May kasabihan ang mga Tagalog, “Ubos-ubos biyaya, bukas, nakatunganga.” I’ve heard of a family who were very poor. And then, one day, the family became an instant millionaire. Hanggang ngayon hindi pa rin alam ng mga tao kung saan galing ang kanilang pera. Nung nagkapera, gasta nang gasta, party ng party, namimigay na ng pera, kung anu-ano ang binibili. Nagbago na rin ang ugali. Hindi na namamansin. Kaya after a month or so, wala na naman silang pera.
The third key that opens the door to the Lord’s prosperity is SAVING or CONSERVING resources. The first is Work Hard. The second is Invest.
Saving or conserving resources is taught in the Bible. When Jesus Christ fed the 5,000 men, not counting women and children, with two fish and five loaves, it was indeed miraculous.
“Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus ordered. So all of them – the men alone numbered five thousand – sat down on the grassy slopes. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and passed them out to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate until they were full. ‘Now gather the leftovers,’ Jesus told his disciples, so that nothing is wasted.’ There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat!” John 6:10-13
Jesus said, “Gather the leftovers so that nothing is wasted.” Ayaw ni Lord na may naaaksaya. In one sentence, Jesus teaches us the value of saving and conserving resources.
Saving is…..
I. SAVING IS GOOD STEWARDSHIP.
We don’t own anything. Everything that we have in this world is entrusted to our care. We are only managers, not owners. This is the message of Paul in 1 Timothy 6:7, “We didn’t bring anything with us when we came into the world, and we certainly cannot carry anything with us when we die.”
Though Jesus Christ could command supplies whenever He pleased, yet He commanded His disciples to gather all the leftovers. He exemplified saving and conserving resources. Hindi komo meron pa tayong pera o pamalenke bukas e magsasayang tayo ngayon. Hindi tayo dapat maging pabaya. Leftovers must be conserved and used. Leftovers may be food, or other supplies, or they may be anything. Nothing should be wasted.
Often times, we waste a lot of food. Katulad ng mga fastfoods na may American standard. After a few minutes, yang mga manok, kapag hindi nabili, itatapon na lang. Kailangan magluto sila ulit ng iba, para fresh na naman and to maintain their name. This is wasteful use of resources. Our security today does not guarantee that it will still be here tomorrow. Kapag tayo’y nagsasaing dapat walang natatapon. Many of us grew up in the farm and I believe you are familiar with the rice cycle – land preparation muna tapos itinanim ang binhi, inalagaan, weeding, spraying with herbicide, insecticide and fungicide, fertilizing, watering, ipinagpray sa panahon ng bagyo, ginawan ng paraan panahon ng el nino – 3 to 4 months of waiting before harvest. Kapag naharvest na, dadaan sa thresher. Pinatutuyo, ibinibilad sa kalsada, sa basketball court, sa trapal. When it rains, takbuhan sa pagsisilong ang mga nagbibilad, pagtila ng ulan, bilad na naman. Kapag nabilad na pupunta sa rice mill. Tapos, itatransport isasakay sa mga bangka, sa barko, sa jeep, sa truck hanggang makarating sa mga tindahan. Kayo naman naghirap magtrabaho para makabili ng bigas. Pagkatapos ngayon, itong naghuhugas ng bigas, hahayaan lang na mahulog doon sa lababo? O kaya nakaligtas sa pagkahulog sa lababo. Naisaing. Sinukat-sukat, ginastahan pa ng gas o LPG o uling o kahoy para lutuin, at nung naihain na, what happened? Natira. Hindi nakain, dumikit-dikit doon sa gilid ng kaldero. Isinama doon sa huhugasan. Siguro sabi tuloy nung bigas, “Napakahaba naman ng kasaysayan ko para maging ganito lang ang aking wakas.”
Hindi tayo dapat maging wasteful. Nothing should be wasted. These words came from the mouth of our Lord. Do not prepare more than you need. Do not get more than what you can eat. Gabundok ang taas ng pagkain sa plato tapos hindi naman pala kakainin. Iiwan lang sa plato. A Chinese lady commented, “Bakit ang mga Pilipino kapag pinakakain, laging may tira?” There are many stories to this question. Yung iba, superstitious belief, itinitira siguro sa namatay na lolo niya yung kapiraso. Yung iba naman ayaw masabi na patay-gutom. Kunwari busog. Yung iba kuha lang ng kuha, tapos hindi naman kayang kainin.
