Many of you know I’m a big fan of goal-setting. I maintain a GTD task-flow on my computer and I’m constantly looking for ways to get more done. You could say I’m a productivity nut. I’m not always the best at achieving goals, but if I fail at enough of them usually I succeed at one or two. 
Well, that got me thinking: What does the Bible say about setting goals? Furthermore, what does the Bible say about planning for the future? Is all this goal-setting bad for my soul?
What Does the Bible Say About Goals and Planning?
I’ve always believed that proper personal finance management is focused on planning for the future and saving money for tomorrow. Is this in conflict with the Scriptures? Let’s take a look at a few Bible verses . . . .
Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. – Proverbs 27:1 NIV
This makes it clear that we aren’t to boastfully tell others about our plans. We’re to be humble! All of us know from experience that one little change in our day can change so much more in that day and beyond. We really don’t know what a day may bring!
The Bible goes on to explain that we are but a mist, here for just a while until we pass into the next life:
Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” – James 4:13-15 NIV
This mirrors a lot of what was said in Proverbs. But notice something new here? We should recognize that it’s okay to state our plans while conveying that the Lord is ultimately in control.
Turning back to Proverbs, we find the author’s instruction for the lazy person (sluggard) to consider how the ants conduct themselves:
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. – Proverbs 6:6-8 NIV
This reminds me of building an emergency fund. The ant stores up food in a season of plenty and is able to consume even when there is famine. Sound like another story in the Bible? How about the story of Joseph? Through the revelation of God he was able to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams that there would be a time of plenty and a time of famine (Genesis 41).
The Bottom Line on Goals
To sum everything up, I think the Bible is telling us a few things:
- We shouldn’t feel 100% confident that we can get the things done that we plan.
- Because we don’t know the circumstances we’ll encounter when we start a new task or project, we should be careful telling others what we’re going to accomplish. As the adage goes, “Under promise and over deliver.”
- We should do all things in humility.
- It’s okay to plan . . . in fact it is encouraged! It’s just important to keep in mind that plans sometimes fall apart.
I don’t know about you, but reading through these Bible verses taught me that I should be a little more flexible when it comes to planning for the future and setting goals. If I fail, I shouldn’t beat myself up over it. I should just press on and get things done–without boasting to others about everything I’m going to do in the future.
Are you a planner? Do you struggle with some of these issues? Please tell me I’m not alone in the comments below!
The timeliness of this article proves God is speaking to me. I’ve been feeling guilty the last few weeks due to some nearly OCD planning and goal setting. I’ve got spreadsheets to help me lay out the next five years and the goals I want to accomplish in this time (pay off debt, buy a home, save for college!) I kept telling myself not to feel guilty, planning is good right?! Maybe because I’m not used to planning the details out (details I usually ignore and then causes issues later), that I feel obsessive…or as Uncle Dave would say, I’m just gazelle intense! Thanks for the article, these scriptures put my mind and heart at ease as well as remind me not to boast about my plans.
Heather, thank you so much for your comment. I’m glad that somebody out there can identify with what I’m going through! Way to go on your ambitious goals, you can make it! I think the lesson we can all learn here is that life sometimes doesn’t go the way we plan, so we need to trust that God will help us in those moments.
Thanks for being a reader of The Christian Dollar, and please comment more often! God bless!
These verses seem to apply to the subject. I would say that these verses back up the idea of planning and using time wisely.
“See that you walk [live LIFE] carefully,
not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the TIME, [LIFE]
because the days are evil.”
— Ephesians 5:15, 16
Good post! A passage that validates your points and I believe clearly commands us to work hard and plan for the future is 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. “and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.”
Hey, thanks John! Great passage there!
Thanks Don! Wow, all you guys are coming up with great verses.
Im a planner too. But it okay. The word say to write the vision and make it plain. Hab 2:10.
we should be goal oriented but never boastful. I recently started a business and in the same time i was starting i had a cousin who wanted me to join her venture. i declined her offer. I never revealed to her cxactly why. I had my own idea brewing and i was not inclined to talk about it because it wasnt yet the time. As you said we never know what tomorrow holds. A baby is usually healthiest if its born in the alloted time. You woudnt want to give birth to your idea before its full term.
Thanks for commenting Candy! Yeah there is a time and a place to start talking about your ideas. It’s also best to protect your ideas in the beginning, lest someone discourage you from pursuing it.