The Bible says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all you produce.” (Proverbs 3:9)
Do you have self-discipline? Do you tell yourself no? Do you tell yourself to stop? If so, great, but for the rest of us, we must learn to discipline ourselves as it pertains to our money. When we do not have to buy something, don’t! When we do not have to go somewhere, stop and go home! Why? Why not buy something that you do not need? Why not go somewhere that you should not go? We need to save money and learn to spend our money on things that Allah (God) would approve of. We should not want to be wasteful with our money and time. We should not be in places that will tempt our faith. The Bible says, “Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” (Matthew 4:7)
Minister Farrakhan has said, “If you stay in any environment, it will take you,” so who we are striving to be is heavily shaped by our surroundings. Is that why the Bible talks about “Coming out from among them my people…” we have to change our environment to truly be reflective of Allah (God). This takes self-discipline, and I pray that we are not using our monies in support of rebellious activity to the law of Allah (God). How or why would Allah (God) bless us with more monies and we are not being good stewards with the finances that we already have?
What happened to buying bulk and sharing with family members and friends? The Bible says, “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (Hebrews 13:16) The price of food is going up and it is not only important to share, but not to waste food. We should strive to eat the oldest dates first and exercise some portion control. Also, meal planning is helpful because you buy what you need for that meal, and if you are good at managing your pantry, you will be able to use the leftover portion of ingredients for additional meals. When buying fresh fruits and vegetables, long before they go bad, you may want to prep them to be frozen. Please do not sleep on using coupons and taking advantage of in-store sales. Sometimes, Sprouts Farmers Market has an item labeled “Manager’s Special,” which is only for that day. Target runs sales that if you buy a certain dollar amount in a category, you will receive a Target gift card to be used on another visit. Please check the benefits of you downloading different store apps for additional discounts.
As gas prices go up, please try to plan your day so that if you are going to a certain place anyway, that the other places along the way can happen on that same day, which will maximize your gas use. In the book Message To The Blackman In America by Elijah Muhammad,” on page 275 he says, “Today, the currency of America is not backed by any sound value, silver or gold. The note today is something that the government declares it will give you the value in return but does not name that value. They definitely are not backing their currency with silver or gold.” We must learn how to manage our resources and not depend on people to tell us the truth. Please learn for yourself because certain things happened to cause the gas prices to go up and, continuing to print money that is not backed by anything is causing other situations. I pray that if you have a 401K plan or any other investments, that you have educated yourself, and hopefully you will know how to move in the next few months.
The price of used vehicles is going up, and the housing prices are going up, but why? How are supply and demand swaying the different markets? Please be careful not to incur bad debt (things that depreciate), but good debt (things that appreciate) so that your investment will bring you a return. Also, try not to add to your credit card debt for things that you do not need! Remember the goal is to have self-discipline and be able to tell yourself no.
When I joined the Nation of Islam in 1996, I started to save money immediately because of the lifestyle changes. We do not drink alcohol of any kind (wine, whiskey, beer), no dope (heroin, cocaine or any other) no smoking (reefers, cigars pipes, cigarettes), no gambling of any kind (cards, games of chance, dice, numbers) and if we’re doing any of these things before joining, you can see how a person does save money. It is forbidden to eat the pig or its by-products, and you are to strive to eat one meal a day. The only persons eating two meals are pregnant women, nursery women, on your cycle, sick and children, so with fasting, you definitely save money, as well as improving your health. Self-discipline is key because Allah (God) gives us free will. What we are doing with it is the question that we all must answer. Please remember Allah (God) wants our “All”! Allah (God) is with the Obedient!
