Divide your portion among seven, or even eight, for you do not know what disaster may befall the land.Give a portion to seven, yes, even to eight; for you don’t know what evil will be on the earth.Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.Give a portion to seven, yea, even unto eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
3 sermons cite this verse
Look at this next verse. Ecclesiastes 11.2 is another advice about investing and saving. Invest what you have in several different places because you don't know what disasters might happen. Now, this is the principle of diversification. It says you need to diversify. You don't put all your savings in one place. You've heard the old expression, you don't put all your eggs in one basket. You know where that phrase came from? This verse right here in the Bible. The Bible says you don't put all your eggs in one basket. You put a little bit of your savings here, a little bit here, a little bit here. You spread it out. Any money manager will tell you this is a balanced portfolio to minimize risk. That you don't want to have all your eggs in one basket. You don't want to have all your investments in one place. You want to spread it out to minimize the risk factor in your investing. That's what the Bible says. You need to diversify. …
… savings. Mark Twain said, put all of your eggs in one basket and watch the basket. But Solomon says, no, that is a prescription for financial disaster. Instead, listen to what he says in Ecclesiastes 11 verse 2. Divide your portion to seven or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth. Don't put all of your money in stocks. Don't put all of your money in bonds. Don't put it all in real estate. Diversify because you really don't know what the future holds. Have a balanced investment so that you can take advantage of some things that are up while other things are down. Diversity. How do you create financial margin in your life? Adjust your spending below your income. B, be careful of debt. C, consistently save a portion of your income. D, the final and an important principle, devote a portion of your income to God. Devote a portion of your income to God. Solomon offered another piece of financial counsel that is overlooked by so many people and so many Christians and explains why so many Christians have trouble with their finances. Listen to Proverbs 3 verses 9 to 10. Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all of your produce so that your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will be overcome with new wine. These verses are not a blanket promise that if you give to God, you will automatically be financially wealthy. If that were the case, …
… yes to eight for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land if clouds are full of water they pour rain upon the earth whether a tree falls to the south or to the north in the place where it falls, there will it lie. Whoever watches the wind will not plant. Whoever looks at the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the path of the wind or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the maker of all things. Sow your seed in the morning. And at evening, let not your hands be idle. For you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. This is the word of God. You may be seated. Some years ago, I can't remember when it was actually, I was the guest at Tuskegee University and I stayed at the Kellogg Center across from the famous statue where Booker T. Washington is pulling the veil from over the head of a slave. …