The Bible's Business PlanNäide

“And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine.” Genesis 41:33-36 NIV

BUSINESS BIBLE

You may have heard not to store up treasure. The Bible says save 1/5th! If you don’t know what the Bible says about saving, you won’t know how much to save. Less than half of Americans have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses. One quarter has no emergency savings at all. One third of all Americans tapped their emergency savings in the past year.[1]

The Bible says saving means one-fifth or 20 percent. Just as the word tithe means 1/10th or 10%, the word for saving means 1/5th or 20%. In Hebrew, chamash means “one-fifth” and “to equip.” It describes the deliberate setting aside of one-fifth of available profits or resources. No more, no less. The verb’s only use in the Bible reveals a regular and exact twenty-percent allocation. One word reveals a timeless principle of faithful and wise stewardship, and the redemptive purpose of planning and saving.

Saving reflects the wisdom of God and the discernment of individuals.

[1]According to Bankrate and polling partners SSRS and YouGov,

PRAY

Lord, give me discernment and wisdom to plan and save.