Oh, No, or Ono?

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

The following is an excerpt from Building Your Financial Fortress in 52 Days: The Lessons of Nehemiah. This post is from Day 43.

As if Nehemiah needed more trouble. Two out of the three stooges were at it again. They sent him a FedEx five times in row. They wanted him to stop the project and just talk to them about what was up and to give them a chance to explain things. True, they had plotted to kill him and overthrow the people, they had mocked him, ridiculed him, and were even anti-Semitic, but this time they just wanted to be friends and meet at Starbucks across town in a neutral location over tall, double-caramel macchiatos. They couldn’t imagine Nehemiah saying no.

He did. He was focused on finishing. There were many lives hanging in the balance that were depending on him.

He saw through their deception. He sent this response: “... I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?”

Are you looking for a reason to stop? A great deal on a vacation, an interest-free credit card, a low mortgage rate, a bargain you cannot live without? Nehemiah knew this was not the time to shop or chitchat. It was time to finish strong and not allow any hurdles to be thrown into the financial mix by the enemy.

The evil one knows your soft spots. He knows what turns your head: the mall, the emails, the Internet, the mail, the dollar store. You actually know, too. It is not time for a diversion; it is time for focus.

You will be told, “You deserve it,” “You’ve earned it,” “You worked hard for it,” “It’s yours.” Don’t go to the plain of Ono. But maybe you are thinking right now, “I can’t live like this forever!” so you will take this moment to check out of this financial fortress building and release a little steam, and then, after no harm is done, you will just go back and finish.

Beware of the cunning deception of your enemy. You cannot abandon your financial fortress while you build it up. That is what you are faced with, that is what has happened in the past.

This time will be different. You can make it. You are almost there. Don’t stop. Focus on the goal, focus on the reward, focus on the celebration you will have upon completion of the milestones along the journey. For example, have something to look forward to when paying off a credit card or making great progress on another debt. Having something tangible to look forward to will make it easier during this ‘season of sacrifice.’ Plan low-cost fun now so when you achieve milestones you can record the date and the place you celebrated. Perhaps you will go to your favorite restaurant for paying off a certain amount of debt or eliminating a credit card that has had a balance for as long as you can remember. This time the food and the memory will be so much sweeter than the times when you were in debt and eating out was no big deal.

Celebration? We do that as followers of Christ? Oh, yeah, like no other partying ever. I am talking about all the pleasure without the guilt, pain, and heartache that is negotiated with every purchase of the world’s deal.

Make a list of all of the weak spots you have and keep them front and center on the fridge. When the message comes, you will see that the evil one has no new tricks to deceive you with; they’re just his old standbys. Give the list to a friend or a family member and ask them to call or email you periodically to check out how you are doing. This will draw the two of you closer and cause that person to evaluate areas in his or her life that may be susceptible to the enemy.

Here are a few “Ono’s” that the evil one will bombard you with multiple times until you relent and give in:

Autos

The advertisements will be daily, not just once a day, but multiple times per day. Television, billboards, magazines, newspapers, radio, email, Internet, and direct mail will all try to get to you. You will not be able to stop them and eventually something they say will make you think you need a new car. In most cases the used car you have, that you have been taught to hate, is costing much less than a new car payment, not to mention the associated additional costs.

Credit Cards

They are perhaps even more aggressive than the automobile companies and more profitable. Refrain unless you are juggling from a higher interest rate to a much lower rate and you would be paying much more on that debt as a result.

Entertainment and Miscellaneous

This little culprit is responsible for consuming what little the family has left to live on or the amount that could be invested in the life-change of others. Give yourselves an allowance and put it in cash if you cannot resist using plastic. Don’t squander the savings, though. This is easy to do. I cut my hair for an entire year to save the ten to fifteen dollars, but I did not put the money away in any type of account or envelope so that money was just spent on something else. So I went a whole year with ugly hair (since I had no idea what I was doing) and had nothing to show for it. The next year I got a little smarter. If I was to have bad haircuts, I was going show people why I had such a bad haircut with the cash in an envelope. This helped my self-image quite a bit.

Comments

[MrFrugalFrank]

Every Sunday? I really like this. Hope to make a habit of readind this every Sunday..Thanks for the enlightement.

[Keith]

I really like the idea of staying focused and keeping in mind the long-term goal.

[Matt]

“You deserve it,” “You’ve earned it,” “You worked hard for it,” “It’s yours.”

“I can’t live like this forever!”

Yup all Phases that can take over our lives and throw us off the path.

Even though we can be focused on the path there is still some need to take a little joy in the journey. Even God rested on the seventh day.

I just came in from working on cleaning out the flower beds. You may not think of this as resting but I enjoy looking and seeing the blooming of new life from my plants comming out on a beautiful sunny day that cost me nothing. Knowing full well that tomorrow will be back to the grind. Back to my focus.

[Elizabeth]

Oh dear! I was about to fall into this trap, and did. Yes, the thoughts "you deserve it" "you've earned it" "I can't continue to live like this". This is timely. Back to my focus. I will make it, and it will be different this time.