Gratefulness is Key to Good Stewardship
One of the most powerful things you can do in your walk with God is to start replacing carnal desires with spiritual. I was recently reading about addictions and bad habits. Studies have shown that the easiest and most effective way to overcome a habit or addiction is to replace it with another.
At first glance, that seems a horrible bit of advice; however, the author of the article suggested replacing nicotene addiction with a love for exercise or the habit of negativity with meditation. While these activities can be good for the body and, indeed, for the mind and one's stress levels (even the Bible says that bodily exercise profiteth a little), how much greater a deliverance will be enjoy if we replace carnal addiction with spiritual addiction?
Indeed it will work for harmful, even illegal addictions, but it will also work for those within the church.
Having a hard day or facing a trial? Instead of reaching for your smartphone and searching Google for an answer, perusing through pages and pages of comments and opinions to find an answer, what would happen if our first move was to hit our knees and consult God...first.
Needing encouragement or a pick me up? Instead of shopping for things that will be relegated to next summer's garage sale, what would happen if we began worshiping God for our blessings? What if we allowed a spirit of gratitude to lift our spirits, to help us see how wonderful living for God truly is?
The debt load of most Americans has reached an alarming state. Just the other day, I spoke with a woman who makes roughly $87 per hour and cannot afford to put food on the table for her children. She works over 80 hours per week at two jobs. This highly educated and accomplished woman is a slave to debt, debt created by reaching for her shopping app to fill the void.
Let's do just a bit of math here. If she had wisely invested the funds earned from 80 hours/week at that rate for 15 years, she would be a millionaire. The amount of income she has receive totals over 5 million dollars and yet today...
Debt can steal your joy. It can take your dreams and place them truly out of sight. I've known people to backslide...over debt. Bitterness takes hold as they see others prosper. Sadly, they become jealous of those whose income is far less than their own who have been wiser in their stewardship. It's a sad reason to lose your salvation and to determine to hate the entire world.
For the dear, precious saints I'll someday join in heaven, please check out this article. I loved it from beginning to end and have been working to apply its principles in my own life. God bless!
http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/
At first glance, that seems a horrible bit of advice; however, the author of the article suggested replacing nicotene addiction with a love for exercise or the habit of negativity with meditation. While these activities can be good for the body and, indeed, for the mind and one's stress levels (even the Bible says that bodily exercise profiteth a little), how much greater a deliverance will be enjoy if we replace carnal addiction with spiritual addiction?
Indeed it will work for harmful, even illegal addictions, but it will also work for those within the church.
Having a hard day or facing a trial? Instead of reaching for your smartphone and searching Google for an answer, perusing through pages and pages of comments and opinions to find an answer, what would happen if our first move was to hit our knees and consult God...first.
Needing encouragement or a pick me up? Instead of shopping for things that will be relegated to next summer's garage sale, what would happen if we began worshiping God for our blessings? What if we allowed a spirit of gratitude to lift our spirits, to help us see how wonderful living for God truly is?
The debt load of most Americans has reached an alarming state. Just the other day, I spoke with a woman who makes roughly $87 per hour and cannot afford to put food on the table for her children. She works over 80 hours per week at two jobs. This highly educated and accomplished woman is a slave to debt, debt created by reaching for her shopping app to fill the void.
Let's do just a bit of math here. If she had wisely invested the funds earned from 80 hours/week at that rate for 15 years, she would be a millionaire. The amount of income she has receive totals over 5 million dollars and yet today...
Debt can steal your joy. It can take your dreams and place them truly out of sight. I've known people to backslide...over debt. Bitterness takes hold as they see others prosper. Sadly, they become jealous of those whose income is far less than their own who have been wiser in their stewardship. It's a sad reason to lose your salvation and to determine to hate the entire world.
For the dear, precious saints I'll someday join in heaven, please check out this article. I loved it from beginning to end and have been working to apply its principles in my own life. God bless!
http://momastery.com/blog/2014/08/11/give-liberty-give-debt/
