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Welcome to the Art of Christian Living! Glad you are here. Soon I will be launching a SMART Christian Finance and Money Program: Becoming Wealthy and Financially Free God’s Way! I created this program for us to truly live out the purpose God has given us. Be on the lookout for it in your inbox when we will get is officially launched!
One of my favorite theologians is GK Chesterton, who lived in England in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. He was a very large person at 6 feet 4 inches and almost 290 pounds. One day during the first World War a lady in London asked him why he wasn’t out “front” in the battlefield. He replied “if you go around to the side, you will see that I am!”
In another funny incident he remarked to his friend the famous writer George Bernard Shaw, “To look at you, anyone would think a famine had struck England.” Shaw wittily responded “To look at you, anyone would think you have caused it!”
One of my favorite quotes from Chesterton, and the basis for this Christian Money Program is “There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire
less.” After being in the finance industry for two decades now, I have seen the results of when people have the opposite view, they desire more and more, and accumulate less and less.
This is what happened in the 2008 crisis. People spent more than they could afford, and didn’t have much in assets and savings to help them through the tough times. According to recent studies, only 18% are confident about retirement, 61% don’t keep track of their finances, 33% have no retirement savings, and 25% have postponed retirement due to financial issues.
Unfortunately, many Christians don’t fare much better when it comes to managing their finances. The Bible and Jesus’ teachings are filled with advice and commands in dealing with money. Jesus knew that “where our treasure (money) is, our heart is.” The Bible talks about money more frequently than many other subjects!
- The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, fewer than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2,350 verses on money and possessions.
- 16 of the 38 parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions.
- 15 percent of Jesus’ teachings revolve around money and finances, more than His teachings on heaven and hell combined
- The OT has numerous references regarding finances. The book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are filled with practical wisdom in dealing with issues of finances.
- In virtually all of Paul’s letters, the issue of money is brought up.
Why is money and wealth brought up so much in the Word of God? It is because how we view and handle our finances significantly impacts:
- Family, Friends, and Future Generations
- Our Community, Country, and the World
- Our Spiritual Life and the Purpose God has for us
- The Church, and God’s Kingdom
I am not one to preach on the “health and wealth” prosperity theology. I think it is very dangerous and disingenuous to use God to get material gain. The material gain God has given us should be to honor, serve, and glorify him.
The early church Christians, the Puritans who first settled in America, and those believing in the “Protestant Work Ethic” and Reformed Values worked hard to be frugal, diligent and profitable. But it wasn’t for themselves. It was to continually invest back into God’s Kingdom. It wasn’t for personal benefit, but for our Higher Calling and Purpose that God has given each of us.
Unfortunately many have fallen into the line of thought that God is an ATM machine and that we are to take what we want and “name it and claim it.” While Soloman in Ecclesiastes encourages us to enjoy the life God has given us, it isn’t to lust after wealth or money, but to be good stewards of what God has given us.
One of my favorite parables is the Parable of the Ten Talents. The master gives ten talents to one servant, five to another, and one to the last servant. All of them double what was given to them except for the last servant who was scared of his master and buried it in the ground.
That servant was cast out because he wasted what was graciously given to him. I feel that sometimes in today’s modern world, we go much further by spending more than was given to us and getting into further debt. Why? Just so we can keep up with the Jones’ and enjoy temporary pleasures.
The Bible has commanded us to give our tithe, or ten percent of our income to God’s Kingdom. Unfortunately, only 10 to 25% of Christians tithe, and for those that do, the average is a paltry 2.5%! One study showed that if every American tithed as they were supposed to, it would amount to 165 billion dollars! Do you know what the Church could do with that?
- $25 billion would relieve world hunger and disease within 5 years
- $12 billion would eliminate illiteracy in 5 years
- $15 billion would solve the world’s water and sanitation problems
- $1 billion would fund all over the overseas mission work
- and that leave $110 to 100 billion left over for the Church to expand our ministries!
Incredible! I would go as far to say that the reason over the past two hundred years more and more people have become reliant on our government is because the church has abandoned its true mission! To fulfill the cultural mandate given to Noah, and to fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave to the disciples.
This SMART Christian Finance and Money Program is to help you desire less and be content through Biblical Principles, and also learn to accumulate more and more through SMART Financial Principles.
- We will go over how the Bible views wealth, the crucial Biblical Principles for us to follow, talk about the common myths on money, and learn to truly live out God’s purpose for our lives and not WORRY about MONEY at all!
- Then we will cover the important SMART Financial Principles, and the Simple 4-Step System to building wealth and financial freedom. We will cover how to invest, what investment products to choose, and what strategies to pursue!
I am really excited and blessed to be able to bring this important program to you. I have taught to several churches, and this Christian Wealth Program was my thesis and capstone for my seminary degree. I have a true desire to see us all live out the lives God meant for us to. As the first question of Westminster Confession of Faith asks: What is the chief end of man (woman too!)?
It is to Glorify God and Enjoy Him Forever
Have started to do so yet? Stand on by for our program to be launched soon!