Financial Ethic #4 part 2: What’s the Point of Saving?

I made the confession in the last post that I am not a natural saver.  However, over the years I’ve learned that there’s so much benefit in being a saver that I never want to go back to the empty-wallet person I used to be! 

Now don’t get me wrong, I didn’t have an empty wallet because of a low income.  I’ve made a fairly decent living for as long as I can remember.  I had an empty wallet because every dollar I earned got spent.  The closest I came to saving was setting money aside to buy some expensive consumable item. But if something else sparked my interest in the meantime, the money got spent on that, and I forgot about the thing I was saving to buy.

So I’m writing this post from the perspective of someone who needed some convincing herself.  And my hope is that, as we examine the reasons the Bible gives us for saving, you’ll be convinced enough to do it, too!

Financial Ethic #4 states:  “We will save a portion of our incomes for future difficulties.” ^[1]   

So what’s the point of saving?

1.  Saving makes your money grow.

“Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11).

 The term “dishonest” here actually refers to money that has no meaningful purpose. So if you read the verse from that perspective, it is warning you not to have money just for the sake of having it, nor to save it just for the sake of stockpiling it.  You need to (prayerfully) determine a meaningful purpose for all of your resources, or they will “dwindle away”. 

But this verse also encourages you that it isn’t necessary to have oodles of excess money before you can start saving.  Having a small amount that you commit to setting aside is the best place to start.  What I also find interesting is that where the verse says “makes it grow” it actually means “multiplies”.  I have personally observed that money which is being set aside for specific purposes does seem to grow really fast!

2.  Saving is a wise financial discipline.

“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” (Proverbs 21:20).

You know who “the wise” are.  There was probably someone who came to mind immediately when you read this verse.  But I want you to know that God intends for “the wise” to be you!  How can it be you? Well for starters, by understanding the foolish man, and deciding not to be like him.

The foolish man is short-sighted.  Therefore, the focus of his finances is what he wants now, not what’s down the road.  The foolish man is also wasteful.  He has no real motivation to try to be frugal or conservative with his spending because he isn’t really concerned about having anything leftover.  And the foolish man is undisciplined.  Money just seems to flow through his fingers like water.  The foolish man, much like me many years ago, has cool things, but an empty wallet and no safety-net. 

But the wise man understands the importance of not burning through every dime he gets.  His cupboard is almost never empty, and he’s willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to keep it that way.

3.  Saving enables you to have what you need when you need it.

 “Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise:  Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (Proverbs 30:24-25).

Ants set an example for us not just because they are savers, but because of the relative difficulty that saving is for them.  The verse says they are “creatures of little strength”.  So it takes some extra planning and effort for them to pull off the task of accumulating food.  But they don’t use that difficulty as an excuse not to do it.  And as a result, they have what they need when they need it. 

Can I make a prediction? Winter is coming.  And you’ll need food and shelter then just as much as you need it now.   So what are you going to do about it? 

I’ll tell you what I did about it: I got wise!  I allowed God to make me want to save, and to show me that it’s okay to grow wealth slowly.  I allowed Him to make me alert to when I was making choices that would sabotage my efforts to save.  And I got on the same page with my husband as we prayed about developing the habit of saving together!  Still need convincing?  Meditate on the verses above, and God will make a saver out of you, too!

“Search My Heart, O God…”

• Ask God to give you insight into why He wants you to save, praying

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24).