Let nothing be wasted. Hindi lamang sa pagkain, kahit sa mga supplies, sa tubig, sa kuryente, sa kahit na anong bagay. Let nothing be wasted. That is good stewardship. Wisely use whatever can be kept for another day. Eat all the food on your plate. Drink all the liquid in your glass, otherwise, don’t put it there.
II. SAVING IS PREPARING FOR THE DAYS AHEAD.
The Lord teaches us through an illustration from creation. In Proverbs 6:6-8, it says, “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and be wise! Even though they have no prince, governor, or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.”
Tingnan daw natin yung mga langgam. Wala nga naman silang kumander, walang gobyerno, wala silang mga batas, but they know how to work and save. While there is time, they collect and collect food. They don’t eat all of it; they save some of it in preparation for the winter. During winter they can’t go out of their anthill. Marunong silang mag-impok. Kaya when winter comes they have no worries because they have enough food to eat. They are like the woman in Proverbs 31, “she can laugh at the days to come,” kasi marami siyang savings. The ant collects what it needs – at the right time.
Mas mabuti pa ang kalagayan ng mga langgam kaysa tao. Because they know how to save at the right time. We usually say, “E ano naman ang isisave ko, e kulang na kulang pa nga!” We have to change that cycle. We must learn to save. Can we laugh at the days to come? Kung wala tayong savings, mahirap. Puro tayo worries. At malakas magpatanda yang walang pera. Para kang pinakain sa buwaya!
III. SAVING IS DELAYING GRATIFICATION FOR THE PURPOSE OF INVESTING.
One day, a man got lost walking in the desert. The next day, he was still lost. After two days under the scorching sun, he was very thirsty. All of a sudden, he saw a little wooden shed. He ran to it, thinking of only one thing—Water!
When he arrived there, he saw an old, rusty water pump sticking from the ground. He gripped the handle and began pumping like a mad man. But nothing came out.
Disappointed, he stepped back to study how to make it work.
Looking around, he saw a jug covered with dust.
When he grabbed it, he saw a piece of paper stuck on it. The message read, “Open this jug and you’ll find water. Don’t drink it. Pour it instead on the pump. And you’ll have all the water you want.”
He popped the cork. True enough, the jug was filled with water. Lovely, thirst-quenching, water.
Now imagine you’re that thirsty man.
For two whole days, you haven’t drunk water. Your mouth is so dry, your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth. You’re literally dying of thirst. And you’re now holding a jug full of water. But the message says that you should throw it away!
For a moment, your heart is torn.
What if the message was a joke? A cruel prank? What if you poured the water on that rusty pump and nothing happened?
But the man in our story chose to take the risk.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and poured the water.
He held the handle and pumped like crazy.
A few seconds later, torrents of water gushed out. Indeed, he had more water than he could ever need!
He drank to his heart content. He also found water containers to bring with him in his journey and filled them up to the brim.
But before leaving the place, he filled the jug with water.
And underneath the sign attached to it, he scribbled, “I tried it. Believe me, it works.”
You Have A Choice: Drink Now Or Drink Forever
This is a great picture of why people are poor.
The money that you hold now, no matter how small, is like that jug of water. And you always have a choice: You can drink now or you can drink forever. You can have money now or have money forever.
How? By saving and investing.
A lot of people don’t save and invest.
They spend whatever they have.
I’ve met people who earn P10T a month or 50T a month—and they spend everything. That’s why their money pump remains dry. And they’ll remain poor forever. It really doesn’t matter how much people earn. What matters is how much they save and invest.
“The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get” Proverbs 21:20.
This is usually our formula when it comes to spending and saving:
INCOME – EXPENSES = SAVINGS
The sad thing is we spend everything, no savings. According to Francis Kong, a business expert, we have to change the formula. Our formula should be:
INCOME – SAVINGS = EXPENSES
Saving and investing are crazy decisions.
It’s as crazy as pouring that last jug of water into the pump.
Friend, you have money now.
It may be small but you have it.
Will you simply consume your little money?
Or will you pour it into the money pump or invest it—so that it produces more money for you? It’s your choice!
If we want to be prosperous, learn to save. Learn to invest.
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