"Squander"

"He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster." Proverbs 18:9

We all know that the word squander means waster, but in my study and research of the word I discovered that there is a board game that you can buy called Squander. It's like Monopoly but in reverse. The object of the game is to loss your money instead of make money. The first person to loss all their money wins. Is that the most ridiculous thing you have ever heard? That is a foolish "ambition", yet how many of us daily "play" this game in our personal lives.

God has blessed us with resources that we squander by not using them wisely. We take the blessings of God- whether they be finances, talents, time- and squander them like the prodigal son on "riotous" living. The word "riotous" means to be a spendthrift- someone who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful. In plain English it's someone who lives above their means, spends more than they can afford, waste what they have on unnecessary things, and don't value what they do have. Are you guilty of squandering the resources that the Lord has given you? Do you waste His blessings on things that have no eternal value, that just get you deeper in debt, that rob you of peace of mind? Do you spend what you don't have or take from tomorrow to accommodate today? Is your motto: "Eat, drink and be merry today and tomorrow you'll pay for it." Do you "hoard" your resources and spend them only on self? Do you only use your talents when it benefits you or do you share them to encourage someone else? Do you use them to be creative and gain prosperity?

Let me move from the physical aspect of squandering to the spiritual end of the spectrum. The origin of the word "spendthrift" is someone who is able to spend money acquired by the thrift of predecessors or ancestors. In other words, someone else labored to acquired the resources that you are spending unwisely and foolishly. (Like the prodigal son who squandered his inheritance.) As I read this definition I thought about the price that Jesus paid for us to acquire the blessings of God- eternal and abundant life- and how often we squander them. He has given us an inheritance, such as the blessing of access to the Father but we squander it by neglecting the place of prayer- instead we waste the time of prayer on other interest- like entertainment. We spend hours in front of the television or playing computer games or talking on the phone. We waste the blessings of God by wasting the opportunity to share the gospel, to read the word, to encourage someone else, to go to His house, to fellowship with other saints, and so on.

Today look at your life and see if you are "playing a game" physically and spiritually with the blessings and inheritance that the Lord has given you. If you are wasting them then it's time to make a change before you become "bankrupt". It's time to repent and go in the opposite direction and become a "wise spender".

Have a great day. Are you squandering the blessings you have been given?