Your financial life is important to God. There are people who think that money is not too important and there is the other side of the spectrum where everything is money money money. What has happened is that we have Christians with very low financial IQ or people who are very materialistic. It is an error if material things influence you more than God.
I do not intend to make you materialistic with this teaching. Rather, my desire is to help you to establish some form of balance in your financial life and all the other areas of your life.
God blesses us to be rich. It is important to know that it is not wrong to be rich. This is because there are so many people who need help, and God wants to bless us with riches so that we can help them. But we cannot help them if we do not have money.
My hope for this teaching is that you will become the kind of person that God can always rely on to help the many who need it.
Paul instructed the rich in the church saying:
“Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches. God richly gives us everything to enjoy.”
1 Timothy 6:17 NCV
In this text, the Lord says we should not be proud when we have money because riches are uncertain. There can be a day in your life when there’s a problem that can take everything away. Also, you need to decide who you will serve. I recommend that you serve God and not mammon because mammon is uncertain.
We are also encouraged to be rich in good works. This is to say that we should be ready and available to do good when needed. So, ask yourself where all your money is going and you will know where all your money is going. If it is going to yourself and your own needs, it means you are materialistic. Therefore, strive to do well in doing good to others. It is a nice thing to be able to help people and to do good.
As long as you are ok, remember others.
Desire to grow to the point where you’re abounding and capable of helping as many people is possible.
Remember that generosity is good because anytime you practice generosity you are laying a foundation against the time to come – eternity. Therefore, when you spend only on yourself, you are setting up yourself for a lesser quality of life in eternity.
Financial independence
This is achievable, and I would encourage you to go for it. It simply means you do not have to necessarily work from 9am to 5pm unless you want to.
What I want to teach you is all about goals. That is what I have been doing in these series. The secret is to always know where you are so that you can plot where you want to be.
Where am I now?
- House: Do I own a house (not mortgage)? Do you have the title to the house? As long as it’s a mortgage it does not belong to you. One of the things that show wealth is a house. So, you can put your wealth in a house. That is why it is called “real estate.” If you have money in a bank, it will lose value because of interest fluctuation. As a result, you can lose value on your money. You can easily spend your money when you save it in your bank. So, put it into a house. Start making plans if you do not have a house of your own. It is important to have your own house.
- Money: What is your current net worth? Your net worth is the sum of the monies in your bank accounts + 401k + investment accounts – loans. If the total is in a negative, you are in trouble. But if it results in a positive figure, you are making efforts. You would want to be very positive so that you can help people. You can use mint.com to help you with keeping track of your finances.
- Financial education: How many financial books do I read a year? It is good if you increase your financial IQ. This helps you to be smart about money. So, put yourself through a good financial education. It could be books or videos on YouTube. This will massively help you to improve your financial life.
- Tithe: How many times did you pay my tithe? Some people claim they pay tithes. But the question is, how often do you pay it? Be truthful to yourself when answering this. If you are not paying it regularly, do well to pay regularly.
My focus in these series is to help you to quickly gain your financial freedom so that you can easily help others. Let us continue in part 2 of our teaching on the financial life.
Catch up with the other lessons in this series here:
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