– Scripture:
Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best-setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
2 Corinthians 6:4-10 MSG
– Reflection:
We all ache for financial freedom. We imagine being one day free from worry and debt about money. We dream of security and peace. Mostly, we never experience any of that; mostly, we experience financial stress. How come? Well, let’s back up. Financial freedom comes only with financial margin. Financial margin is the difference between (1) money coming in and (2) money going out—between income and expenses. Without a margin of sufficient size, we’ll never achieve financial freedom.
Where do we go from here?
When we broaden our focus, and when we focus too on the second part of the margin equation, on our expenses, we find the key to financial freedom. Though we convince ourselves otherwise, there are always ways to reduce expenses to achieve margin. It’s the way God designed things. So, when we decide, finally, to apply downward pressure on our expenses—on our lifestyles—we find that financial freedom is not actually elusive but available right here, right now, the way God intended.
Our Prayer for Today
Father, thank you for the blessings of your grace over our finances, I know that following your plan for creating margin is best for us all. Doing the complete tasks to end our debt is a favor that we do for ourselves from you. May we all receive this blessing soon enough. Amen.