Living Within Our Means
There is desirable treasure, and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man squanders it.
This proverb shows the importance of saving and managing our money.
Desirable treasures don’t necessarily have to be items of great value like fancy houses and expensive cars. They can be the basic necessities of life. We desire food when we are hungry. We treasure a nice bed to sleep in when we are tired. We desire a warm home to live in.
Olive oil represents staple commodities, like food and clothing. A wise person will make sure he or she has enough supplies set aside in his or her home (Proverbs 27:23).
An important way to make sure we have these necessities is by saving. If we continually spend more than we earn, we cannot store up supplies. If we are living from paycheck to paycheck, then we should find a way to either increase our earnings or decrease our spending (or both) so we can set some money back.
If we don’t work hard or manage our money, we will soon find ourselves in a financial crisis (Proverbs 6:9-11).
An example of this principle being broken or disregarded is found in the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable, the son took the inheritance of his father and squandered it. He soon found himself out of money and food (Luke 15:11-16).
God wants us to have nice things, but not to live beyond our means (John 10:10; 1 Timothy 6:6-10). And it’s by living within our means that we can have desirable treasure and oil in our dwelling places.
For more about money management, read “Christian Budget.”
Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: "Jacob and a Tale of Two Daughters."
