“The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face facts.” Proverbs 14:8 (TLB)

Money is a tool to be used for God’s purposes. We’re not to hoard it. We’re not to stockpile it. We’re not to worship it. We’re to use it! We can use temporary resources—what God has put in our hands—for permanent good.

In Luke 16, Jesus turned the dishonest but shrewd manager into the hero. The manager knew he was going to be fired, so he decided to make some friends by lowering the debts owed to his master.

What did Jesus like about this guy? Even though the man was dishonest, he did three things right, and those three things reveal lessons that God wants you to learn and apply to your finances.

The manager looked ahead.
Most people don’t think ahead when it comes to their finances. But if we’re not saving anything, we’re setting ourselves up for trouble.

Proverbs 14:8 says, “The wise man looks ahead. The fool attempts to fool himself and won’t face facts” (TLB).

The manager made a plan.
How do you know if you’ve got a financial plan? It’s really simple: Do you have a budget? A budget is simply planned spending. A budget tells your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went. You’ve got to have a plan.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:9, “We should make plans—counting on God to direct us” (TLB).

The manager acted quickly.
Luke 16:4 says, “I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired” (NLT).

The manager didn’t procrastinate; he didn’t delay. He set his plan in motion. He didn’t say, “Someday I’m going to get my finances in order” or “Someday I’m going to start saving for retirement.”

Jesus didn’t commend the manager’s dishonesty but his attitude, which said, “I’m going to think ahead. I’m going to make a plan. And I’m going to act today to invest in relationships that will make a difference for eternity.”

That’s smart! And Jesus wants you to do the same when it comes to your finances. Are you spending your treasure here on earth or looking ahead and using it for the good of God’s eternal kingdom?