10 Commandments for Living Smart
“He who lives smart now will not only live to have good days on earth but also in eternity.” 100+ original Quotes
If you are not living smart already, this article has enough information to get you on your way if you are ready to make some changes in how you live.
- Living smart is grounded in a living hope: The Psalmist declares in the Psalms of his hope in the Lord, “For You are my hope;” Psalm 71:5. Paul assures us of our hope in God in Romans 15:13: “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Living smart begins with our hope in Jesus, without which there is no such thing as living smart. It does not matter what else you may accomplish or do; without a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, all else profits nothing; this is true according to Scripture: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 38Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels,” Mark 8:36-38.
The very essence of living smart is living within the plans that the Lord has for those who are His: “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,” Jeremiah 29:11. Do you want to have a future and hope? It is only found in a relationship with God.
2. Living smart is focusing your life on things that matter:
*Building a relationship with God
*Daily Bible study and prayer
*Building a relationship with family
*Building a relationship with others
*Doing your very best at what you do
3. Living smart is keeping the world out of your life: In other words, not becoming worldly. So, what does it mean to be worldly? It means living by the world’s standards instead of Bible standards. The Bible teaches us to live a godly life, the opposite of what the world teaches. Being worldly is being controlled by the sin nature. James 4:4 is quite clear concerning befriending the world: “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever, therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
Listening to the world rather than what God says to us through His Word is being deceived by lies instead of the truth of God because the world is presently under Satan’s rule and is therefore polluted with sin. “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” 1 John 5:19. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever,” 1 John 2:15-17.
4. Living smart is being a good steward of what God has given you and being content with it: “The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD” (Psalm 24:1). Since God owns everything, all we have is on loan from Him. To be a good steward is to manage what He has given us wisely. That includes family and friends and all with whom we come in contact. The Greek word for steward is οἰκονόμον (pronounced “oikonomon”). This word most closely relates in English to manager. Therefore stewardship is being a good manager of all that you have and especially your finances.
Being content does not depend on what we have materially. The Apostle Paul gave us a clear meaning: “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need,” Philippians 4: 11-12. Being content is not automatic because we are believers; it is, as Paul says, learning as we grow in faith and maturity.
5. Living smart is making smart decisions: It is essential to make smart decisions because your future depends on the decisions you make each day. If you want to live smart, you must make choices that will enhance your life rather than destroying it.
The key to making smart decisions is seeking truth. Sometimes the truth does not make us feel good, but it is always the best way to go. Trusting the wrong advice or the wrong people even when they appear to be honorable is not always advisable; their advice is not always what is best for you. They may be genuine and want to help you succeed, but you must always go beyond their opinions until you find the truth. There is no one set of rules for success that fits everyone, which is why each must decide what they want according to truth and not what someone else thinks might be best for them.
6. Living smart is living within your means: You can never get your finances on track until you learn to live within your means. Living within your means allows you to fulfill one of the most important financial responsibilities, reaching a long-term financial goal that gives you financial freedom. You cannot expect that if you consistently spend more than you earn. The first and one of the most important things to do is quit caring what others have and start thinking about what you can afford, which leaves you with money to invest. I’ll mention a few strategies that will help you to get started:
*Design a budget: Determine your expenses for necessities and what you need for things you want to do for pleasure, etc. Some things you may be able to cut immediately; other things may require time, such as reducing debt.
*Choose a home and car to suit your needs, not your dreams: It is easy to make excuses as to why you can’t leave your present home for one within your means, like neighborhood friends or getting rid of belonging you have accumulated over the years. That is when you have to set some priorities on what matters most and move on to better things. Another way to live smart is saving money to buy a used car, which is much better than being stuck with a high car payment for years.
*Quit wasting money on things you don’t need: Make a list when you go to the grocery store and stick with it. Buy stuff you need, not just things you want.
7. Don’t play the game of prestige: Did you know that others don’t care what kind of car you drive or where you live; they are only interested in themselves. Quit trying to impress others with what you have.
8. You alone are responsible for controlling your expenses: You are not living small or giving up on your dreams when you decide to live within your means. Living a simple life is preferred by some who have plenty of money. Also, living within your means sets you up for affording those things later, especially when you retire and have more time to go to the places you desire and do the things you have dreamed of doing.
