Wisdom in Finances

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Wisdom in Finances
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Work and Dont be Lazy

• A new employee had been caught coming in late for
  work three times and the fourth morning the
  foreman decided to confront him. 'Look here," he
  snapped, 'don't you know what time we start work
  around here?" 'No, sir," said the man, 'they're
  always working when I get here."

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Work and Dont be Lazy

• Proverbs 66-116 Go to the ant, you sluggard!
  Consider her ways and be wise, 7 Which, having no
  captain, Overseer or ruler, 8 Provides her
  supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in
  the harvest. 9 How long will you slumber, O
  sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 10
  A little sleep, a little slumber, A little
  folding of the hands to sleep-- 11 So shall your
  poverty come on you like a prowler, And your need
  like an armed man.

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Work and Dont be Lazy

• Proverbs 104-54 He who has a slack hand becomes
  poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5
  He who gathers in summer is a wise son He who
  sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.
• Proverbs 122424 The hand of the diligent will
  rule, But the lazy man will be put to forced
  labor.

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Work and Dont be Lazy

• Proverbs 2613-1613 The lazy man says, "There is
  a lion in the road! A fierce lion is in the
  streets!" 14 As a door turns on its hinges, So
  does the lazy man on his bed. 15 The lazy man
  buries his hand in the bowl It wearies him to
  bring it back to his mouth. 16 The lazy man is
  wiser in his own eyes Than seven men who can
  answer sensibly.
• Proverbs 1344 The soul of a lazy man desires,
  and has nothing But the soul of the diligent
  shall be made rich.

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Lessons Learned

• We should work honestly without the need for
  constant supervision boss is on vacation?
• Diligent work prevents poverty and failure did
  we do our part preparing or studying?
• Do we make excuses for our laziness?
• Do we feel clever in avoiding work?

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Work and Dont be Lazy

• Avoid idleness, and flee from laziness, for
  laziness is a laboratory for the devil.  Make
  every effort and be hard working, so when your
  enemy attacks you, he will find you busy away
  from him, not finding room for him in your heart.
  Being idle is fatal venom it is the moth for
  virtue, and the mother of all heresies and the
  evil fantasies. It is the virus of all evil and
  sin, which brings temptations and causes the vile
  thoughts. Laziness eliminates the strength of the
  soul and causes restlessness and rejection from
  the spiritual deeds, and it weakens the fervent
  worship, which results usually from putting off
  the fervent of the spirit and the earthly deeds,
  and forgetfulness of the beneficence of heaven.
  Be alert and prevent all what causes restlessness
  and idleness in your soul, lest it weakens your
  strength and departs from worship. Habib
  Guirguis

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Dont overwork

• A rich industrialist was disturbed to find a
  fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. 'Why
  aren't you out there fishing?" he asked.
  'Because I've caught enough fish for today,"
  said the fisherman. 'Why don't you catch more
  fish than you need?' the rich man asked. 'What
  would I do with them?" 'You could earn more
  money," came the impatient reply, 'and buy a
  better boat so you could go deeper and catch more
  fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even
  more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a
  fleet of boats and be rich like me." The
  fisherman asked, 'Then what would I do?" 'You
  could sit down and enjoy life," said the
  industrialist. 'What do you think I'm doing
  now?" the fisherman replied as he looked placidly
  out to sea.

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Dont overwork

• Proverbs 234-54 Do not overwork to be rich
  Because of your own understanding, cease! 5 Will
  you set your eyes on that which is not? For
  riches certainly make themselves wings They fly
  away like an eagle toward heaven.

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Lessons Learned

• How many sacrifices do we make for the pursuit of
  money? Is it the most important thing in our
  lives?
• Are never satisfied with our financial situation?
• Stock Market
• Do we overwork ourselves beyond our ability?

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Dont overwork

• So, we should give the body physical rest, for
  it is not a sin but rather a divine commandment.
  A person should be wise so as not to exhaust his
  body beyond its power nor give it more rest than
  it needs which leads to laziness or sluggishness.
  I remember a professor of medicine in London who
  said to me 'I cannot prevent you from hard work
  for your responsibility requires that, but I
  prevent you from over work.' By 'over work' he
  meant work that is done after a person becomes
  exhausted and ought to have stopped. He said to
  me also 'The work you do happily and joyfully
  will not injure your heart, whereas the work you
  do when feeling annoyed and troubled will exhaust
  you physically.' Feeling delighted in work makes
  one not feel tired. HH Pope Shenouda

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Avoid Debt

• The only reason a great many American families
  don't own an elephant is that they have never
  been offered an elephant for no money down and
  easy monthly payments.

