How God Teaches Us to be Savers

God built lessons about saving into creation itself. He designed certain animals to teach humans about planning and preparation. Solomon wrote: Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest (Proverbs 6:6-8). The ant doesn't have a supervisor standing over her, demanding she work. She sees summer coming and knows winter will follow. She prepares accordingly. God points to this tiny creature and says, "Learn from her."

The story of Joseph in Egypt illustrates this principle on a grand scale. God revealed to Pharaoh through dreams that seven years of abundance would be followed by seven years of famine. Joseph advised Pharaoh to save one-fifth of the grain during the good years so Egypt would survive the bad years (Genesis 41). This wisdom saved Egypt and the surrounding nations from starvation. God gave warning. Joseph responded with a plan. Saving made the difference between life and death.

God's Very Nature Shows that He's a Giving God

God gives because giving flows from who he is. John writes that anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love (1 John 4:7-8). Love gives. It shares. It provides for others at cost to itself. This isn't just something God does occasionally when he feels generous. Giving is woven into his eternal nature.

We see this within the Trinity itself. Before creation, before time began, the Father loved the Son. Jesus spoke of the glory that I had with you before the world existed (John 17:5). The Father gave this glory to the Son. The Son loves the Father and does what pleases him (John 14:31). The Father gives all things into the Son's hand (John 3:35). This divine generosity existed before the universe came into being. God didn't start giving when he made the world. He has always been the Giving One.

God Wants You to Work and Earn Money

Work existed before sin entered the world. This might surprise us because we tend to think of work as part of the curse, something we endure until we can retire and finally rest. Genesis tells a different story. When God placed Adam in the garden, he gave him meaningful work to do: The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Genesis 2:15). The garden needed cultivation. It needed care. God designed humans to find purpose in this kind of labor.

The command to work appears even earlier in the creation account. God told the first humans to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion (Genesis 1:28). This wasn't punishment. This was privilege. God invited humanity to join him in bringing order from chaos, to cultivate what he had made, to help creation flourish. When we work, we use the materials and abilities God provides to help others thrive. We build communities. We spread his image throughout the world.

The Power of Starting Young (Compound Interest!)

Time is your most valuable financial asset. You cannot buy more of it, and you cannot get it back once it passes. Young people who understand this truth can build extraordinary wealth with modest contributions. Those who delay saving until their 40s or 50s must work much harder to achieve the same results.

I first learned about the power of starting young from The Money Guy Show's Wealth Multiplier. When I saw that someone investing just $95 per month starting at age 20 could become a millionaire by 65, I was sold. The numbers seemed almost too good to be true, yet the math checked out. That single concept changed how I viewed every dollar I earned.

What Does the Bible Say About Setting Goals?

Some Christians think goal-setting contradicts faith. They believe planning ahead shows a lack of trust in God's sovereignty. This misunderstands both sovereignty and stewardship. The Bible teaches that God plans, and He expects us to plan too.

God Has a Plan for Your Life

Ephesians 1:5 tells us, "he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will." God set goals before you drew your first breath. He planned your adoption, your salvation, and your place in His family.

Ephesians 2:10 continues, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." God prepared specific good works for you to accomplish. He created you with intention and purpose. Your life follows His design, which means you should approach your days with intentionality that reflects His planning.

What Does the Bible Say about Money and Possessions?

The Bible contains over 2,000 verses about money. God speaks about finances more than almost any other practical topic. This tells us something clear: how we handle money matters to Him.

God Owns Everything, Including You

Deuteronomy 10:14 states, "Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it." Psalm 24:1-2 echoes this truth. Everything you see, touch, and use belongs to God. Your house, your car, your paycheck—none of it originated with you.

This extends to your very person. First Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." Christ purchased you with His blood. You belong to Him completely, which means your money belongs to Him too.

The Complete Guide to Bible Phrasing: A Transformational Approach to Scripture Study

Most Bible studies ask you to look inward. They prompt you to share what the passage means to you, how it makes you feel, what applications you can draw from it. Week after week, you mine your own thoughts and emotions for something fresh to say about texts you've read a dozen times.

This gets boring fast. Your thoughts are finite. Your emotions repeat themselves. Apart from the Spirit's work in your life, you run out of new things to say.

Bible phrasing takes a different approach. It asks you to look outward at what God has revealed. It trains your eye to see the craftsmanship in Scripture, the way God inspired authors to build arguments, layer meanings, and structure truth. When you phrase a passage, you stop generating your own insights and start discovering what's already there.

The difference is profound. One approach can exhaust you. The other can invigorate your soul.

My 2026 Reading List

For the past several years, my goal has been to read at least one book a week for 52 weeks. I read the Bible every day. I have spent the last year in the book of Numbers (in Hebrew) and phrasing out 1 Corinthians. In the coming year, I plan to continue in Deuteronomy, and I will begin phrasing 2 Corinthians.