FINANCIAL PRIORITY

One day it dawns on some people that they cannot do everything and therefore, they must rein in their activities to what is the most important. The Apostle Paul stated this priority in two verses that have the same theme. One is located at Colossians 4:5, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." Redeeming the time means that a person has wisdom regarding priorities. Redeeming the time further means that you are buying up opportunities. We need to be aware of opportunities and take advantage of them.

What is the best way to get a return on our time? Through gainful employment. Most of us will make more money by working than by any other means available to us. This means that we must develop skills that can fulfill a market need. Being skilled or competent is essential in keeping work or staying in business. There will always be a market for those who have developed competency in a marketable skill. There is not much competition in the arena of competence. The majority of workers are satisfied with getting by with marginal work.

Gary North has done an economic commentary on the book of Proverbs and he called it a success manual. This is true as Proverbs 22:29 proves out, "Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." This verse says that someone who is skillful or competent in his occupation will work for royalty, not work for obscure men or men that do not matter.

The highly skilled attract attention and those who have means will seek to hire him. As likes beget likes, the best will attract the best. This means that the competent spend their time perfecting their craft. They have narrowed their focus down to a particular skill. Our minds are designed to think of only one thing at a time. If our attention is divided, our focus will be also. This means that we will not be thinking straightforward and we will be distracted when it comes to the task at hand. Trying too juggle to many things shows a lack of prioritizing. The old saying is a jack of all trades and a master of none means that someone has accomplished mediocrity. Mediocrity results from people not redeeming the time.

Most people do not live in the real world. They fantasize about prosperity without understanding the cause of prosperity. This is because they do not understand success because success starts in the spiritual realm, not the visible realm. Some people get it and others never do. If you are wanting to be successful, figure out what you are best at and develop that skill until you are the best you can be at that skill. This will open doors for you. Even though I do not believe in luck, you make your own luck. Redeeming the time means taking advantage of opportunities. Opportunities appear when you are competent.

THE FLOW OF LIFE

Most people do not think of life as being a flow. This is because they do not think philosophically. Philosophers cannot think in any other terms. Those who do not think philosophically benefit by what philosophers write. The philosopher’s thoughts can penetrate their thinking and become a part of them. This is the purpose of writing, to influence other’s thinking. Cornelius Van Til said we are to think God’s thoughts after Him. In the same way, thinking is shaped philosophically or ultimately theologically.

If we look at time, we see that time is linear that is it moves in a straight line. Time never reverts but progresses. An axiom should state that with the progression of time people should be freer and have less government intrusion in their lives. When a people are wholly dependent upon the government, what we have is an attempt to regress and turn the clock back. The goal should forever be self government under the law of God. This is where time or if you will, history is taking us. We are headed for a decentralized system. Centralization is a system that has collapsed under its bankrupt theology. We are now witnessing the visible reality of this spiritual bankruptcy.

In the flow of life, we have unsatisfied needs. What needs are satisfied currently will have to be satisfied in the future. The future is an area of unsatisfied needs. Thus, when we think in financial terms, we must think in terms of flows and stocks. Income is a flow and thus why we call it cash flow. This incoming flow is designed to satisfy our current needs. By controlling our needs (spending or expenses), our incoming flow of funds will become a stock or surplus.

This stock or surplus is designed to meet future unsatisfied needs. The stock or surplus is not a flow but an accumulation. Income can be likened to a stream that fills a beaver pond. The beaver pond is the accumulator of the flow. At the other end of the beaver pond is an outlet, where funds are released to meet needs. What is not good is not having a beaver pond or an accumulation of the flow.

No beaver pond means that it is all flow and no accumulation. The income is flowing in and flowing out with no accumulating point. The beaver is an industrious animal and knows by instinct to create an accumulating point. This benefits many other types of life in the natural. In the same way, having a stock or surplus benefits the furtherance of life. Knowing what to do with a flow is wise.

In accounting, there are two statements that measure the amount of flow that a business has and one statement that measures the surplus of the company. The two flow statements are the Income Statement and the Cash Flow Statement. The stock statement is called the Balance Sheet. From what has been written, it should be easier to mentally see what a flow and a stock are and their significance to the flow of life.

