it's all about control

Today in the One Year Bible, we read from Jeremiah 10:1-11:23. Jeremiah tells us not to be like the pagan nations who use sorcerers and fortune tellers to try to see the future. Why was (and is) this practice so wrong?

The reason is that it betrays our lack of trust in God. We are trying to control the future. Trying to see what the future holds so that we can protect ourselves, rather than trusting God to take care of us.

We do some of the same things today, but in different ways. We try to see what financial systems are going to do so that we can invest our money for a great return, and not worry about the future. We store our money away in our back accounts, piling up more and more, and don't give to those who are less fortunate because we're fearful of what the future brings.

Is it wrong to be responsible with our money? Of course not. But we should also be generous. And we should trust God. God is recorded as laughing only a handful of times in the Bible. And most of them have to do with man making plans (usually to hurt others) and God laughing at those plans. There is an old Jewish proverb that says, "Man plans; God laughs." And there is truth to that.

So let's make wise decisions with our money. Let's be generous with our wealth, and help those in need. And above all, let's trust in God, Who knows what we need, and will always take care of us.

God, thanks for teaching us not to try to take control away from You, but to trust You in everything.