3.8-10 NKJV
“…nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
Money is a powerful tool to accomplish your dreams, fulfill your desires, and fix whatever ails you. There is no particular virtue in poverty. Money can be a great blessing but “the love of money is the root of all evil” (1st Timothy 6.10 KJV).
Money represents the things you can buy. Those things and your motivation to own them reveal the condition of your heart. Your level of devotion to material possessions indicates the depth of the evil resident within you.
“If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
Paul’s work ethic could be restated for our spend-happy culture:
‘If anyone has no money, neither shall he buy.’
Wimpy, in the original Popyeye cartoon series, was a ‘hamburger-aholic.’ He was fond of promising, “I’ll gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today.” Apparently Wimpy did not have enough cash on hand to satisfy his burger hankering. St. Paul would have clarified things for Wimpy: ‘Wait until tomorrow to eat the hamburger when you have the money to buy it. Today, go to work. Earn some money, let your hunger spur you on to productive labor, then come back and buy your burger.” It’s the principle of delayed gratification.
The difference between a man and a boy is this… a boy won’t wait. A man can delay gratification. Wimpy looked like a man, but he was apparently still a boy. Wimpy lived up to his name; Wimpy was a wimpy man.
There are many things I want, feel I deserve, and could easily justify owning like a vacation, for example. The truth is... I could take a vacation right now if I wanted to. I have a credit card! Saying “no” to self is painful. The little boy within me threatens a tantrum. He’s screams to spend money I don’t have. The man in me believes I can wait and delay my own gratification. The man in me realizes the best vacation I’ll ever take is the one that’s paid for before I take it.
“If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat.”
Paul’s work ethic could be restated for our spend-happy culture:
‘If anyone has no money, neither shall he buy.’
Wimpy, in the original Popyeye cartoon series, was a ‘hamburger-aholic.’ He was fond of promising, “I’ll gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today.” Apparently Wimpy did not have enough cash on hand to satisfy his burger hankering. St. Paul would have clarified things for Wimpy: ‘Wait until tomorrow to eat the hamburger when you have the money to buy it. Today, go to work. Earn some money, let your hunger spur you on to productive labor, then come back and buy your burger.” It’s the principle of delayed gratification.
The difference between a man and a boy is this… a boy won’t wait. A man can delay gratification. Wimpy looked like a man, but he was apparently still a boy. Wimpy lived up to his name; Wimpy was a wimpy man.
There are many things I want, feel I deserve, and could easily justify owning like a vacation, for example. The truth is... I could take a vacation right now if I wanted to. I have a credit card! Saying “no” to self is painful. The little boy within me threatens a tantrum. He’s screams to spend money I don’t have. The man in me believes I can wait and delay my own gratification. The man in me realizes the best vacation I’ll ever take is the one that’s paid for before I take it.
Will I delay gratification like a man or take the “Wimpy” way out?
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