Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Day 23 (March 29): Look Ahead!


This past weekend I taught about how one can end the financial war which rages in the heart of the unsuspecting soul. Positioning yourself for a prosperous future requires that you look ahead constantly.

Solomon puts it this way: “A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it” (Prov. 22:3). This verse seems almost like the one I examined yesterday—Proverbs 27:12. This is probably the case because making hard financial decisions is often one of the most frequent things we procrastinate about. The delay may result in the decision being made for us by someone who cares little or nothing about our personal circumstance or financial future.

Several years ago I started using this question to help me make many financial and non-financial decisions: “Is this sustainable?” In other words: “Are my actions sustainable as it relates to this particular project, activity, or whatever?” “Can I keep up with the payments or the time it takes to address the activity I’m thinking about starting?” If the answer is “no”, I then begin immediately to transition myself out of the situation because it is not sustainable.

Sustainability is a great way to sift through the complexities of life. The ability to sustain something is like the ability to stay on a moving treadmill. If you don’t have the stamina, passion, or the peace of mind that you’re in the will of God, you cannot maintain the present or anticipated course of action indefinitely.

Apply this question to some of your financial issues and see where it takes you. Share your answers with us. Let’s keep the conversation going.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks Dr. Ireland. I will now begin to use that question myself. All that I've learned about money is from your teaching. My progress is slow as I've made so many financial mistakes in my life. but thanks to your teaching I'm getting on the "financial freedom road".

    ReplyDelete

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