Mind Over Money!

This is the scenario:

The utility bills come every month. You are able to pay your light bill and water & sewage bill on time; however, the gas bill is always late! You have done this for several years now and feel hopeless you will never get it caught up. You say, “What’s the use”! It's already late, you know you are short, and had no intentions of wanting to pay it. So you go out and treat yourself to a new pair of jeans, a nice hair cut, and some work out shoes that were more than you should have paid for them ~ but you wanted them! When you receive the disconnect notice again, panic mode settles in, then guilt, then fear. You call up the gas company in hopes that you tell them a sob story; well a made up lie, they will give you a break again! Whereas; this time, they are not going to give in. You have used up all of your nice cards and it's time for the reality of responsibility to settle in; because your actions have shown them you are not sincere (one of the appetizer words) about paying “on time”! Oh I forgot to mention; it’s 20 degrees outside. So now what?

The answer:

Keep in mind you have been doing this for years, paid the late fee for years, and were constantly in the arrears! Sit down and do some calculations and add up how much you were spending extra every month by paying the late fee. It’s not money wasted; it’s just money you could use elsewhere or even put in a savings for hard times, once you establish a method of "on time payment"! When we are constantly robbing Peter to pay Paul, then we are in a rut!

All of us have done it sometime or another with any type of payment (car, furniture, medical bills, etc.) and if you haven’t that is Fabulous! Being in debt brings so much stress, discomfort, arguments, and even divorce in families. The root of the matter truly isn’t money; it’s our attitude towards money that gets us into trouble. Money is not evil, but the love of money is!

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with much grief. I Timothy 6:10 NIV

I know you are waiting on the answer, and here it is:

It is important to make sure you do not have more money going out than you do coming in. If you do, then you and your husband sit down and go over your spending habits. Once you see where you are spending your money, how much, and where, then make some adjustments immediately, pray for discernment as to what to let go and what to keep, and stay dedicated (another appetizer word) to your decision so your household will live in God’s peace.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT