What are we supposed to learn from money? How can we use it properly? How can it be a benefit to our spiritual growth? A detriment?
Well, first of all, I had a very tough month, financially-speaking. December was a month of hardship and peanut butter sandwiches, but it was also a month of wondrous miracles! Mom and dad forgave my insurance payment, the Kittells offered to fix my car, I found new tires for only $70, my ticket was pushed back until February, and lowered by $50. In short, it was a miraculous month indeed.
I learned so much then about faith. I learned about faith and about living simply and about trust. And I learned, like Nephi, that sometimes you must pray to the Lord to know where to go for sustenance.
Well, He showed me. And now I have nearly $2,000 in the bank, which is a great deal of abundance. (For me.) What lessons now can I learn from изобилие?
Now the struggle will be a constant one to stay humble. Remember the words of Nephi as he reproaches the wicked judges and robbers.
"Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches! And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth." (Helaman 7:26 and 28)
Well, in what ways could pride manifest itself?
I think my biggest fear is succumbing to false security. Relying on my money to get me out of hard situations, instead of on the Lord. Well, if that's the attitude you, you are in for some really, really big trials which your money cannot fix, because Heavenly Father CANNOT allow you to regress spiritually. He will keep on you, because he needs you in tip-top fighting shape for this life.
Another thing will be to be generous in the use of these funds. Plan to give, and give generously. You cannot afford not to. I was prompted to withdraw $20 today and give it away. I will obey.
This is hard for me because it conflicts with the maxim I've been living by. "Live frugally." If I give away twenty dollars at a whim, why bother buying yogurt only when it's 50% off?
If amassing an incredible fortune were your only goal, then you are right, that's an illogical and inefficient way to pursue it .
But what if your goal was to develop a saintly character? Doesn't that sound pretty saintly to you? To live cheaply so that others live well? Doesn't that remind you of Raskolnikov's mother, of Jeffrey R. Holland's parents, of Magwitch, and of Christ himself?
I am Jarom. I buy yogurt 1/2 off so that I have a greater percentage of my income ready to give away and serve others.
Of course, the great hypocrisy here is that I really don't live all that cheaply. I just bought $65 shoes.
When $$$---> Costly Apparel---> Pride--->Fall
So, don't spend it on yourself! Be content. Just be content. О Боже. Give me strength to do that right thing!
But yes, you can afford to be more generous now. You can afford to give away more. And as C.S Lewis said, if your charity isn't hampering us a little bit, we probably aren't giving enough! :)
Being Miserly vs. Being Frugal
I suppose that high-rolling is not acceptable. But neither is being miserly. So, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE MAXIMUM SATISFACTION FROM YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY YOU MUST BE PARADOXICALLY BOTH FRUGAL AND GENEROUS.
:)
And that's what I really want. To have a positive relationship with money.
Well, first of all, I had a very tough month, financially-speaking. December was a month of hardship and peanut butter sandwiches, but it was also a month of wondrous miracles! Mom and dad forgave my insurance payment, the Kittells offered to fix my car, I found new tires for only $70, my ticket was pushed back until February, and lowered by $50. In short, it was a miraculous month indeed.
I learned so much then about faith. I learned about faith and about living simply and about trust. And I learned, like Nephi, that sometimes you must pray to the Lord to know where to go for sustenance.
Well, He showed me. And now I have nearly $2,000 in the bank, which is a great deal of abundance. (For me.) What lessons now can I learn from изобилие?
Now the struggle will be a constant one to stay humble. Remember the words of Nephi as he reproaches the wicked judges and robbers.
"Yea, wo shall come unto you because of that pride which ye have suffered to enter your hearts, which has lifted you up beyond that which is good because of your exceedingly great riches! And except ye repent ye shall perish; yea, even your lands shall be taken from you, and ye shall be destroyed from off the face of the earth." (Helaman 7:26 and 28)
Well, in what ways could pride manifest itself?
I think my biggest fear is succumbing to false security. Relying on my money to get me out of hard situations, instead of on the Lord. Well, if that's the attitude you, you are in for some really, really big trials which your money cannot fix, because Heavenly Father CANNOT allow you to regress spiritually. He will keep on you, because he needs you in tip-top fighting shape for this life.
Another thing will be to be generous in the use of these funds. Plan to give, and give generously. You cannot afford not to. I was prompted to withdraw $20 today and give it away. I will obey.
This is hard for me because it conflicts with the maxim I've been living by. "Live frugally." If I give away twenty dollars at a whim, why bother buying yogurt only when it's 50% off?
If amassing an incredible fortune were your only goal, then you are right, that's an illogical and inefficient way to pursue it .
But what if your goal was to develop a saintly character? Doesn't that sound pretty saintly to you? To live cheaply so that others live well? Doesn't that remind you of Raskolnikov's mother, of Jeffrey R. Holland's parents, of Magwitch, and of Christ himself?
I am Jarom. I buy yogurt 1/2 off so that I have a greater percentage of my income ready to give away and serve others.
Of course, the great hypocrisy here is that I really don't live all that cheaply. I just bought $65 shoes.
When $$$---> Costly Apparel---> Pride--->Fall
So, don't spend it on yourself! Be content. Just be content. О Боже. Give me strength to do that right thing!
But yes, you can afford to be more generous now. You can afford to give away more. And as C.S Lewis said, if your charity isn't hampering us a little bit, we probably aren't giving enough! :)
Being Miserly vs. Being Frugal
I suppose that high-rolling is not acceptable. But neither is being miserly. So, IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE MAXIMUM SATISFACTION FROM YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY YOU MUST BE PARADOXICALLY BOTH FRUGAL AND GENEROUS.
:)
And that's what I really want. To have a positive relationship with money.
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