Ty Can’t Save you!
One of ABC’s most popular shows for the last few years has been Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Designers, builders, contractors, and thousands of volunteers band together to help families struck by tragedy. The family’s house, including all rooms, the exterior, and landscaping, is made over by this team within seven days while the family goes off on vacation.

There will be times in your life when tragedy strikes and times when you have more than you need. “To save or not to save” is often a question those of faith ask themselves. There are times when you may need an extreme makeover on your finances. Ty Pennington unfortunately can’t help you here. There are other times when you are financially blessed beyond belief. How do you balance the good and bad times?

To Hoard is Not in the Word
Some people take savings to a whole new extreme, which is called hoarding. If there is no purpose to saving other than to shield oneself from future problems or to accumulate wealth for the sake of wealth, this can become a huge barrier between you and God. The rich fool in Luke fell into this trap: “I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry’” (Luke 12:18-19 niv).

There is often a conflict between self-reliance and faith. If you have not saved a dime for retirement, can you expect God to bail you out? On the other side of the coin, if you take things into your own hands and save beyond the point where you could ever feasibly run out of money, do you risk taking God out of the picture? It is sort of like the owner of the bakery praying to God, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It seems self-defeating and meaningless. When do you reach the point when you have enough? This is a personal question you need to ask yourself. Tune out the noise of what the world tells you and listen to what God has to say. He will provide as long as you put your trust in Him. Balance your savings within the context of God’s plan for your finances.