Faith Rooted in Grace, Mercy, and Renewal

Since all the above scriptures are true, why am I always short of money? I think the main reason why is stated in Haggai 1:6:

“You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but are not have enough; you drink, but are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put in a bag with holes.”

Our money leaks away. Sew up the holes in our purse or pockets.

When I was a child, I learned to sew when a pocket in my pants got a hole in it. Everything I put in the pocket fell through. Television advertising is designed to get us to spend. It suggests ways to use products and to use them in a wasteful manner. For example, toothpaste commercials always show the brush full of toothpaste when just a dab of toothpaste will do the job. Also, I have found that when you fill the brush, you always drop some into the sink and it is lost. Paper towel companies have you use towels for every little clean-up job, when a cotton cloth would work just fine and last decades before needing to be replaced.

For many years, I worked blue-collar jobs because people thought I was too old. Additionally, I rented out the spare bedrooms in my house. By these two things, I was able to observe people’s behaviours on a daily basis.

Most people waste money. They will gladly pay large sums of money for gourmet coffee, a large cup of ice, and a soft drink. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner come from restaurants. They smoke both legal and illegal substances at great expense. They buy vehicles with no regard for the operating expense, only because they look cool. They will gladly sit in a line for a drive-up window just so they don’t disturb their comfort by walking into the store or bank.

They go shopping not because they need something but because they are bored and want something to do. If you go shopping, you are bound to find something you want. All their credit cards are maxed out, paying at least 25% interest on items they didn’t need but were on sale!

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” If a person doesn’t have a financial vision or goal, there is no reason not to spend. No reason to sacrifice or be inconvenienced. By the end of the week, we are broke with no money left to pay for essential things like rent or utilities. The most deadly phrase is, “But it only costs.” That one phrase will encourage you to spend your way into insolvency.

There is an old saying, “Waste not, want not.” After Jesus fed the 5,000 in John 6:12, He ordered that the food fragments that remained be gathered up so that nothing be lost. If Jesus thinks it is important not to waste, then it must be important.

Years ago, I had a business associate who never ate leftovers. He stated, “Only poor people eat leftovers and I’m not poor.” He and his wife would throw away thousands of dollars of food every year because they didn’t eat leftovers. I eat leftovers all the time because I believe in conserving money. If you waste money on food, then there is no money available for other, more important things.

God gives us resources; we must use them wisely. In both Matthew 25:14–30 and Luke 19:12–26, we are told a parable about servants who are given resources to manage. The amounts given were based upon individual abilities. The people were told to conduct business with the funds. Upon the master’s return, he asked for an accounting of their investments. All but one person were praised for their diligence. The person who was not praised was scolded for their lack of enterprise and initiative.

As Christians, we should take the resources we are given and invest them to make more. We should not waste our talents and resources on frivolous purchases and attempts to outdo the Joneses. The rich get richer because they invest. The poor get poorer because they waste resources by trying to look rich. Fancy cars and clothing don’t appreciate in value; they depreciate in value as soon as they are purchased.

Invest as the Holy Spirit directs.

According to the search engine Google, the average tax refund in 2026 was $3,000. What did you do with your tax refund—go shopping or invest it?