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Dishonest Money


Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. (Proverbs 13:11)
          “This is it, our big hit. After this, it’s umbrella drinks on the beach in Uruguay.”           Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems to me that the whole idea behind dishonest gain is that you score so much money that you don’t have to work or worry about how to pay bills. Unless you are frugal and find investments with good rates of return, that means that over time, you end up eating away at the principle. As Scripture describes it, it dwindles away. At the same time, if you put even one percent of your income into investments, little by little, that investment will grow. It may never be big enough to let you live on, but it can help in emergencies.
          Our society has a problem with delayed gratification – so do I. I knew an older woman who told a story of when she got married. They saved up the money to buy some land and have a foundation for their house dug out and poured. I’m not sure what sort of ceiling they put on top of that basement, but she said they lived in the basement until they could afford the lumber to build the house. When I was growing up, it seemed to me that people gave toasters as wedding presents. When I worked at Sears and helped people set up their wedding wish list, they were asking for grills, big screen TVs, microwaves. I read something online about a woman canceling her wedding because her guests weren’t willing to pay more than a thousand dollars per person to attend the reception. As I said, I’m no better. I have a credit card, and I know how to use it. I try to behave myself, but when I decide to do something, it never seems to be long before I am making the purchases with which to accomplish that goal. Most of the time, from my perspective, it’s a little here, a little there, but I can’t imagine how much I’d have if I’d invested the money I’ve furtively spent. 
          The word “furtively” brings to mind another facet of this issue. How often does our money dwindle because we are dishonest in our spending of it? It’s nobody’s business but my own, but I sneak it into the house, so I don’t have to justify the expense, rather than justifying the expense ahead of time and being honest and open about my purchases. I don’t think I can spend ten dollars without feeling like I have to sneak the purchase into the house. I’ve been told, “Just tell him you’ve had it for years.” 
          Money causes more arguments in a home than anything else – except maybe kids. Why can’t we be honest? Two reasons come to mind. Honesty leads to potential disapproval and a loss of power. Those things aren’t true, of course, but we think they are.

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