A PROPHET’S ERROR

“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant, my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” ~ II Kings 4:1

REFERENCE:

II Kings 4:1-10

A prophet is an inspired teacher who declares the will of God and utters divinely inspired revelations. He makes predictions, foretelling future events; he is gifted with spiritual insight and is seen as God’s spokesman. One would expect such a one to order his life with every sense of prudence and precision, but because of her husband, the prophet, the widow in our text was plunged into unforeseen difficulty. He died and left them a considerable debt-the prophet’s error.

The contradiction of the prophet’s life is worth remarking on. It is easy to excuse the legacy he left behind by saying he was poor and broke because he devoted his life to serving God. But the bible says that God delights in the prosperity of His servants. How can you be a man of faith and live penury? How can you see into the future and not plan for the future? How do you precisely discern God’s will yet fail to do it in your family? How do you serve God and don’t plan?

The prophet’s error was that he was careless about his financial responsibility to his family. He felt prayer alone would do that; having gone everywhere for God, He would do everything for him. Right, but still incomplete. A prophet, too, must learn to plan, save, invest, think about his children’s future, and plan for their education. If he fails at this, he reproaches his religion.

How do you think the prophet’s sons about to be taken into slavery would feel about their father and his God? I know what you are thinking. Although we are believers, it will be an error if we do not learn to save, plan for our retirement, work out of indebtedness, become financially literate, and stretch our faith to send our children to school and build a house.

The prophet may have thought he would have time to fix his finances. Today is the day you have. Pray, yes, but plan, build, invest, get a trade, learn a skill, etc. Don’t let poverty or indebtedness make a mockery of your faith in God. The patriarchs were godly, but they were rich. Jesus had all His needs met. The apostles’ faith drew churches to support them, and even Paul worked. Be financially responsible; don’t eat all; save some, so you are not guilty of the prophet’s error.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS:

I Corinthians 4:2, Proverbs 13:22, Job 36:11, and I Timothy 5:8

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PRAYER

+ Lord, may I not bring reproach to Your holy name by being irresponsible financially to a point where I incur an untold amount of debt and leave my family stranded. Teach me to be financially disciplined, avoid waste, and delay gratification. Help me to find a healthy balance between Christianity and prosperity, and may one not suffer for the other, in Jesus’ name.