Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle (Proverbs 23:4-5).
restraint keeps you safe
One important feature about the wise is that they can show restraint as and when necessary. So even though your eyes are watering for a particular thing, be it food or an item of clothing, you can walk past it because it is not in your budget. Wisdom then gives you the ability not only to develop restraint but the ability to exercise it. This leads to a place of contentment. We become content in whatever situation we find ourselves in. So like the apostle Paul we can say “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body” (Philippians 1:20-24). Paul wrote this whilst in jail waiting for judgement.
Dealing with any situation we find ourselves in, takes courage, pragmatism and reliance on the Holt Spirit. For the apostle, he could have asked to be killed so that he could be with Christ. However, if that had occurred, then we would not have all the epistles that make up 2/3rd of the New Testament.
For us as “Christians” riches are not just a monetary thing, it is about having a revelatory knowledge of Christ so that we can do the right thing. Later in the letter to the Philippians, he writes; ‘That I may know him’ in all ways: his power, glory, richness, death, sufferings, and resurrection.
And so whatever situation you find yourself in today, deal with it but exercise restraint.
Read Proverbs 23
Pastor Bell's Words To Live By 
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