Money and Wealth (Part 20) - Spending (Part C) - Enjoying Your Money; Lending (Part A)

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Money and Wealth (Part 20) - Spending (Part C) - Enjoying Your Money; Lending (Part A) 1. Enjoying the fruit of your labor A. There is nothing wrong with enjoying some of the money one has earned. B. A man has an unbalanced life who saves everything he makes and never enjoys any of it. C. Spending money on things or experiences which bring enjoyment is not wrong. D. God has given us richly all things to enjoy (1Ti 6:17). E. Solomon said that there is nothing better than to eat and drink and enjoy the fruit of one’s labor (Ecc 2:24). F. It is the gift of God to enjoy the good of one’s labor (Ecc 3:13; Ecc 5:18-19). G. It is good to eat and be merry (Ecc 8:15). H. It is good for a man to enjoy good food and drink with his wife (Ecc 9:7-9). I. It is foolish and sad to constantly work and bereave one’s soul of good (Ecc 4:8). J. You can make yourself rich and yet have nothing if you don’t enjoy any of it, nor use it to bless others (Pro 13:7). K. Just remember two things when it comes to enjoying your money: i. First, wait to enjoy the fruit of your labor until you are out of debt (except your home) and have a fully funded emergency fund (3-6 months of living expenses). (i) If you have any debt outside of your 15-year mortgage (credit cards, personal loans, student loans, car loans, home equity loans, etc.) then you should spend every spare cent to pay off those loans as quickly as possible. 1. At this stage, you need to be INTENSE about paying off debt and getting your emergency fund fully funded. 2. You should not be enjoying the fruit of your labor until all of your non-mortgage debt is paid off and you have a fully funded emergency fund. 3. This means no going out to eat, no going out to the movies, no entertainment, no vacations, no getting your nails done, no shopping, no Netflix, no cable, no golfing, no coffee shops, no unnecessary spending. (ii) Once you are out of debt except your 15-year mortgage, you have 3- 6 months of living expenses in an emergency fund, and you are investing 15% of your gross income for retirement, then you can loosen up and enjoy some of the fruit of your labor. 1. At this point, you go from being INTENSE to INTENTIONAL with your money. 2. You should still be putting extra money on your 15-year mortgage every month to pay it off early in this stage. ii. Second, exercise moderation (Php 4:5). L. After you pay off your home, are completely debt-free, and are investing 15% of your gross income into retirement, then you can loosen up even more and start living (and giving) like no one else because you spent years living like no one else.  2. You can't take it with you. A. We will leave this world with exactly what we brought into it: nothing (1Ti 6:7; Ecc 5:15; Psa 49:17). B. Steve Jobs left this world with nothing more than a homeless bum. C. We came in naked and we will leave the same way (Job 1:21). D. If you lay up treasure for yourself and are not rich toward God, God might take you out of this world, and your wealth will become another's (Luk 12:16-21; Jer 17:11). E. While we can’t take our money with us when we die, it is foolish try to spend it all before we leave this world. i. First, a Christian should leave an inheritance to his children and grandchildren (leaving an inheritance will be covered later). ii. Second, one does not know how long he will live. He could die at 65 or 95, and people do every day. iii. I would rather die with a million dollars in the bank that I never got to enjoy, than be a one-dollar burden on my family or society prior to my death. II. Lending 1. When to lend A. We should lend (or give) to the poor when they are in need according to Biblical standards. i. A righteous man is ever merciful and lends to the poor―in that they are the ones who need a loan (Psa 37:26). a. In the law of Moses, God required loans made to fellow Israelites to be forgiven every seven years (Deut 15:1-2). b. If a man had a poor brother in Israel who was in need, he was to open his hand wide unto him and lend him sufficient for his need (Deut 15:7-8). c. Even if the seventh year was right around the corner, they were still to lend to their poor brethren (Deut 15:9-11). ii. A righteous man is ever merciful and lends, even at times when he knows that he will not be paid back. iii. Jesus taught that we should lend hoping for nothing in return, which is being merciful (Luk 6:34-36). a. Giving is better than lending (Mat 5:42; Luk 6:38). b. If you cannot afford to give someone money, you should probably not lend it to him. c. Many loans to friends and family become gifts because they will not repay them. d. I recommend saving yourself the hassle and hard feelings and just give them money if they are truly in need (more on this later). iv. When we give to the poor, we will never lack (Pro 28:27; Pro 19:17). v. The righteous lends and gives to the poor, but the wicked is stingy and will not (Pro 29:7; Jam 2:15-16; 1Jo 3:17). B. We can lend to others at our discretion (Psa 112:5).  i. Discretion n. – III. [Cf. discreet.] 6. Ability to discern or distinguish what is right, befitting, or advisable, esp. as regards one's own conduct or action; the quality of being discreet; discernment; prudence, sagacity, circumspection, sound judgement. ii. A good man lends to others with discretion, not abandon. iii. He will carefully consider if the man asking for a loan needs the money and if loaning it to him will make the man better or worse off in the long run. 2. When not to lend A. We should not lend money to people for unnecessary things or in situations which would make them worse off in the long run. B. Be cautious about lending money. i. “Be cautious about lending money to friends. You might lose both.” (H. Jackson Brown Jr., The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book, #243) ii. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.” (Shakespear, ‘Hamlet’) iii. It’s better to give someone money who is in need rather than loan it to him. (i) Loaning money to family changes the relationship from being family to being in a master-slave relationship (Pro 22:7). (ii) Thanksgiving dinner will not be the same. (iii)Loaning money to someone exacerbates his problem. (iv) It teaches a person that the solution to poor money management and being in debt is going into more debt. iv. If you can’t afford to give someone money to help him, then you probably can’t afford to loan him money either because there’s a good chance you will not be paid back. C. Do not loan money to your children for anything. i. Make them save for things they want and pay cash for them. ii. Loaning money to children teaches them to go into debt at an early age. iii. It teaches them that they don’t need to work and save for what they want. iv. It teaches them to desire instant gratification. D. Do not loan money to fools who have demonstrated that they cannot manage money. i. Doing so will only exacerbate their problems. ii. What they need is tough love, not a loan. E. Do not loan money to people who could have paid you back, but refused to. You need to teach them a lesson.