Keep It Simple!
by Jeremy A. Brown
Where do you get your financial advice? Do you get it from CNBC investment channel, Bloomberg, USA Today, Newsweek, Kiplinger magazine, etc. What if I told you the Bible contains financial wisdom that could benefit all of us in our lives today? A few of the financial statistics regarding the finances of your average westerner which resides in one of the wealthiest nations to ever grace the face of the earth are stark. An income of $34,000 annually puts you in the top 4 percent of household incomes in the world, and the average household income in the U.S. is $67,000 annually. According to an article by CBS News, less than 40 percent of Americans could afford a $1,000 bill without relying on a credit card, also known as very high interest loan; according to Newsweek.com 50 percent of Americans have no savings at all, including money for retirement; according to CNBC.com 63 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and any interruption in paycheck frequency would lead to financial disaster. The numbers are worse than they seem since so much wealth is concentrated at the top which skews a lot of the statistical data to make things seem better for the average American than they really are. You would be shocked to know that 40 percent of Americans with an annual household income above $100,000 also live paycheck to paycheck.
I was recently reading my daily morning scripture and I was taken aback. The scripture of the day was Proverbs 22:26-27 (NKJV). It says not to enter a loan (borrow money) if you know full well that you cannot pay it back. The scripture says why even risk having your bed taken, or, in modern terms, why risk the heartache or embarrassment of repossession!? Sometimes I forget how many principles the Bible contains to address any issue we may deal with in this physical life. According to titleloanser.com, there were about two million vehicle repossessions in the U.S. in 2019 alone, not including property foreclosures or other types of loan defaults, which are scheduled to skyrocket due to the 2020 pandemic. Following this biblical principle alone could save so much heartache for the vehicle owners, their families, and the business owners. James 5:4-6 says to pay what you owe. Do not enter any contract if you know you cannot keep your word. Of course, things happen, and people get laid-off, but we are not to purposely buy something we know we cannot afford. This is what our entire western economic system is built on, this kind of deceit from the businesses as well as the customers.
One of the simplest scriptures on managing your finances is Proverbs 30:24-25, which tells us to be like the ant and save during the summer and good times since we know winter/hardships will always come. This is about saving for retirement and building that emergency fund in case you lose your job and experience a few months of no income. The principle also applies when, for example, your car breaks down. Having an emergency fund will enable you to pay for the repairs without utilizing a high interest loan, also known as credit card. In Genesis 28:20-22 and Proverbs 3:9-10, God says do not forget to tithe your 10 percent to Him and to also use your wealth to honor the Father, not to honor yourself. Help take care of the less fortunate and the widows.
The principles in the Bible are very simple. You do not need to know the P/E ratio or any of that complicated financial jargon. You just need to 1) only enter financial contracts you know that you can repay, and 2) save money (build an emergency/retirement fund) because life happens to us all.
Sources:
https://www.titleloanser.com/stats/car-repossession-statistics/
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/11/majority-of-americans-are-living-paycheck-to-paycheck-since-covid-hit.html
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nearly-40-percent-of-americans-with-annual-incomes-over-100-000-live-paycheck-to-paycheck-301312281.html
https://www.newsweek.com/half-americans-have-no-savings-fall-back-if-they-contract-illness-like-coronavirus-cant-work-1490584