SCENE 1: Pharaoh has just woken up from a very troubling dream and feels he must know the interpretation. Joseph gets called in and explains that there will be seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. The famine will be so bad that it will be as if there were no seven years of plenty. SCENE 2: During the seven years of famine, people from all over the world come to Egypt to buy food, earning foreign exchange for Egypt. Egypt however is so covered that they can even afford to share their food with the rest of the world (for a price), including Josephs estranged family. Something happened between scene 1 and scene 2 that we need to examine. Joseph made a suggestion that 20% of whatever was produced during the years of plenty must be SAVED and kept for the future. In other words, 20% must be stored for a period of seven years. Yet, this 20% was able to sustain not just Egypt but the whole world for the seven-year period of the famine. This shows the powerful potential of systematic savings. I also want you to notice that when Egypt was in the period of famine the rest of the world was also experiencing famine. This I believe implies that the rest of the world must have also experienced the seven years of plenty with Egypt. What made the difference? Divine revelation and plain simple God inspired wisdom made the difference. Never underestimate the power of wise savings. Imagine that you did what Joseph did with your income and kept as savings 20% for a period of seven years. Can you calculate how much it will come to if you are diligent about it and do not touch it? You must know that what you will have in seven years will not be the simple addition of what you put in because compound interest would have added value to it (i.e. if it is in a bank or an investment). Can you see the simple yet profound wisdom of savings? Josephs savings catered not just for Egypt but also for the whole world including his estranged family. Combine savings and wise investing and you would have planted your own money tree of wealth. |