13
Avoid Debt

• Proverbs 2277 The rich rules over the poor, And
  the borrower is servant to the lender.
• Proverbs 2226-2726 Do not be one of those who
  shakes hands in a pledge, One of those who is
  surety for debts 27 If you have nothing with
  which to pay, Why should he take away your bed
  from under you?

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Lessons Learned

• A borrower is at the mercy of the lender
  financial crisis
• Debt has become a free ticket to everything our
  heart desires
• Get it now, pay later Comcast example

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Lessons Learned
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Honesty

• A Money magazine survey found that Americans are
  becoming less honest. Twenty-four percent of
  respondents said they wouldn't correct a waiter
  who undercharged them. In a similar poll
  conducted in 1987, only 15 percent of respondents
  said they wouldn't correct the waiter.
• What would you do if you found a wallet
  containing 1,000? Twenty-four percent of this
  year's respondents said they'd keep the cash,
  compared with 4 percent a decade ago. People ages
  18-34 were 10 times more likely to keep the money
  than people 65 and older.
• Nearly one-third of the respondents said they'd
  cheat on their income taxes. The rich seemed
  especially fond of tax fraud. Forty-five percent
  of Americans with annual incomes exceeding
  50,000 said they wouldn't report 2,000 in cash
  income on their tax returns, compared with 24
  percent of those earning less than 15,000.
• A quarter of the respondents said they'd commit a
  crime for 10 million if they knew they wouldn't
  get caught. Men (31 percent) were twice as likely
  to do so than women (16 percent).

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Honesty

• Proverbs 131111 Wealth gained by dishonesty
  will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor
  will increase.

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Lessons Learned

• Even as Christians, we are tempted to do things
  that are immoral for the sake of gaining or
  saving money
• Cheating the system is seen as shatara, not
  lying or stealing.
• How honest are we with our money, even when no
  one will ever find out?
• God promises that hard work will pay off, but a
  dishonest mans wealth will decrease

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Wisdom in Spending

• The trouble is that too many people are spending
  money they haven't yet earned for things they
  don't need to impress people they don't like. -
  Anonymous

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Wisdom in Spending

• Proverbs 281919 He who tills his land will have
  plenty of bread, But he who follows frivolity
  will have poverty enough!

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Lessons Learned

• How much money do we spend on things that are
  essential?
• How much is spent on luxuries we dont need?
• How much is spent simply because of peer pressure
  or to maintain our image in front of others?
• Do I feel ashamed if the car I buy is not as
  fancy as my neighbors or my salary less?

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Giving to the Poor

• W. A. Criswell tells of an ambitious young man
  who told his pastor he'd promised God a tithe of
  his income. They prayed for God to bless his
  career. At that time he was making 40.00 per
  week and tithing 4.00. In a few years his income
  increased and he was tithing 500.00 per week. He
  called on the pastor to see if he could be
  released from his tithing promise, it was too
  costly now.
• The pastor replied, 'I don't see how you can be
  released from your promise, but we can ask God to
  reduce your income to 40.00 a week, then you'd
  have no problem tithing 4.00."

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Giving to the Poor

• Proverbs 1124-2524 There is one who scatters,
  yet increases more And there is one who
  withholds more than is right, But it leads to
  poverty. 25 The generous soul will be made rich,
  And he who waters will also be watered himself.
• Proverbs 39-109 Honor the LORD with your
  possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your
  increase 10 So your barns will be filled with
  plenty, And your vats will overflow with new
  wine.
• Proverbs 282727 He who gives to the poor will
  not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have
  many curses.

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Giving to the Poor

• Proverbs 2977 The righteous considers the cause
  of the poor, But the wicked does not understand
  such knowledge
• Proverbs 191717 He who has pity on the poor
  lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he
  has given.
• Proverbs 211313 Whoever shuts his ears to the
  cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be
  heard.

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Lessons Learned

• We are tempted to think that the more we give,
  the less we will have
• We can try to preserve our wealth by hoarding it
• Indicates a misunderstanding of the source of our
  prosperity.
• God blesses us with wealth. It is not something
  that we can create for ourselves or take the
  credit for.

