That is challenging! I'm not sold on it as a mandate either (in fact, other passages of Proverbs could be used to exhort us to be wise, to save, etc) but, like you, I'm sold on the spirit behind it.

I have to struggle with this a lot, because we have the first of our four heading to college in the fall, with two more following very shortly thereafter. We have some $$$ set aside, and this seems like the best investment we can make (although it is very expensive and will hurt in any case). But there's a tension - it could get to the point where all my planning and God's provision could create so many safety nets and plans B, C, and D that I forget the Lord.

I think it gets down to the heart. The Father is the giver of all good things - we must remember him whether in plenty or in little, be generous, give sacrificially, and - if it won't take our focus off of our dependency to him, gratefully invest in our children and even our post-work future.

Thoughts?

Bill, I'm with you. Following this logic to its finest point, how far do you take "trusting God"? Avoiding medical treatment b/c others don't have access?

But the spirit behind is awesome, as long as discernment and humility are in play. I'm sure they are with Chan, so I don't think he'd approve people being legalistic about this.

Chan says (in the video) "He [the speaker in Proverbs] is saying, 'Please let me live paycheck by paycheck'." But that's not what Proverbs says. Not even close. Savings doesn't equal riches, and lack of savings doesn't equal poverty; which is what the Scripture (if Chan can stick to it) was about in the first place. He's going well beyond the text; never a beneficial venture.

I've heard the same miss-the-point theology used to denounce health insurance as distrust in God's ability to meet our needs. Really, if planning and preparing for anything in the future is sin, most forms of insurance are out the window, too. Ditto for 401K, IRA plans, etc., according to this myopic misreading.

I'm a tad touchy on this one, both because I save and because some years back I watched a small local church board shipwreck itself when a very vocal member tried to lay down that "savings = distrust" stuff.

That is challenging and I agree that I am behind the spirit of it. We are to trust God to provide for our daily bread. But do think we are called to be wise and prepare.

I also agree that Chan may be reading too much out of the text, but the spirit of the text that he gleans (not the "live paycheck by paycheck" mentality) of being ever-dependent on the Lord and not putting ones self in a position to lose sight of Him is a good thing.

While I believe all of our life is spent swimming in God's grace, there are things we can do, in His power, to position ourselves to sin less. The writer of these Proverbs asks God to help him in these areas.

David was pretty wealthy and was a man after God's own heart. Job lost everything, but never lost sight of God and refused to curse Him. I don't see these proverbs as legalistic mandates, as all others have said, and I agree with Jared in that I don't think Chan necessarily holds excessively as rigidly to them either.