Proverbs 6:8
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Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
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Saving money is smart! Saving money is right! Ants do it by the wisdom God gave them. Do you? You are doomed to eventual financial trouble and failure, if you do not save a portion of all income. If you spend all you make, or spend more than you make, as most Americans, you will soon be in financial difficulty, pain, stress, and trouble.
The ant stays underground during the whole winter season, and it consumes the food it stored up during the prosperity of summer and harvest. Without any rulers, guides, or overseers, the ant knows to be conscious of the future and prepare for it (6:7). Saving is not something you should be forced to do; you should want to do it for its great value.
This little creature has great wisdom, and the LORD expects you to learn from it (6:6-8; 30:25). The first lesson is hard work, which sluggards can learn by watching the constant activity of ants. They do not talk about sports at the water fountain! The second lesson is being a self-starter; they do not need drill sergeants to get them going or remind them of other projects to work on. And this proverb is the third lesson; they save for the future.
If a man is a diligent self-starter, the ant's first two lessons, he will make considerable income during his lifetime, even if he is uneducated and/or underemployed. But what a man makes does not measure the man; it is rather what he keeps! For only what you keep shows character, protects against future trouble, and allows for investment opportunities.
Fools live check to check. Wise men save some of all income, at least ten percent, and put it aside, to be used only for a dire emergency or terrific investment. They think about the future, not just spending whatever comes to hand (21:20). They cut spending to save.
The younger you are and the better your income, the more you should save. Youth is not for playing; it is for working and saving, for difficult days are coming. If business or income is booming, you should be saving toward fifty percent, for the leaner times ahead.
The first five rules of Bible economics are obey God, pay God first, pay yourself second, work hard, and work smart. These basic rules are absolutely guaranteed to work. The ant does them! It obeys God, saves much, works hard, and is very smart (30:25). Consider it!
While saving for your financial future, you must also lay up treasures in heaven for your spiritual future (I Tim 6:17-19). That was the wisdom Jesus taught from the unjust steward (Luke 16:1-9). Are you making your calling and election sure (II Pet 1:10-11)?
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