Money and Wealth (Part 6) - Lottery, Begging, Theft, Saving (Part A)

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Money and Wealth (Part 6) - Saving (Part A) 3. Winning the lottery A. Winning the lottery will bring a man wealth and often subsequent poverty just about as quickly. B. Wealth gotten by vanity will not last (Pro 13:11). C. “Lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American. What’s more, studies have shown that winning the lottery does not necessarily make you happier or healthier.” (Abigail Johnson Hess, Here’s why lottery winners go broke, 8-25-2017) D. Lottery winners’ lives are often ruined due to lack of money management skills, friends and family seeking money (Pro 14:20; Pro 19:4, 6), and being the target of thieves (Pro 13:8). E. The only way that winning the lottery (multiple millions) could be a blessing and not a curse is if the winner did not change his lifestyle and told nobody that he won. F. Most people do not have the wisdom and the self-discipline to do that though. 4. Begging A. Beg v. – 1. To ask alms or by way of alms. a. trans. To ask (bread, money, etc.) in alms or as a charitable gift; to procure (one’s living) by begging. B. Begging is not an honorable way to acquire wealth (Luk 16:3). C. Righteous people and their children will not have to beg (Psa 37:25). i. This is because God promises to provide for them (Pro 10:3; Php 4:19). ii. This is also because they obey the word of God and work for a living, save money, and spend wisely (more on this later). D. If you don’t work when you should, you might end up having to resort to this ignominious practice (Pro 20:4). E. If a man begs because he is blind or incapable of providing for himself, that is one thing (Mar 10:46; Joh 9:8); but if he begs due to laziness or foolish choices, that is another.  5. Theft A. Theft is another way to acquire wealth, but it will obviously not be blessed by God (Exo 20:15). B. Theft can take many forms other than straight-up forcibly stealing someone else’s wealth. C. Fraud, unjust lawsuits, or voting for politicians who will steal other people’s money through taxation and give it to you are all forms of theft. D. “The darkest hour of any man’s life is when he sits down to plan how to get money without earning it.” (Horace Greeley) II. Saving 1. Saving is hard. A. It requires sacrifice, self-denial, and discipline, which is why most people don’t do much of it. B. But it pays off later by giving you a blessed life of peace, satisfaction, fulfillment, and opportunity. C. “Most of us want to be wealthy, but most of us do not spend the time, energy, and money required to enhance our chances of realizing this goal.” (Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door, p. 94) D. Discipline is the key. i. “When it comes to saving money and building wealth over the long haul, nothing is more important than discipline.” (Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money, p. 16) ii. “Too many people skip the discipline and try to go straight to the enjoyment. That’s a recipe for disaster. That’s how so many people get hooked on playing the lottery or go broke in a horrible get-rich-quick scheme that falls apart. Wealth building is a marathon, not a sprint. There really aren’t any shortcuts. That’s why most people don’t do it; if building wealth were easy, everyone would be rich! “What if you squeezed an extra $100 out of your budget every month? If you saved just $100 a month, every month, from age twenty-five to age sixty- five (your working lifetime) at the stock market average return of 12 percent, you’d retire with more than $1.1 million! You’d be a millionaire with just $100 a month!” (Ibid, p. 17) iii. “How do you become wealthy? Here, too, most people have it wrong. It is seldom luck or inheritance or advanced degrees or even intelligence that enables people to amass fortunes. Wealth is more often the result of a lifestyle of hard work, perseverance, planning, and, most of all, self- discipline.” (Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door, pp. 1-2) E. “Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.” – Jerzy Gregorek F. “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” (Dave Ramsey, The Total Money Makeover Challenge, p. 5)  i. “…if you will make the sacrifices now that most people aren’t willing to make, later on you will be able to live as those folks will never be able to live.” (Ibid, pp. 5-6) ii. “Winning at money is 80 percent behavior and 20 percent head knowledge. What to do isn’t the problem; doing it is. Most of us know what to do, but we just don’t do it.” (Ibid, p. 4) iii. “What have we discovered in all of our research? Mainly, that building wealth takes discipline, sacrifice, and hard work. Do you really want to become financially independent? Are you and your family willing to reorient your lifestyle to achieve this goal? Many will likely conclude they are not. If you are willing to make the necessary trade-offs of your time, energy, and consumption habits, however, you can begin building wealth and achieving financial independence.” (Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door, p. 5) iv. “What if your goal is to become financially independent? Your plan should be to sacrifice high consumption today for financial independence tomorrow.” (Ibid, p. 67) G. Start now. i. “The trick is, though, that you have to start right now! No matter how young or how old you are, all the time you have is all the time you have. You have to start where you are. So if you’re under twenty-five, stop thinking you have all the time in the world. And if you’re over forty, do not let regret keep you from getting this stuff going now. You have plenty of time left! It’s never too late to start moving in the right direction!” (Dave Ramsey, Dave Ramsey’s Complete Guide to Money, p. 20) ii. To use a principle in scripture, “…To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts…” (Heb 3:15). H. My life story pertaining to frugality and saving. i. “Whatever your income, always live below your means.” (Thomas J. Stanley, The Millionaire Next Door, p. 161) ii. I am supposed to be your example in all areas of life, including my manner of life (1Ti 4:12; 1Pe 5:3). (i) Conversation n. – 1. The action of living or having one's being in a place or among persons. (ii) Church members are to consider the conversation of their pastor and follow it (Heb 13:7). iii. You would not be aware of the example I have set in some areas of my life unless I tell you about, especially since a lot of what I am going to tell you happened before you knew me. iv. Telling my life story to you is Biblical (Php 3:4-8; Gal 1:13-24; 2Co 11:21- 33; Act 22:1-21). v. Tell the story.