Page 5 - Managing Your Resources - Student Syllabus - short combined

hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to
be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

I Timothy 6: 6-10 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world,
and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9
Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires
that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some
people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Don’t forget that God’s role is to be our ultimate provider, and we must seek HIM first and be persistent
in prayer and obedience to His will. Be persistent in serving Him, allow Him to provide, and be humble
in receiving His blessings.

We will spend some more time on learning how to be content later in this course….

2. Place God first in Your Giving. Here is how God has designed it: Even if you do not have
much, give. God made a promise to us to bless us in proportion to our faithfulness in giving
(II Cor. 9: 6, 8, 10) We are to give with a cheerful attitude. Dr. Mun said, “God does NOT
need your money, but he wants your HEART, your love, and your obedience. Giving proves to
Him that he has control of YOU.” We will take quite a bit of time later to look into giving.

3. Budget the use of what God gives you. Through prayer and godly wisdom, PLAN
how to use what God has given you in a careful and systematic way. Know your assets,
income, expenses, and debt. Did you know that in the US, 64% of all marriages ARGUE
about finances, and 50% of all divorces are a result of financial issues?

Proverbs 27:23-24 Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention
to your herds; 24 for riches do not endure forever, and a crown is not secure for all
generations.

Plan your spending based on your income. Set financial goals. Live within your means. When God gives
you money, avoid the impulse to spend it right away. Create a budget (plan) and stick with it. We will
learn how to do this in the next few days….

Proverbs 21:5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

4. You have to WORK at it. Success does not simply happen by doing nothing. You must
seek God’s plan and pursue it. Be committed to serving the Lord within His direction. God
will bless your efforts, not your lack of them.

Psalms 37:4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5. Avoid Debt. Being in debt to another person or a company places you in a position
where you are no longer free to obey the Lord impulsively. You are obligated to the
debt and, in a sense, have a new master. You cannot serve both money and God.
When you obligate yourself to debt and repayment, you give away the freedom you
have to serve the Lord. We have a whole lesson on debt coming soon.

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