PRESERVATION OF LIFE

When it comes to money and finance, the majority of people either do not get it or they do not know how to express their emotions about the situation. While some do not get it, I would tend to think that people get some of it but do not think deeply enough about it to put it into words. To make this point clear, most people do not think in terms of causes. They do not understand why things happen the way that they do. They feel helpless when it comes to money management.

There are two states of life, one is spiritual and the other physical. Money is to be used to further our physical well being. We have built into our nature, self preservation. Self preservation is the preservation of physical life. Death is an abnormality and no one in their right mind desires to die. The norm is to seek to preserve our life. This is why vast amounts of money are expended annually for medical services.

The main preservation of physical life is food consumption. Our food contains the necessary vitamins and minerals that give us energy and physical strength. Without food, we cannot earn a living. Food is an absolute necessity. Life in the earth would end without the ability to produce food. Nutritious food is essential for the preservation of physical life. Food is thus, foundational to the maintenance of physical life.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines preservation as, "The act of preserving or keeping safe; the act of keeping from injury, destruction or decay." Preservation is a form of wisdom. The frugal think in terms of preservation of life. To this end, the frugal understand that savings has to do with preservation of life. Savings has the future in mind. This means that savings is a means of preserving future life.

Savings, by definition, demonstrates that someone is future oriented. By contrast, a spendthrift is present oriented. The spendthrift does not regard the future preservation of life. This is anathema to him. The spendthrift does think about the future because he has no hope and no future. He is spiritually dead and demonstrates this spiritual condition by his present orientation. The wise think in terms of life and its preservation. They adjust their spending to be less than their income and thus, they have a surplus that can be used in the future against future expenses to preserve their lives.

Being future oriented is applied wisdom. Being present oriented is applied foolishness and yet, we are living in a time where people are present oriented. They live from paycheck to paycheck. They have made no provision for the preservation of life. John Maynard Keynes is reported to have said, "In the long run, we are all dead." To him it did not matter whether you were wise or foolish. This is the statement of a fool. The frugal are wise and save for the preservation of life in the future.

USING WISDOM

In our day and age having a piece of paper is considered wise and yet those with these pieces of papers have generated nothing but financial disaster. Certification is never granted academically but by results and results are determined by the market. The numbers do not lie. Results are objectively determined. They are visible for anyone to see. An income statement is either in the black or it is bleeding red.

What is wisdom? Wisdom is the application of the law of God. Application is objective. The law of God is spiritual and therefore subjective. The subjective precedes the objective. Therefore, wisdom begins subjectively but is demonstrable in the visible world. The most important thing then is to be wise in the use of knowledge. For knowledge to be usable, it must be applied.

Frugality is applied wisdom. Frugality means not spending more money than you earn. This means staying out of debt. Debt is something to be avoided, not embraced. When someone goes in debt, they are mortgaging their future for present consumption. It is better to save money before purchasing a product. Most people are impulsive and want something now. They lack self discipline and will not delay gratification.

The wise have learned the principle of delayed gratification. They are willing to do without in the present that they may have what they want in the future. This is the opposite of the debt encumbered. The debt minded think only about the present and not the future. The wise think about the future more than the present. The wise do what the Lord Jesus Christ said we must do, count the cost.

Counting the cost is a principle of wisdom. Counting the cost is taking all matters into consideration prior to making a decision. When considering whether or not to go into debt, some questions should be asked. Some would be, Do I really need this? How I am going to pay for this item? Is this product worth purchasing? Does this product have special maintenance issues? How long will this product last before I have to replace it?

Wisdom thinks ahead before making a decision. Before going into debt, it is wise to count the cost. Most people are emotionally based rather than wisdom based. This is why they get into financial binds. They did not count the cost. When the results of their decision come home to roost, they do not like the situation. What they do not think about is that is was their poor foresight that got them into this bind. They will blame everyone but themselves. This means that they do not intend on changing their behavior.