9. Don’t buy bargains that you don’t need: I bought some clothes on sale, and the clerk told me how much I had saved, and I said that I didn’t save anything because it cost me money. Buying things on sale is only a good idea if you need them.
10. Do your repair when you can: If you don’t know how to repair something in your home or car, there are plenty of videos online to show you how. Of course, some repairs require a professional.
11. Buy only assets or things that matter to you: There are so many garage sales because people buy junk that they don’t need that winds up in a garage sale.
12. Living smart is prioritizing your time: Time is the most critical asset we have, and it is limited to 24 hours per day. It is the same for everyone, whether you are the corporate president or a farmer in Kansas. Prioritizing your time is one of the most important things you can do if living smart is essential to you and you want to get the most out of life. Life can be intentional, meaning well planned, or unintentional, meaning disorganized and hectic. So, make sure your life is purposeful if you want to reach your dreams and have meaning and focus rather than a life of disarray.
It is not easy to prioritize your life; it requires making hard decisions concerning essential issues that others may not always agree with, but it is your life, and you have the right to live according to your wishes and the way you prefer to live.
13. Living smart is paying yourself a percentage of what you earn and investing it wisely: If you are older, have you ever stopped to consider how much money has passed through your hands, starting with your allowance when you were still with your parents up to this very day? What if you had determined way back at the beginning to keep a certain amount of what you received and invested it wisely; what would that amount to now? Think about how much you earn now in a year. How much of that are you keeping for yourself? You pay everyone else for services and the things you need. Don’t you deserve to pay yourself for all the hard work you do?
According to a recent consumer report, the average fifty-year-old has only $2700 to their name. That means many do not even have that much. In recent years, the average saving rate has been negative when the economy was at its best. During that time, people borrowed more than they saved. The problem is that people set their living standards at or above the amount they earn, leaving nothing to pay themselves and invest. I heartily agree with a formula for financial success: Give to charity 10% and pay yourself 10%. If 10% is too much, start lower and work your way up. If you don’t have any leftovers, why not start today and work your way to the point that you can follow the formula above? Don’t be discouraged if it takes a while to trim your debts and put you in that position. It will be well worth your effort. You will first have to commit to doing so and then take action to make it happen.
14. Living smart is continuing to improve your skills: Skills can be acquired through learning, but you already have many waiting to be improved. Here are some of the common ones:
*Communication skills: Improve your speaking, writing, and listening skills and become a better communicator. Good communicators are more successful.
*People skills: Learning better people skills enable you to build a relationship, which is one of our most important things you do.
*Problem-solving skills: Learning to solve problems rather than letting them stress you or become worries is a way of living better and being more successful.
*Integrity skill: Yes, integrity can be improved and will help you to be trusted, which leads to having a good reputation and more significant opportunities for success.
*Organizational skills: I have a degree in organization and administration, but I’m still learning to improve my craft. Good organization skills help prevent miscommunication, save time, and make you more efficient in your work.
*Work ethics skills: Not only working harder but smarter accomplishes more and better quality. Improving your work ethic includes being reliable, disciplined, and positive.
*Leadership skills: Your ability to guide and motivate others is a necessary skill for advancement and success.
*Adaptability skills: Adjusting quickly to new things and events helps you to strive in any situation and succeed.
*Self-confidence skills: Believing in yourself and your abilities are necessary to accomplish your goals.
15. Living smart is avoiding unhealthy behavior: It is not an easy matter to prevent or change harmful behavior. Harmful behavior is firmly instilled in American culture; therefore, it takes effort to change if we want to live smarter. There is no determined amount of time set to change behavior; it is personal for each individual. We know what the health recommendations are: Exercise regularly; eat healthy food; keep your weight at a healthy level; get regular medical screenings for cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar, etc; don’t smoke or use drugs; don’t drink alcohol; deal with stress; plan things in general that align with good health and avoid those things that don’t. I realize that these things are easy to say but challenging to do, but it is worth trying if living smart is for you or if you are for avoiding health problems now and being able to function independently when you are older. Living smart is taking care of your body; it is the only one you will ever have in this life.
Conclusion
When you come to the end of life will you be able to say, I have lived smart and am happy with what I have accomplished? You can say that if you have made a concerted effort to put into place those things which promote living smart. I hope you are ready to start if you haven’t already. Remember, the first commandment for living smart is knowing God and connecting with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ; this is by far the most important of all that we do. If you would like to have information on how to connect with God, CLICK HERE.