Jan 24

Proverbs 21:5
5Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.

A budget is simply a plan. It's telling your money where you want it to go, rather than wondering where it went. And the problem many of us have today is that we don't know where our money is going because we don't have a budget.

But, if you want to get out of debt, you have to nip it in the budget. Do you remember Barney Fife, from Mayberry? He used to say, "Nip it, nip it, nip it in the bud." We need to nip it in the budget.

Notice today's verse says, "Plan carefully." That means budgeting; a budget is simply planned spending. Planning carefully means you say, "This is what we're going to spend next year, next month," and by doing that, the Bible says, "You will have plenty." It's a promise of God.

On the other hand, "If you act too quickly you will never have enough." This refers to what advertisers and marketers and retailers call impulse buying. You know what impulse buying is? Have you ever gone into a store and you didn't plan to buy something, but you bought it on an impulse. You didn't think about the purchase; it was totally emotionally-based. You saw it, you wanted it, you bought it.

And if you act too quickly -- impulse buying, plus no budget, equals financial disaster. Have you ever bought something without thinking and later regretted it? Most of us have! And that's why you've got to have a plan.

Personally for me, when emotions get involved in making decisions, things don't go the way you want them to with a sane perspective.
That being said, it's very easy to impulse, especially when it involves money.
God tells us these verses of wisdom to keep us safe, just take it as if we're newborn children without a clue in the world.
It's for OUR greater sake and sometimes we might fall short into realizing that.
Brings me back to the verse that I shared earlier, being slow to speak, quick to listen.
Monitoring our decisions beforehand to ensure anything won't fall out of the ordinary.

i think the main message of today's devo is how we should think before we do something. Think about the future, what will happen if you do this or that. Think about all the consequences before commiting to a action whatever it may be. If we do something dumb just because we have a emotional adreinaline rush and than regret it later, thats not good.

Always think before you commit to an action rather than commiting an action, than thinking after

What I got from this is that we must know our priorities and make the right decisions.
When I make choices, I usually think about that will happen now, not about the long-term effects.
The way we plan for our life in heaven is by building up our life with God and others here. When we are distracted, we tend to go a little off track and slow down in our development in faith. That is also why we must be wise and constantly meditate.
Like new years resolutions, they're so easy to break once we start to slow down. That's when inconsistency builds up.
Stay strong and disciplined!

~Audrey~