The Lion
"The sluggard says, There is a lion in the way! A lion is in the streets!"
This scripture from Proverbs 26:13 shows one of the best graphic examples of how God's omniscience sees through it all, getting to the truth and revealing it to us for our understanding, conviction and change.
Obviously there is a not a real lion present, but the verse tells us how the mind of the slothful person actually "conjures" up an excuse, justifying in their faulty reasoning why they should postpone and usually not accomplish a task or effort.
Most of us would not identify ourselves as a sluggard, but the related words to the definition include being inattentive, passive and slow. If we're honest with ourselves, many of us have areas we know God is prompting us to move forward in, including our finances.
Starting with our "First Commandment" of finances, honoring the Lord with the first tenth of our income. For some, the lion is "I will tithe when I'm making more" or "when I get this bill paid". The truth is in Malachi 3 God regards this as robbing Him and those that do so are cursed with a curse, which is sadly why that cycle continues for those people until they step out in faith.
Conversely, the verses that follow speak of God's window of blessing being open and pouring to those who tithe and give offerings to Him, even to the point of not having enough room to receive it and the Lord also rebuking the enemy in their finances.
We are called to be free of debt in Romans 13:8, "to owe no man anything, except to love one another". Much like the subject of tithing, where our inaction undermines our ability to be blessed from God to so - indebtedness carries its own handicap in the form of interest charges. With the average credit card interest rate of 21% the balance can grow too large to overcome - unless we take steps to reduce what goes on the card to begin with.
Consider it this way when using the credit card, if you do not have the money in the bank to pay for it now when you're charging for it... how will you have it when the 21% interest charge is added on?
What are the lions you've imagined keeping you from stepping out and taking the reins in this area? Do they include what will people think if you brought lunch to work, spent less on clothing, did not have the latest phone, device or car? Or what your flesh is crying out for, that "I have to have this or I won't be happy?".
We need to put those fictitious lions (excuses) in their place, and regard more highly what is real - which is the power of compound interest working against those carrying debt, that our awesome God who loves us has warned us that we rob Him and are cursed by withholding the tithe, but will be blessed beyond our room to even store it if we're obedient.
In closing, keep this thought and verse in mind when thinking of those lions of procrastination... When we know something is right... RIGHT NOW is the time to do it. One version of Ecclesiastes 11:4 reads "If a person waits for perfect weather, he will never plant his seeds. And if he is afraid every cloud will bring rain, he will never harvest his crops."
God Bless you and may He show Himself greatly to you,
Paul
