Consider the Ant You Slacker
Go to the ant, you slacker! Observe its ways and become wise.
Without leader, administrator, or ruler, it prepares its provisions in summer; it gathers its food during harvest.
~Proverbs 6:6-8
To anyone with half a brain it is becoming fairly obvious we are moving into some tough economic times. The buying power of our dollars is slipping and inflationary trends are fast outpacing earnings.Excessive printing of money and government handouts are going to shortly catch up with us all. Our Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin and Fed Chair Jerome Powell might like to rename it “supply chain shortages and bottlenecks” or “transitory price pressures” but such terms are just playing dodge-ball with what this really is.
Just go to the gas station. Two days ago I filled up two tractors for a whopping $150. A year ago it cost me $80. Go to Home depot and buy some wood for a new deck. Better plan to lay out an additional 40% at minimum to what you would have paid a year ago. Stay in a hotel, rent a car, go out to eat, buy some food.
Everywhere you go you and I are spending markedly more money for the same product we would have bought just a year ago.
Whether or not you personally liked him, Donald Trump should buy a billboard with a picture of himself standing by a gas pump with the simple question: “Miss me now?”
So what am I getting at? The ant gets ready in summer for the long winter ahead. God warned Joseph to store grain in advance of 7 years of famine.
Are you stocking up? Do you have enough food in the pantry to go more than a week without going to the store? Do you have an emergency fund? Are you financing everything in your life? Are you living within your means?
If you’re on a fixed income it might get a little dicey up ahead. If you’re servicing huge amounts of debt you might not have enough to keep up with housing prices. Are you getting yourself into a situation that is setting you up for success or failure? Prepare now.
On another level. We will continue to live well within our means as a church. We are grateful for the good financial situation the church is in. However, we won’t take it for granted.
We will live frugally and trust the Lord to sustain and meet the needs as we go ahead. He has always done so and I am confident He will continue to do so in the future. Come what may.
Because of grace,
Tim
