The Bible and Money: Proverbs 10:4 Diligent Hands Bring Wealth

This week’s Bible and Money focus is on Proverbs 10:4:

“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.” (Proverbs 10:4 NIV)

What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you read Proverbs 10:4?  For me, I think about work or employment, and how if we’re lazy in our work, we’ll become poor, but if we do our work well, we’ll be rewarded with an income.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize there’s more to it than just focusing on being diligent in our work so that we’ll earn a good income.

The other side of the coin, so to speak, is our expenses.  And I believe we can equally be lazy or diligent when it comes to how we spend our money.

You have “lazy hands” if you don’t pay much attention to where your money goes.  Don’t have a plan.  Spend what you make.  Or worse.  Spend more.  And go into debt.  You have “lazy hands” if you don’t keep track of your bills and start to get behind on payments.

But you have “diligent hands” if you set some financial goals. Create a plan to help you achieve those goals. And start taking steps forward.  You have “diligent hands” if you pay attention to where your money goes, do your homework before you buy, and work to limit your lifestyle so you can save as much as you can.

What it boils down to, I think, is this:  Are you active or passive when it comes to money?  Are you paying attention or do you not have a clue?  Do you have a plan or do you just hope?

I’ll be honest.  I’ve lived on hope for a lot of my financial life.  Always hoping I’d make more money next year.  Always hoping the debt would magically go away or that we’d finally have enough money in savings to cover the next “emergency.”

But it wasn’t until my wife and I started making some financial goals, created a simple spending plan, and started paying attention to where our money went, that things began to turn around for us.

In no time we gained a renewed sense of focus. And we felt like we were back on the same team again.

We’re not 100% where we want to be yet, but we’re moving in the right direction. Together.

What about you?  What does this week’s Bible and Money verse say to you?

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