"Believe what you know, not what you hear"

I was reading Crosswalk devotion today written by Tracie Miles "Believe what you know, not what you hear" and I just had to add my own words into this as it applies to the handling of our finances.

There are over 800 scriptures in the Bible about finance. More scriptures than there are about love. Society and our culture today have completely rewritten the biblical standards of handling money. We have heard so much on the news, from Hollywood, by the credit card companies, even by Congress about handling money, which completely contradicts God's law and advice. Because we have all believed these to be trustworthy sources, we have all been misled and fallen for their traps.

In the same way, today's culture does an excellent job of sending us wrong information, misleading us about right and wrong, and convincing us that God's Word, His Truth, is not accurate and all to make a quick buck for themselves. Take tolerance, for example. The term "tolerance" seems to imply, by today's standards, that anything and everything about handling money is morally equivalent. Society tries to convince people that the truth is relative, open for interpretation, and apt to be changed if anyone wants it to be different.

The world is currently in a recession and we are all to blame, including the men running this country in the White House. Now more than ever, it is imperative that Christians stay keenly aware of whether or not we are believing what we know to be the truth, versus believing what we hear or see, especially when it comes to handling our finances. The Bible clearly states that God set moral laws about money for His people, and the outline of what is right and wrong is written with great clarity.

Example, the scripture 1st Timothy 6:10 "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 many griefs." We have wandered from God's truth and now the world is in great grief. Knowing where we are now, do we continue to allow ourselves to be swayed by information that does not line up with God's Word? Do we follow the crowd, even when it is operating on inaccurate or even potentially dangerous information? Do we act on questionable truths, just because it seems that everyone else believes it to be true and that is what the Jones' are doing?

As believers, we have the incredible responsibility of being sure that we place what the Bible says about money over what well-intentioned (even trustworthy or respected) people may say. If we doubt that the Bible is the one absolute truth, what other source of truth are we looking to? The government, the credit card companies, your neighbor who is broke and busted? Please....take a look again. Are you tired of believing what you "hear" to be truth?

A few scriptures about what God says about handling your money:

• Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender."
• Romans 13:8 "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."
• Proverbs 21:20 "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has."
• Proverbs 13:11 "Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow."
• Proverbs 17:18 "It's stupid to guarantee someone else's loan."

It is very simple. We are Americans need to get back to the God's written Word, the Truth about handling our money, beginning in our own household and we can then claim back this great nation as it once was.

Proverbs 10:22
"The blessings of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."