Focus 40 - Day 19

Proverbs 22:7

Slave to the Lender

“The rich rules over the poor,                                             
And the borrower is servant to the lender”.

This passage of scripture is clear, the subject is about finances. In the midst of finances we have the opportunity to understand that Christ is Jehovah Jireh, GOD THE PROVIDER. In the book of Genesis 22 Abraham has spent the morning climbing up Mount Moriah with his son Isaac. God had told Abraham to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice unto the Lord. In obedience Abraham followed the direction of the Lord. At the question of his son, “father we have the wood, the fire, but where is the sacrifice”? In heart Abraham knew what the Lord had asked of him, but he responds “the Lord will provide”. Sure enough God came through and provided the lamb that was needed, Jehovah Jireh - God Provider. 

When you sacrifice to give, when you are obedient to what His word says to you about giving, you begin to experience just as Abraham did, that Christ is Jehovah Jireh - your Provider.  

If you could look into my heart it is not my desire to place guilt or condemnation on anyone, but it is my desire for you to experience the Lord as your overwhelming provider. The scripture is full of examples on making and spending money.

1. Budgeting

As Christians, we recognize that everything we have is a gift from God. We are not the owners; we are simply the managers of what He has entrusted to us. Knowing this fact should give us a better perspective on how we handle money. A budget is a great way to make sure we are handling money in the best way.

"But let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner" (1 Corinthians 14:40)

"For God is not a God of confusion" (1 Corinthians 14:33)
"Prepare plans by consultation" (Proverbs 20:18)

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage" (Proverbs 21:5)

"Any enterprise is built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts" (Proverbs 24:3-4, TLB)

2. Contentment
"Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ’I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,’ so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

"If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content" (1 Timothy 6:8)

"Besides You, I desire nothing on earth" (Psalm 73:25)

"But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment" (1 Timothy 6:6)

3. Debt
"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender’s slave" (Proverbs 22:7)

"Let the creditor seize all that he [the wicked] has; and let strangers plunder the product of his hand" (Psalm 109:11)

"Thus says the Lord... ’To whom of My creditors did I sell you? Behold, you were sold for your iniquities’ " (Isaiah 50:1)

"The wicked borrows and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious and gives" (Psalm 37:21)

"Woe to me, my mother, that you have born me as a man of strife and a man of contention to all the land! I have neither lent, nor have men lent money to me, yet every one curses me" (Jeremiah 15:10)

4. Giving
"But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17)

"If I give all my possessions to feed the poor... but do not have love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor. 13:3)

"God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7)

"Go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasures in heaven" (Matthew 19:21)

"If any widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to practice piety in regard to their own family, and to make some return to their parents" (1 Timothy 5:4)

5. Greed
"Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to ...greed, which amounts to idolatry" (Colossians 3:5)

"He said to them, ’Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions’ " (Luke 12:15)

"Besides You, I desire nothing on earth" (Psalm 73:25)

"The greedy man curses and spurns the Lord" (Psalm 10:3-4)

"The treacherous will be caught by their own greed" (Proverbs 11:6)

6. Honesty
"The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick" (Jeremiah 17:9)

"It is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth" (1 John 5:7)

"Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit" (Psalm 34:13)

"A truthful witness saves lives, but he who speaks lies is treacherous" (Proverbs 14:25)

"Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is crooked though he be rich"
(Proverbs 28:6)

7. Idolatry
"You shall not make other gods besides Me; gods of silver or gods of gold, you shall not make for yourselves" (Exodus 20:23)

"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of man’s hands" (Psalm 115:4)

"The idols of the nations are but silver and gold, the work of man’s hands" (Psalm 135:15)

"All of her [Israel] idols will be smashed, all of her earnings will be burned with fire, and all of her images I [the Lord] will make desolate" (Micah 1:7)

"And you [God’s people] will defile your graven images, overlaid with silver, and your molten images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing; and say to them, ’Be gone!’ Then He will give you rain for the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be rich and plenteous; on that day your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture" (Isaiah 30:22-23)

8. Riches
"He [the wicked man] will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure" (Job 15:29)

"Surely every man walks about as a phantom; surely they make an uproar for nothing; he amasses riches, and does not know who will gather them" (Psalm 39:6)

"Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death"
(Proverbs 11:4)

"For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37)

"Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God" (1 Timothy 6:17)

9. Saving and Investing
"But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever" (1 Timothy 5:8)

"A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children" (Proverbs 13:22)

"A servant who acts wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully, and will share in the inheritance among brothers" (Proverbs 17:2)
"The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets"
(Proverbs 21:20, LB)

"Steady plodding bring prosperity" (Proverbs 21:5, LB)

10. Taxes/Tribute
"Wherefore it is necessary to be in subjection (to the government), not only because of wrath, but also for conscience’ sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due" (Romans 13:5-7)

"The king will enrich the man who kills him [Goliath] with great riches... and make his father’s house free in Israel" (1 Samuel 17:25)

"It is not allowed to impose tax, tribute or toll on any of the priests, Levites, singers, doorkeepers, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God" (Ezra 7:24)

"Then the king of Egypt deposed him [Jehoahaz] at Jerusalem, and imposed on the land a fine of one hundred talents of silver and one talent of gold" (2 Chronicles 36:3)

"Mighty kings have ruled over Jerusalem, governing all the provinces beyond the River, and that tribute, custom, and toll were paid to them" (Ezra 4:20)

11. The Poor
"[The wicked] caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, and that He might hear the cry of the afflicted [judgment result]" (Job 34:28)

"A poor man who oppresses the lowly is like a driving rain which leaves no food" (Proverbs 28:3)

"Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people" (Proverbs 28:15)

"He who oppresses the poor to make much for himself or who gives to the rich, will only come to poverty" (Proverbs 22:16)

"The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, the wicked does not understand such concern" (Proverbs 29:7)

12. Work
"Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it" (Genesis 2:15)

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work" (Exodus 20:9)

"Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening" (Psalm 104:23)

"Whether, then, you eat of drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31)

"Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3)

Conclusion
"A good name is to be more desired than great riches, favor is better than silver and gold." Proverbs 22:1 NASB