Tag: security

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Psalms Devotionals 2

What we pursue

Trust

Some seek chariots, and some seek horses.
But we call upon the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7, 2017 New Japanese Bible)

I really like the Japanese translation here.

It made me think, “What do I seek? What do I pursue? Especially when it comes to what I feel will give me security?”

In those days, kings sought after chariots or horses for their armies. That’s what gave them their sense of security.

For a lot of us, it’s money that makes us feel secure.

But for David, God was his source of security. That’s why he so earnestly sought after God every day.

That’s the kind of heart I desire: a heart that daily pursues Him.

How about you?

What are you pursuing?

Categories
Luke Luke 16

Parable of the dishonest manager: Securing our future

Luke

Everyone desires security for their future. But how many of us really plan for it? Not just in terms of life here on earth, but in terms of eternity?

This story Jesus tells is a very unusual one, because he uses an evil man to illustrate a point on how we should live.

This man had apparently been embezzling money from his employer, and his employer called him to account for it. As a result, the man was going to lose his job.

He got his “30 days notice” and during that time, he fretted about what he could do to secure his future.

He didn’t want to do hard manual labor, nobody was going to hire him for white collar work after being fired for embezzlement, and he didn’t want to beg.

So he made a plan. He lowered the debt of those who owed his employer money so that when he was fired, they would welcome him into their homes and take care of him.

The weird thing? His employer commended him for looking out for his own future. (After which he undoubtedly said, “Now, get lost!”)

Jesus then said,

For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Luke 16:8)

In other words, non-Christians are often very shrewd in how they use their money and position to deal with people and so secure their future.

How much more as Christians, should we use the money and positions we have to secure ours?

Again, I’m not simply speaking in terms of life here on earth, but in terms of eternity.

This man used his position to gain friends that would welcome him when he entered the next stage of his life. In the same way, Jesus said,

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)

What is Jesus saying here? Use the resources God has given you to win people into His Kingdom.

For if you do, when you reach heaven, and all the money you earned is but dust on this earth, all the people you reached with the gospel will welcome you there.

More than that, Jesus himself will welcome you, and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

But if you use your money solely to indulge yourself, no one will be there to meet you when you reach heaven. And when Jesus comes to meet you, he will call you to account for all you’ve done.

What will be left of all you accomplished on earth when he does?

As Paul said,

If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light.

It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work.

If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.

If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

How about you? What kind of life are you securing for yourself?

Categories
Proverbs

Being secure financially

I’m definitely not one to talk about how to improve your finances.  My family’s doing okay, but we’re definitely not rolling in green or anything, so I feel a little weird talking about financial matters. 

But Solomon does, so here we go.

There’s lots of financial advice in the Proverbs, and two pieces of advice are found in these verses.

One is not putting up security for another person, particularly when it comes to loans.

This is a pretty tough one, particularly in Japan.  Real estate agencies always ask for a guarantor when renting an apartment, and immigration also asks for one when someone wants to stay in Japan.

The question is, does this passage mean we should never put up security for someone?  My answer would be no.

However.

It is never wise to put up security for someone if you don’t have the financial resources to pay if they default. 

If God has blessed you with financial resources, and it would not hurt you financially if you actually have to pay, then I would say to go ahead and do it, if God so leads.

But if you don’t have the resources to pay if they default, you should tell the person, “I’m sorry.  I like you.  I trust you.  But you don’t know the future and neither do I.  And if something happens to you, and I have to pay, then I’m going to be dead financially.”

I think the principal is the same for investments as well.  I have some mutual funds (I wish I had more), but if they get wiped out, it won’t kill me financially.  It’ll hurt, but it won’t kill me. 

But if we put all our money into investments that go sour, then we’re dead.  So don’t invest more than you afford to lose.

The other advice Solomon gives is mere common financial sense.  Unfortunately, not everyone follows it.  Namely, work as long as you can, and make sure you save up for your future.

In Japan, we have people called “freeters.”  Basically, these are people without stable jobs. 

Some of them are that way because of their low education, while others simply don’t want to work so much.  I’ve read of some “freeters” that get a job, make some money, quit, and when the money runs out, they find another job.

But Solomon says of such people,

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep? 

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.  (Proverbs 6:6-11)

In other words, to live that way is very short-sighted, and it will impoverish those who live that way in the end.

But just as importantly, it’s dishonoring to God to waste the skills and talents that he has given you.  And he will call you to account for it on judgment day.

So the two pieces of financial wisdom for the day:

  • Don’t put up security for someone when you don’t have the financial resources to back it up, and don’t invest so much of your money that you would lose everything should things go sour.
  • Work while you can, and save for your future.
Categories
Isaiah

False security

Isaiah

Security.  It’s something that many people seek.  To feel safe.  To feel that their future is in hand.

For many people, they seek security in money, and think that if they just have enough, they’ll be okay. 

In the 1980s, the Japanese economy was booming.  And with the strong economy, a lot of people were prospering financially. 

But then the bubble burst in 1990, and for a lot of people, so did their sense of security.  It’s one of the reasons the suicide rate is so high here.

In Israel, the people were much the same as the Japanese in the ’80s.  They were feeling prosperous and secure.  But like the Japanese, their security was to be short-lived.

Isaiah told them,

You women who are so complacent, rise up and listen to me; you daughters who feel secure, hear what I have to say! 

In little more than a year you who feel secure will tremble; the grape harvest will fail, and the harvest of fruit will not come. 

Tremble, you complacent women; shudder, you daughters who feel secure!  (Isaiah 32:9-11)

Where is your security?  Is it in money? 

Money can never buy peace of mind.  For some people, they end up buying trouble.  They work too much trying to earn money at the expense of their marriages, and they end up with broken relationships and broken homes. 

Others work so hard, they can’t even enjoy the wealth they accumulate. 

In Japan, we have a word “karoshi” which basically means “death from overwork.” 

Because of the strain of the long hours at work, people end up destroying their health and dying before their time. 

Others are so consumed with money, that they constantly worry about it at night, wondering how to keep from losing all they’ve accumulated.

True security can only be found in God.  Isaiah told the people that everything they found security in would be stripped from them and that they would lose everything,

till the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the desert becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field seems like a forest. (Isaiah 32:15)

When we are filled with the Spirit of God, we bear his fruit.  Things like love, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control.  (Galatians 5:22-23)

And as these things are born in our lives, we also find peace.  Isaiah wrote,

The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.  (Isaiah 32:17)

Do you desire security and peace of mind?  Don’t seek for it in money or the things of this world.  At best, it can only bring a temporary security and peace. 

Put your trust in God.  Let his Spirit fill your life.  And as you do, you will find the peace that passes all understanding, a peace that will guard your hearts and minds through all that you go through in life.