Every day comes with its own currency.
Each morning, God places a handful of spending money in our hands. We all receive the same gift: a new day.
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)
Every morning offers a new beginning because of God’s mercy. I woke up today. That’s no small thing.
With the new day comes a new handful of spending money. How I live today is the only real currency I have. Yesterday’s is gone, and tomorrow’s has not yet come.
Spend today’s money
I have been in stores and seen things that catch my eye. If something is nice enough to make me stop, I usually check the price tag. Most of the time, it’s not worth what it costs, unless it’s on the clearance rack at the back of the store. I’ve been known to buy something that was already marked down and then marked down again. When I leave paying six dollars for a pair of jeans that once cost forty, I feel victorious.
Financial advisers tell us to save our money, invest it wisely, and put some away for a rainy day. That’s good advice when it comes to earthly finances.
But God’s spending money works differently.
You can’t save today’s spending money for tomorrow. You can’t invest it for next year. You can’t hide it under a mattress and pull it out later. It was given for today, and only today.
Paying full price
Life doesn’t work that way. The investments of the day don’t come on sale. We pay full price.
We pay the full price in loving God, loving our families, serving others, and investing in what matters. Every meaningful thing has a price tag. The real tragedy is ending the day with leftover spending money.
Did I love God as much as I could today?
Did I love my family and friends well?
Did I spend myself on things that matter?
“And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls…”
2 Corinthians 12:15 (NKJV)
I like that phrase: spend and be spent. I want to do the same, and I want to do it gladly.
When the day is over, I don’t want to have saved anything for myself. I want to spend today’s currency to the fullest. In the end, today is the only day I have been given.
So go ahead, open your wallet and spend it all.
