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When I was in Hong Kong, a lady manager approached me. She told me that she had married there and had a child, but after some time she and her husband separated. She asked me to pray for her, because she wanted to move to New Zealand. I asked her why she wanted to do so, thinking that she might not be receiving a big enough salary from her present job, or that she might be entertaining plans of marrying again. But I was surprised when she said, "Bro. Mike, I just want to transfer to another place!" Such things happen because we are never contented with what we have. People transfer from one place to another and from one job to another. Some married men continue to pursue other women and carry on extramarital affairs. Many rich people keep working harder, with dreams of |
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becoming even richer. Others who already own a house still want to purchase other real estate properties. Still some who already have their own cars strive to buy another one. To be at peace, we should learn to be contented. There are Seven Ways to Achieve Contentment: FIRST, let us establish a reasonable standard of living. Let us set our goals, strive for them, and be satisfied when we have achieved them. We get into financial and material troubles because some of us spend more than what we earn. In order to avoid these, let us spend only for things that are necessary and within our means. I started my career as an apprentice Geodetic Engineer in 1963 with a P4-daily wage. A year later, my pay was raised to P250 per month, and three months thereafter, to P350 per month. While my income still ranged from P350 to P500 per month, we rented an apartment costing only P60 a month. It was only four years later, when my salary was raised to P1,400 per month, that we transferred to an apartment with a rental of P260 per month. And not long afterward, I found myself blessed with additional income on top of my monthly pay of P1,400. Eventually, we found ourselves running our own business and owning a house and lot along the millionaires' row in Dasmariñas Village, Makati City. Saint Paul clearly tells us in his letter to the Philippians, chapter 4, verses 12 to 13, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." SECOND, let us establish our priorities. We need to learn to live within our income, and resolve to make an honest accounting of our expenditures according to God's basic purposes for money. Let us classify our needs and wants, and prioritize them accordingly, such as food, clothing, shelter, education, health care, and social needs. The proper distribution of our income should be as follows: 30% – shelter; 20% – food; 20% – miscellaneous expenses; 10% - clothing; 10% – tithes; and 10% – savings. Planning ahead for our future needs is not possible without an accurate accounting of our income and expenses. Even in nature, the ants, are conscious of their own accounting system, as written in Proverbs 6:6-8: "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest." |