Genesis 12 is very appropriate for understanding today's economic times. Let's consider the background. God told Abram to leave his country of Haran and set out for the land that God was giving him. Abram arrived in Canaan, but a famine came. He decided to head to Egypt to live there until things improved. Abram was afraid that the Egyptians would kill him and take his wife, Sarai, for themselves. So Abram talked Sarai into convincing the Egyptians that she was his sister. As anticipated, the Pharaoh's officials were intrigued by Sarai's beauty. They took her into Pharaoh's palace. As Sarai's "brother," everyone treated Abram well and gave him many gifts. Let's look at this scenario a little deeper to see how it can help us deal with this economy. Abram didn't trust in God's provision Abram had just left Haran to move to Canaan right before the famine came. Yet, it is interesting that Abram left the land God gave him to go to Egypt, hoping to escape the famine. It doesn't appear that Abram gave God a chance to prove His ability to provide for Abram and his family. Why would God send Abram to a new land only to allow him to die of starvation? He wouldn't. God reminds us in Matthew 6:31-32, "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them." (NIV) In our own lives, we, too, should be careful about leaving the places where God sends us. He brings us to these places for a reason. If we move out of these places, we might miss the blessings God has lined up for us. God knows what we need. We don't have to go anywhere to find it. Abram's "blessings" weren't genuine Abram did receive gifts, but those were definitely not blessings from God. Consider the story of the widow's oil in 2 Kings 4:1-7. While the widow only had a little oil left, once God's blessings were added to her oil and her faith, that small amount of oil filled every jar they could find. There was enough oil to pay off the family's debts, and still have enough to live on. Blessings cannot come from lies. Anything that God wants us to have will come without us having to tweak the truth. Abram's dishonesty cost him dearly Pharaoh did give Abram tons of gifts, but at what price? Psalm 15:5 suggests, "Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe. You'll never get blacklisted if you live like this." (The Message Bible) Abram will never know what would have happened if he would have been honest with the Egyptians about his relationship with Sarai. Instead, his lie caused them to be separated. Also, Sarai was put in a very awkward position in the Pharaoh's palace. Proverbs 15:27 makes it clear: "A greedy man brings trouble to his family." (NIV) Our whole family suffers when we are dishonest. What's worse, it weakens our relationship with our Father. Deuteronomy 25:16 says, "For the LORD your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly." (NIV) We should be striving for righteousness rather than causing God to look at us with disgust. In today's economy, we can look at the results of the vast number of dishonest loan applications that were processed several years ago. How many families are suffering behind our greed? Proverbs 28:18 says, "He whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but he whose ways are perverse will suddenly fall." (NIV) The things we've experienced over the last few years have given us the opportunity to learn a serious life lesson. As we move forward, let's choose to be more responsible with our finances so that we and our families do not have to experience such tragedies again. Let's aim for the life described in Proverbs 10:9: "Honesty lives confident and carefree." (The Message Bible) Wouldn't that be awesome? About the Author: Ozeme J. Bonnette is a financial coach, speaker, and the author of Get What Belongs to You: A Christian Guide to Managing Your Finances. After working for a top financial services firm, she shifted her focus to teaching and speaking to groups and organizations working to increase financial literacy in the U.S. She earned 3 Bachelor's degrees at Fresno State and an MBA at UCLA's Anderson School. Find her at http://www.thechristianmoneycoach.com . |
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