Start saving

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber” (vv. 6-11 NLT). The winter season of your life is coming, and you need to be prepared for it. Eighty-five out of one hundred Americans end up with less than $1,000 cash in savings by the time they’re sixty-five. That’s one-third of what residents in Germany save, and one-tenth of what people in Japan save. Any fool can spend money, but it takes a wise person to save some as well. After sitting at his calculator for about three hours and not saying a word, a guy looked up and said to his wife, “Honey, if we continue to save at our present rate, by the time I retire, we’re going to owe $700,000.” The key to getting ahead in life financially is to spend less, save more, and avoid getting ripped off. Instead of saying, “I’m going to start saving someday,” start giving God 10 percent, saving 10 percent, and living off the rest. And one more thought: the word disciple and word discipline sound alike—because they are alike. When you discipline yourself financially, you’re practicing true discipleship, and God will bless you for it.