Daily Scripture: Genesis 41:
25 Yosef said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do. 26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years — the dreams are the same. 27 Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind — there will be seven years of famine. 28 This is what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 29 Here it is: there will be seven years of abundance throughout the whole land of Egypt; 30 but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land, 31 and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible. 32 Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.
33 “Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt. 34 Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance. 35 They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it. 36 This will be the land’s food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.”
Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, you lazybones!
Joseph, a great Hebrew ancestor, led Egypt to save 20% of each good year’s harvest as a food reserve to use in a future famine. This was an early example of “living beneath your means.” When the famine hit, “the first recorded rationing in history was a hit” (as Andrew Lloyd Webber put it in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat). Later, Israel’s wisdom sages saw the same kind of wisdom Joseph showed as they watched ants “planning” and saving for the future —unlike some humans.
Lord God, when Paul described the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he listed both “generosity” and “self-control.” Help me keep growing in both of those qualities, planning wisely (yet not obsessively) for the future. Amen.
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Insights from Donna Karlen
Consider its ways, and be wise.
7 It has no chief, overseer or ruler;
8 yet it provides its food in summer
and gathers its supplies at harvest-time.
9 Lazybones! How long will you lie there in bed?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 “I’ll just lie here a bit, rest a little longer,
just fold my hands for a little more sleep” —
11 and poverty comes marching in on you,
scarcity hits you like an invading soldier.
Reflection Questions:Joseph, a great Hebrew ancestor, led Egypt to save 20% of each good year’s harvest as a food reserve to use in a future famine. This was an early example of “living beneath your means.” When the famine hit, “the first recorded rationing in history was a hit” (as Andrew Lloyd Webber put it in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat). Later, Israel’s wisdom sages saw the same kind of wisdom Joseph showed as they watched ants “planning” and saving for the future —unlike some humans.
- We don’t know much detail about the Egyptian Pharaoh’s financial advisers. But the Genesis story suggests that he found Joseph’s “let’s save for the future” advice so wise and original that he put this former prisoner in charge of nearly everything in Egypt. Who (if anyone) has influenced you to choose to handle your finances with the long view in mind, rather than simply spending “as if there is no tomorrow”?
- Proverbs addressed its ant “parable” to a “lazy person.” It may be that the sages had in mind, not only the physically lazy person who didn’t want to do any hard work, but also the mentally lazy person who hadn’t thought through the long-term consequences of his short-term choices. How, in both dimensions, are you allowing Biblical wisdom to shape the kinds of choices you make? (If you think you need help with this, check out www.cor.org/fpu).
Lord God, when Paul described the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5, he listed both “generosity” and “self-control.” Help me keep growing in both of those qualities, planning wisely (yet not obsessively) for the future. Amen.
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Donna Karlen serves in Communications at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection.
In the 70s, a series of TV ads for the investment advisory company E.F. Hutton featured two people talking in a crowded public place about the stock market. One of the characters would say, “My broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says…” and immediately everyone around the pair would stop what they were doing and lean in to listen. The spot ended with the voice over, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”
There doesn’t appear to be an E.F. Hutton in the Bible dispensing advice on living life in retirement. In fact, the Bible doesn’t say much about the subject at all. A Google search yields a couple verses in Numbers about retiring at age 50 – but that’s not going to happen for very many of us. I don’t think I’d even want to retire that early. If age 50 is considered our lifetime “halftime,” then the idea of not working during the majority of my second half is not only financially not feasible, but it sounds personally unfulfilling as well.
Today’s scripture points to taking steps to prepare for a future that could include famine – but with Hy-Vee’s helpful smile in every aisle less than a mile away from where I live, I’m thinking our food supplier is at least as reliable as Pharaoh. As for the “lazy person” in Proverbs? That just kind of makes me nervous about falling asleep.
But even though scripture may not speak directly to the concept of retirement, we can still look to the Bible for some pretty awesome advice for living (at any age):
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.[Ephesians 2:10]
God has given each of you some special abilities: Be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.[1 Peter 4:10]
…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?[Micah 6:8]
And, of course, from our Teacher, our Lord, our Savior:
‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’[Matthew 25:35-40]
Yes, my adviser is Jesus Christ, and when Jesus Christ speaks… Let us all lean in to listen!
In the 70s, a series of TV ads for the investment advisory company E.F. Hutton featured two people talking in a crowded public place about the stock market. One of the characters would say, “My broker is E.F. Hutton, and E.F. Hutton says…” and immediately everyone around the pair would stop what they were doing and lean in to listen. The spot ended with the voice over, “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”
There doesn’t appear to be an E.F. Hutton in the Bible dispensing advice on living life in retirement. In fact, the Bible doesn’t say much about the subject at all. A Google search yields a couple verses in Numbers about retiring at age 50 – but that’s not going to happen for very many of us. I don’t think I’d even want to retire that early. If age 50 is considered our lifetime “halftime,” then the idea of not working during the majority of my second half is not only financially not feasible, but it sounds personally unfulfilling as well.
Today’s scripture points to taking steps to prepare for a future that could include famine – but with Hy-Vee’s helpful smile in every aisle less than a mile away from where I live, I’m thinking our food supplier is at least as reliable as Pharaoh. As for the “lazy person” in Proverbs? That just kind of makes me nervous about falling asleep.
But even though scripture may not speak directly to the concept of retirement, we can still look to the Bible for some pretty awesome advice for living (at any age):
We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.[Ephesians 2:10]
God has given each of you some special abilities: Be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings.[1 Peter 4:10]
…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?[Micah 6:8]
And, of course, from our Teacher, our Lord, our Savior:
‘For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’[Matthew 25:35-40]
Yes, my adviser is Jesus Christ, and when Jesus Christ speaks… Let us all lean in to listen!
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Download the GPS App
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, Kansas 66224 United States
913.897.0120
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