Sunday Thought 72

Pharaoh of Egypt had a dream of the future. Joseph had the plan for the future. In Genesis chapter 41 we learn about Pharaoh having a dream – fat cows and ugly cows, plump ears of grain and thin grain, with the ugly and the thin eating up the fat and the plump. Joseph understood – there would be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine. So Joseph had a plan to gather a fifth of all the food of the good years and store it for the lean years. Joseph in essence set up an emergency fund. In verse 37 of chapter 41 we hear Pharaoh’s reply to Joseph’s plan – “Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.”

I think Joseph’s proposal is good for all of us. Although we cannot know the future, that does not mean that we should not have a plan for both good and lean years. Part of that plan should be to have an emergency fund for lean times, and some savings for retirement when working income may be little or nothing.

Maybe you won’t be a hero to Pharaoh and a nation like Joseph, but by saving some money for a “rainy day” you just might be a hero to your family!