We have just come out of the festive season which for many can be known as the spending season. The whole world system has built in our minds an imprint or picture of “The Christmas world” which simply means “a time to spend. Even though we do not have enough we will even take a loan from the bank or a friend just to feel like we are not left out or feel awkward. The truth about the whole world system is that it is simply a deceptive way to make us feel we should ‘shop till we drop’ and make people around us feel that we really love them and care for them by how much we spend on them. No sooner is the Christmas season over with, we are then hit with the January sales with even more temptation to spend what we don’t really have.

I am not against buying and spending as long as it is in accordance to our means. The question arises how have we planned out our spending as children of the God of all wisdom? Let’s not forget that we live in a world where Satan the father of lies rules and he is the meaning of the word deception.

The big question arises about our finances and how we manage our finances as children of the greatest life management entrepreneur ever known. God himself has been known to have a track record of excellent management. We never get too much or too little of the free oxygen we breathe in daily; there is no mistake in the accurate timing for our day and night or inaccuracies to the positioning of the stars or moon in the galaxy. It is therefore clear that the mismanagement of our finances is not a godly approach or part of God’s plan and design for our lives. Ultimately anything that is not of God is of the enemy; the deceiver of Gods people, as the Bible rightly describes him. Often times we associate the devil with well reiterated sins like lying, stealing fornication, murder slander, back biting or anger. However the devil’s overriding purpose is to make us feel dissatisfied or discontent with what we have. This is why the Bible says in Hebrews 13:5a ‘’Let your conduct be without covetousness be content with such things as you have.....” The act of reckless spending puts stress on us as individuals in our day to day life and puts us in an endless mode of questioning God in which we are always querying why are we in constant lack or barely ever having enough when we know that we have not been good stewards of what He has put in our hands. We must adopt the life-style of being content and wise as stated in Phillipians 4:11-13 “I have learnt to be content whatever the circumstance.....I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

As children of God we must develop wisdom in the area of financial management. We must adopt the habit of planning and stick to it. The Bible teaches us not to squander our funds; we are to avoid being extravagant and wasteful. We must learn to deal with the needs and not the wants. The first thing we must do with our income as Christians is to honour God with our tithe, which is the tenth of our income. As stated in Deuteronomy 14:22-29, one-tenth of all our increase that comes to our possession belongs to God. Once the tithe has been taken out then we start planning in accordance to our “needs” and not our wants.

We must itemize our needs in accordance to priority with no distracting excuses. When you spend the money for your needs on your covetous wants, then you starve yourself of the daily peace from the Prince of peace.

Things to do to help monitor/manage your finances:

• Have your funds written out sincerely in the total amount earned as income.
• Take out your tithe first to avoid the temptation of spending it. It is Gods never yours (Deut 14:22-29).
• List your expenses in accordance to your genuine unavoidable priorities: Proverbs: 24:27 ‘’Finish your outdoor work, and get your field ready after that build your house.
• Do not take out loans or credit/store cards, these are called foolish loans. Make early payments to avoid late payment charges if you already hold a credit or store card Proverbs 22:7. Rom 13:8 ‘’Let no debt remain outstanding…’’
• Spend strictly in accordance and within the boundaries of what you have budgeted as your available funds. Carefully check your weekly and monthly expenses then cut off the unnecessary items. God wants us to be careful in planning our spending. Luke 14: 28-30: ‘’Which of you will want to build a tower, will not sit down first to count the cost’’.
• As little as it might seem, keep some money aside in the New Year. Do your best not to enter the New Year broke. Proverbs 21:20: ‘’in the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has.’’
• Do not see your set aside funds as available to spend when you want, but rather see it as a building block Proverbs 13:11 “He who gathers money little by little makes it grow “
• Do not stand as a Guarantor for any loan or money agreement in contract. Being a guarantor simply proves that the person applying for the loan is predictably unable to pay back, hence a guarantor is required. On agreement you are basically inviting the lenders to take your money. Being a guarantor might cost you your hard earned funds. Proverbs 22:26-27: ‘’ Do not be a man who strikes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts, if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you’’
• Be careful not to develop a “keeping up with the Jones’s” mentality , Jesus said a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15 ).

Believe in yourself to do what is right, do not compare your finances with others, but build step by step with what you have in your hands right now to furnish your growth into your tomorrow.

Omon Omobude