Try to guess the common reason for these acts of nature:
The answers are all the same.
Each is preserving for the future.
God designed His creation—from plants to animals to people—to be savers.
The problem with people? We need a lesson on saving from ants, plants, bears—and Jesus.
Saving is a natural part of our lives. Think about it:
Planning ahead makes sense. But we seem to miss it in several key areas.
Like saving money.
Jesus spoke more about money than He did about heaven and hell combined. Usually, when we think of money and spirituality, our minds default to giving money.
But saving money is also in the Bible.
We just let it slip. Why? The reason often goes something like: “I’m trusting God.” This sounds really spiritual. We even quote verses:
Hey, who can argue with that? Ironically, the context of Jesus’ words do.
The principle of saving goes back even further than Jesus.
1. We are to trust God to provide. Obviously, storing up stuff can indeed become an idol (Luke 12:190-21). But trusting God doesn’t preclude the wisdom of saving.
Go to the ant, O sluggard, observe her ways and be wise, which, having no chief, officer or ruler, prepares her food in the summer, and gathers her provision in the harvest. —Proverbs 6:6-8
The wise ant “prepares” and “gathers” its food. I other words, the ant earns and it saves.
2. Scripture teaches that saving for future needs (including saving for giving) is simple wisdom. See for example: Genesis 41:47-48; Exodus 16:4-5; 1 Corinthians 16:2.
3. The amount isn’t as essential as the discipline of consistency. It will add up and it will be a blessing (Proverbs 13:11). My wife and I saved for 9 years for our first trip to Israel.
We should be wise with what God has provided—and save.
Any ant, plant, or bear can tell you. It’s not only natural—it’s necessary.
Tell me what you think: Is saving money a contradiction to trusting God? To leave a comment, just click here.