With trust in Hashem, a person doesn't think about money all day long. Peace of mind is only two words away – Hashem provides.
Business is one continuous test of faith. Businesspeople are tested every single second: If they believe that their livelihood comes from Hashem, then they're calm and composed, conducting their affairs on an honest basis. If they believe otherwise - that their income depends on their own efforts and aptitude - then they're most likely working much too hard and wasting energy looking for all types of ploys – legal or otherwise - to make money.
One's entire life depends on emuna that Hashem provides for every creation. Emuna creates a clear, clean, and shining spiritual pipe that abundance flows through, directly from heaven to a person's bank account or dinner table. Drinking from the pipe of emuna is like drinking from a silver goblet. Without emuna, one drinks from the spiritual equivalent of a sewer pipe, where one's income is contaminated with negative emotions, bad health, and damage to the soul.
Decide which option in life you'd prefer, because basically, there are only two:
First, you can believe that Hashem predetermines your income, and that every last cent designated for you will reach you at an exact time and in its entirety, if not from one source, then from a different source, if not today, then tomorrow. As a result, you are calm and composed, and avoid the troubles of illegal and dishonest business procedures.
Or second, you don't believe in Hashem or in His ability to support you, and you bang your head against the wall trying to make a living, angry and irritable most of the time because life is a living death. You sink into debt, you're confused, and you can't think clearly with the tensions and stress that weigh you down. Oftentimes, you catch yourself cutting the corners of honesty and wholesome business practices in trying to make an additional buck.
Remember! A person receives his or her heavenly stipend to the cent. By cheating, lying, or dealing dishonestly, a person won't earn a cent more.
Here's an example: Joe and Harry are both store owners; each is destined to earn one hundred thousand dollars this year. Joe earns his money honestly and in good faith, and therefore enjoys it. Harry wants a lot more money than what Hashem gives him, so he wheels, deals, lies, and steals, bringing in a gross income of an additional fifteen thousand dollars. Harry will now suffer sicknesses, accidents, home damage, income tax investigations, law suits, and any number of other aggravations. As a result, he'll lose the fifteen thousand that wasn't destined for him, and he won't enjoy the hundred thousand that was destined for him, since he'll be busy running to doctors, lawyers, repairmen, and the like.
True, a person can't lie in bed and say "Hashem will provide", because that's relying on an outright miracle, something we're not allowed to do. But, as long as you're trying your best and doing a reasonable day's work (that's all you're expected to do - if in doubt, consult your personal rav or spiritual guide as to what a reasonable day's work is for you), then the miracle of Hashem's personal supervision over your livelihood is clothed in seemingly natural circumstances.
Spending money you don't have and buying on time, whether with loans or by plastic, is destructive for parnassa. If Hashem wants you to have something, He gives you the wherewithal. Don't say that you trust in Hashem when you squander, charge on your credit cards, or purchase things that aren't necessary; that's not trust, but stupidity.
Emuna and bitachon (complete faith and trust) must be complemented with common sense, thrift, a careful budget, and making do with what Hashem gives you.
For your convenience, the following is a table of 20 factors that are detrimental or conducive to parnassa, that I compiled from "Sefer HaMidos" by Rebbe Nachman of Breslev:
Detrimental Factors Conducive Factors 1. Lack of trust in Hashem 1. Trust in Hashem 2. Cruel to others 2. Compassionate 3. Lewdness 3. Shmiras HaBris 4. Alcohol 4. Spiritual awareness 5. Disdain of Torah 5. Respect of Torah 6. Tomfoolery 6. Clean speech 7. Desecrating the Sabbath 7. Honoring the Sabbath 8. Failing to repent for old sins 8. Tshuva 9. Sadness and depression 9. Happiness 10. Ingratitude, especially to Hashem 10. Gratitude and prayer 11. Stinginess 11. Charity, especially a full tithe 12. Idol worship and blasphemy 12. Strengthening faith in Hashem 13. Immodesty 13. Modesty 14. Anger 14. Patience 15. Judging others severely 15. Judging others fairly 16. Dishonesty, fraud, cheating 16. Integrity 17. Arrogance 17. Humility 18. Infidelity 18. Honoring one's wife 19. Domestic strife 19. Peace in the home 20. Instigating hate between people 20. Making peace between people
May Hashem bless you always with abundance, amen!
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