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Lessons Learned

• We are called to always be mindful of and
  consider the poor
• It is easy to forget about their plight,
  especially if we are surrounded by richness all
  the time
• Matthew 2544-4544 Then they also will answer
  Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry or
  thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in
  prison, and did not minister to You? 45 Then He
  will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to
  you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the
  least of these, you did not do it to Me.

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Righteousness gt Money

• The early morning crash of a Brink's armored
  truck on a Miami highway in January held up a
  mirror to our nation's cultural decline. While
  the driver and a fellow Brink's officer lay
  bruised and bleeding, a festive atmosphere broke
  loose outside the truck as thousands of dollars
  blew in the breeze.
• Motorists stopped in rush hour traffic, then
  scooped up cash before resuming their commutes to
  the office. Thousands of crisp bills and shiny
  coins rained down an overpass onto a Miami
  neighborhood. Below, mothers with babies grabbed
  coins and piled them into strollers. An elderly
  woman filled a box. A young school girl dumped
  her book bag and loaded it with coins and bills.
  Onlookers and participants had plenty of
  justifications and rationalizations.
• 'Which is more moral," asked one resident of the
  impoverished neighborhood, 'to return the money
  and leave your children improvised-or maybe send
  them to college and enrich the family for
  generations?"

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Righteousness gt Money

• Proverbs 112828 He who trusts in his riches
  will fall, But the righteous will flourish like
  foliage.
• Proverbs 1144 Riches do not profit in the day
  of wrath, But righteousness delivers from death.
• Proverbs 102222 The blessing of the LORD makes
  one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
• Proverbs 2244 By humility and the fear of the
  LORD Are riches and honor and life.
• Proverbs 161919 Better to be of a humble spirit
  with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the
  proud.
• Proverbs 1377 There is one who makes himself
  rich, yet has nothing And one who makes himself
  poor, yet has great riches.

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Lessons Learned

• Money has become the ultimate goal for many
  people
• Many place more value on the power of money than
  the power of God
• Money doesnt buy happiness
• I have made many millions, but they have brought
  me no happiness - ,John W. Rockefeller
• The care of 200,000,000 is enough to kill
  anyone. There is no pleasure in it - W. H.
  Vanderbilt
• I am the most miserable man on earth - John
  Jacob Astor
• I was happier when doing a mechanic's job -
  Henry Ford
• Millionaires seldom smile - Andrew Carnegie

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Contentment

• Leaning on his fence one day, a devout Quaker was
  watching a new neighbor move in next door. After
  all kinds of modern appliances, electronic
  gadgets, plush furniture, and costly wall
  hangings had been carried in, the onlooker called
  over, 'If you find you're lacking anything,
  neighbor, let me know and I'll show you how to
  live without it."

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Contentment

• Proverbs 307-97 Two things I request of You
  (Deprive me not before I die) 8 Remove falsehood
  and lies far from me Give me neither poverty nor
  riches-- Feed me with the food allotted to me 9
  Lest I be full and deny You, And say, "Who is the
  LORD?" Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane
  the name of my God.

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Lessons Learned

• Thank God for what He has given us, and what He
  has denied us
• While we might hope for more in the future, we
  should be content with less
• the food allotted to me is my portion. I
  should not be upset if my portion is smaller than
  someone elses
• The dangers of richness is to be full of oneself
  and forget that these blessings came from God
• The dangers of poverty are to feel that God has
  abandoned us and take matters into our own hands

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Benefits of Poverty

• Proverbs 182323 The poor man uses entreaties,
  But the rich answers roughly.

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Benefits of Poverty

• The poor know they are in urgent need of
  redemption.
• The poor know not only their dependence on God
  and on powerful people but also their
  interdependence with one another.
• The poor rest their security not on things but on
  people.
• The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own
  importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.
• The poor expect little from competition and much
  from cooperation.

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Benefits of Poverty

• The poor can distinguish between necessities and
  luxuries.
• The poor can wait, because they have acquired
  patience born of acknowledged dependence.
• The fears of the poor are more realistic and less
  exaggerated, because they already know that one
  can survive great suffering and want.
• When the poor have the Gospel preached to them,
  it sounds like good news and not like a threat or
  a scolding.
• The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel
  with a certain surrender because they have so
  little to lose and are ready to accept Gods
  promises.