eFax of Life from CBMC Heartland
A Weekly Inspirational Thought from Ken Korkow
Money & Priorities
“If we had unlimited money and time and knew that we couldn’t fail – what would we do?”
That’s the question I asked Liz as we were driving down the road about a month ago
With that – I asked her to take out a sheet of paper and write ‘Wish List’ at the top. Next – I said: “Let’s write down – line by line – those things we’d like to do this year – if we had the money and time. I’m not talking about ‘world peace’ or the salvation of family and friends. Let’s make a list of what we’d like to do at home – for us.”
Twenty-eight items were written down. Some big (remodel our bathroom). Some small (a new bike for Liz). Some pie-in-the-sky (new deck – with a hot tub). Some utilitarian (upgrade computer).
Next, we prioritized each item. The top 5 are:
- Pay off credit card debt. $4,400
- Pay second half of real estate taxes. $1,553
- Have two ‘pay checks’ (one month’s salary) in savings. $3,600
- Master bath remodel.
- Replace sofa, loveseat, chair.
Then we made a separate sheet for each priority and put those in a 3-ring binder.
I strongly believe ‘if you can’t pay – don’t play’. And the Lord continually reaffirms that. My human tendency is to satisfy my wants/needs/desires RIGHT NOW! But even this morning – in my daily ‘quiet time’ – my daily Bible reading schedule ‘just happened’ to cover these verses out of Proverbs 22:
“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (v. 7)
“Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?” (v. 26-27)
Am convinced life can be divided into two parts: A. God’s part; B. My part. I can’t do His part. And He won’t do mine. So – I simply need to keep doing my part – and then – wait for Him.
In a practical sense – here’s how that works for us:
- We’ve had a contractor give us an estimate for the master bath remodel ($6,500). Today (Saturday) Liz and I will go to Menard’s, Lowes, Home Depot to look at components and see if we can bring that price down. Also – we will work on wall colors, tile selection, etc.
- Last night we visited with a contractor regarding our air conditioning unit. It’s about 30 years old. Has tried to ‘die’ the past three summers. Prayer, God’s grace, and Service One have kept it limping along. The contractor estimated (without looking) a new air conditioner will cost about $3,000 – but we made an appointment for him to come out and give us an exact quote. While this is currently Priority #8 – you know it will jump ahead of the pack – if our air conditioner stops on a hot/humid summer day.
- We tithe 10% of our income. As money is available – we will work on the next priority. Having goals written down gives us some tangible motivation and I’m convinced that at the end of the year we will have some incredible stories to tell about what God did in making a number of the ‘Wish List’ items become reality.
What about you? Do you and your spouse have a ‘Wish List’? Are you doing your part? Are you tithing?
“'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enough in my Temple; if you do, I will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessing so great you won’t have room enough to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you! Your crops will be large for I will guard them from insects and plagues. Your grapes won’t shrivel away before they ripen,' says the Lord of Hosts.” Malachi 3:10-11
CBMC Heartland, 03/27/03
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