Micah 6:8

Family: Keep it simple!

We all know that certain things are just going to happen when we live in a busy family:

• White clothes attract stains!

• Children will get their sickest after 5 on Friday evening!

• If you go out without makeup, you will surely run into 10 people you know!

These “rules of thumb” seem to be common knowledge, though not necessarily scientifically researched.

As a new Christian, I started journaling in 1976. My first journal entry was one of total frustration with the kind of wife I was. I wrote, “After five years of marriage, I have suddenly realized that I am not the kind of wife that I want to be. A definite change is needed and with God’s help I want to try to make it.”

I wrote a long list of changes and a prayer that God would “take me now and mold me into the kind of Christian wife who can more effectively add glory to your plan for our marriage here on earth.”

My journaling has been hit and miss through the years, but looking at where I started has given me a sense of how far God has taken me.

That extensive “to-do” list is long forgotten, but the prayer has been answered many times over.

After 37 years with Kent, I realize that our marriage must be built on God’s Word, not man’s “rules.” God tells us so clearly and simply what he requires of us: 1) do what is just, 2) show constant love, and 3) live in humble fellowship with Him.

If we but follow His requirements, all the other situations of our lives will fall under His care.

Am I the perfect wife? I’m sure that sometimes I am. Right, Kent?

Good marriages are a work in progress, with the work being guided by God and the progress adding glory to His plan!

Finance: Simple rules to live by — and spend by

For centuries, the common expression of a good, general rule for daily work or just living was a “rule of thumb.” While historical sources disagree widely on the origin of the expression, few dispute the wisdom of many of these proverb-like sayings.

• For example, a Yiddish rule of thumb: “Parents can give everything but common sense.”

• Or “He that flings dirt upon others dirties himself most.”

• A rule of thumb for today’s driver: “If you wash your car, it will soon rain!”

The Bible offers hundreds of such rules that offer common wisdom extending well beyond the pages of Proverbs. A pearl from Micah 6:8 reminds us of how simply we could conduct our personal lives and has great application for our financial decisions. God’s requirements for our daily conduct are simple: To be fair and just, showing full consideration and love for others before ourselves. And to do all of this humbly, without seeking recognition or glorification.

Let’s apply this: We received $1,200 from our friends at the IRS, as the economic stimulus tax rebate checks are sent out.

A. We can quickly spend the whole thing on ourselves — perhaps for a widescreen TV with surround sound, or a new Wii video playset with all the goodies, to show off to our friends. OR

B. We can pray over the check for guidance, and in the spirit of mercy and humility ask God to give us His priorities for use of this windfall. Perhaps help for the Gospel Mission, an anonymous gift for an unemployed family or support for the local food pantry. Perhaps simply to relieve debt that has kept us “strapped.”

Another “thumb” expression — thumbs up — implies a positive outlook.

Maybe Micah’s Rule of Thumb applied to our financial life is our personal “thumbs up” to recognize and give thanks to God for His great example of justice and mercy and our response in full humility to Him.