Proverbs 13:11-12 

¹¹Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow. ¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Croissant

         Someone posted a question online asking, “What is the bread of your cat?” It was not known if it was intentional spelling or erroneous but someone replied, “Loaf bread!” Breed, bread, bridge, braid have similar sound to the untrained and unfamiliar ears. And advanced technology should help check right spelling.

Well anyway, what’s your favorite bread? I like “croissant!” Well, croissant is not bread; it’s pastry. Whatever! I like croissant, that all! The process of baking croissant is meticulous. It is very simple and easy but the required time in each step in the process had to be observed to come up with the desired croissant.

         Most often, delicate projects are meticulously produced. Time is significant to procedures or process for everything. It declares in Ecclesiastes 3:1, ¹There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

         With no doubt, we want circumstances surrounding us to come together at our desired eventuality, but many things cannot be forced. Desired results follow the process or procedure required. Everyone wants to adequately have a share of comfort and materialism that this world may offer in the past until now.

         To seek employment and earn their money, high school graduates forgo university studies. In their hope to be employed in jobs that may pay them higher salaries, they return to school. Both forgoing studies and returning to school are possible means to progress but they are not absolute quick fix to prosperity.

         Are you worried about your future, family, retirement or economy? Pray for financial wisdom. Christ warns us not to worry about tomorrow. Together, let us reflect seriously on what Christ has warned in Matthew 6:31-34, ³¹Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

         The term “Pagan” can be interpreted as nation, Gentile, non-Jewish ethnic group or people who do not believe in God. Christ implies that worry is natural tendency of anyone who won’t practice faith in him. When worry attacks, pray that your faith in Christ is activated. Probably, worry influenced people so that they want to prosper quickly. Anyway, who wants to prosper quickly?

Yet honest people are concerned about their behavior more than money.

1.  Honesty

¹¹Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.

         Biblical proverbs require wisdom to readily understood and appropriately applied into practicality. Disregard of the warning that dishonest money dwindles away exposes the foolishness of swindlers or worry of fraudsters. There is no shortage of articles about swindlers who accumulated wealth dishonestly and lost them eventually. Just to warn probable reckless adventurism from anybody the media put emphasis on the negative unproductive result of dishonest gains.

Stripe Bass

         One of my favorite freshwater fish I’ve tasted in Canada is “Stripe Bass.” Few years ago, it was fun to catch “Stripe Bass.” But reckless fishermen ignored the required limit for catch, and striped bass had disappeared. Well, dishonest fishermen may have escaped authorities at one point but not all the time.

         There are several reports when dishonest fishermen tried to hide their catch until authorities had devised a scheme to catch them eventually. Violation against fishing regulations has undesirable consequences. Heavy fines, possible seizure and forfeiture of fishing gears, catch, vessel or other equipment used in the commission of an offence, suspension or cancellation of fishing license.

         The probability of being caught anytime they violate rules and regulations is not very enjoyable kind of life, right? Together, reflect on Ecclesiastes 5:19. ¹⁹Moreover, when God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot and be happy in their toil—this is a gift of God.

         King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest king of Israel must have observed that to enjoy wealth and possessions is grace from God. Many kings in the past were not satisfied with their abundance; they invaded other nations to increase their wealth. In our generation, multibillion companies are not satisfied with what they have. They would purchase other companies, just to increase their profits.

         It is frequently published online that road rage involved motorists who drive fancy cars, and those who drive fancy cars are loud and noisy. Normally, how do you behave when you are satisfied with what you have? Placidly, calm. You have serenity, peace, composure, no worry. What can we do to enjoy what we have? We pray for ability to enjoy what we have and hope for God’s favorable answer.

2.  Hope

¹²Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

         When we pray for particular item, we hope that God may release them at the time we perceive as necessary. It feels sorry when our hope is deferred. It is not very comfortable feeling when anticipation or hope is prolonged or delayed.

Disappointment of delayed expectation can affect anyone positively or negatively. One may lose appetite for betterment or be motivated to work harder.

If our expectation happens according to our longing, will our pleasure of contentment be sufficient enough? The magnitude of expectation may equate to the magnitude of frustration when expectation fails. The greater the expectation is, they greater the pain is when expectation fails. Have you experienced it?

         How can we avoid frustration from failed expectation? We hope that God answers our prayers. Together let us reflect on what it says in James 4:14-15,

¹⁴Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Have you proven if there’s perfectly absolute in this world? Summer driving can be frustrating when you have urgent appointment, and you were caught in a traffic jam because of road construction. We should not blame anybody for slow or inefficient construction work. Being late on appointment, no matter what the cause could be should remind us that there are many things we cannot control.

Traffic, economy, weather or health, what else? No matter what situation or circumstances, we should practice our faith in Christ at any given opportunity.

I hope we can memorize what it declares in Hebrews 11:1, ¹Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Abraham

We can learn how to practice faith from Abraham. Abraham and Lot his nephew’s hired herders and their servants quarreled. It narrated in Genesis 13:8-13,

⁸So Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herders and mine, for we are close relatives. ⁹Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” ¹⁰Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) ¹¹So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: ¹²Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. ¹³Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.

Abraham told Lot to choose first. Lot preferred Sodom because it attracted potential business. Lot trusted his instinct; he expected progress near Sodom. Lot accumulated much wealth and possession only to be burned with Sodom. His expectation of prosperity failed. In contrast, Abraham’s faith in God favored him.

Abraham trusted God and his promise that his descendants will inherit Canaan.

If Abraham was the first to choose, he would probably still choose to stay in Canaan because he was growing old and did not desire more possession. Is it practice of faith to gather little by little? Human instinct desires instant wealth.

Instead of trusting human instinct, we pray for stronger faith in God. Amen!

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