in or a "sure bet".
As Harry Markowitz said, “Diversification is the only free lunch in investing.”
Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
-Ecclesiastes 11:4-5
Stop trying to predict the future and get to work. None of us are God.
Our best bet is to do what we need to do and let the rest take care of itself.
There will always be a reason not to do what we ought to do if we look to everything around us.
We have to get and stay focused on the things we want to accomplish.
The winds of life are not always in our favor, but we have to work with those wings.
Which one stands out to you? Share your thoughts.
Recommendation Section
Johnathan Clements in Advice For The Kids, gives some of the best financial advice for us youngins in bite-sized form that I've ever seen
Morgan Housel in A Few Little Ideas And Short Stories. Provides awesome stories to help us understand the world and think better.
There are hidden costs in almost everything we choose to purchase. Doug and Heather Boneparth have a series covering many of them. The latest topic is on Holidays
A new podcast I am loving is called 50Fires. It is by Carl Richards, a recovering Financial Planner and Advisor. He could help other people with their finances but had a difficult time talking about money with his wife and children. It has quickly become one of my most anticipated podcasts to listen to every week.