Finance
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing – Acts 6
Have you ever been involved in a big project? I mean a big project! One with large quantities of work, assignments, people, and deadlines involved? If you have been associated with a number of projects like this, I can virtually guarantee you have experienced the “mired-in-the-details-I-have-no-clue-about-what-is-going-on” leader.
This is the type of leader who, when leading a project similar to solving world-hunger, will spend fifteen days determining what type of tablecloth to have at a fund-raising dinner. A leader who, when leading a project to build a new school, will spend seven days figuring out the number of pounds of clay it will take to bake the brick it will take.
Most of the items the project leader focuses on ARE important, it is just not important for them to figure it out!
They have forgotten to keep the main thing the main thing!
I believe all people have found themselves stuck in the details at some point.
Examples include:
- Polishing up the entire house for Thanksgiving dinner, but forgetting to put the turkey in the oven.
- Making sure the children are delivered to and picked up from school on time, but never taking time to see how school is going.
- Obtaining a huge promotion at work, but neglecting the entire family for three years to achieve it.
I see a great example of this in the Bible, Acts 6. The widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food, and the disciples were being asked to attend to the widows. Was it important to feed the widows? Absolutely! However, what was the Main Thing for the disciples? Telling others about Jesus! So, what did the disciples do? They selected seven trustworthy individuals and put them in charge of serving the widows.
The disciples said it so well … “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables.”
Are you keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing? Have you been distracted from the ultimate reason you have been put on this earth. It is time to refocus!
Biblical Financial Lessons – Ecclesiastes 5:10
This is a series that appears on a regular basis here at JosephSangl.com – “Biblical Financial Lessons”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”
This is an incredible statement, and every single person on planet Earth wrestles with this issue. We all must deal with money, and most of the time we simply do not have enough to buy all of the things we want. If we are not very careful, we will begin to pursue money and develop a love for it.
Marketers know this, and this is why they continually play upon the feelings of lack or scarcity. Of course, once you obtain the item they are offering, they must sell you something else. They move the “happiness” line again, and create another feeling of “you are nothing unless you have this one thing.” And for those who are in love with money and wealth, the cycle never ends.
Here is a great question to ask yourself:
“How much money is enough?”
If your answer is an actual number (such as $1 million), watch out! A great answer is “I have enough right now. I am so blessed!”
In Matthew 6:21, we read “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” To avoid giving your heart over to the pursuit of money and “More. More! More!!”, employ these regular activities:
- State “I am so blessed!” at least once each day. Tell someone WHY you are blessed.
- Give money away. Giving keeps me from being greedy and connects my heart to the organizations and individuals I have given to.
- Pray. Prayer helps maintain focus on what is most important.
- Serve others. Serving others allows me to see that the world does not revolve around me and ensures that I live an open-handed life focused on helping others!
- Document your blessings. When you write down the blessings you have in your life, it opens your eyes to just how blessed you really are!!!
Application Questions
- Are you giving money away?
- How are you serving others?
- Have you written your blessings on paper lately?
Why I Do What I Do
A reader of JosephSangl.com shared her story with me, and it really sums up why I do what I do. With her permission, here is her story …
I was OVERWHELMED with JOY as I dropped my oldest child off for college last weekend! NOT because I was happy to have her leave the house … she has been such BLESSING and a BIG part of my life since I was 17 years old and learned I was pregnant … but because I have PRAYED, PLANNED & PREPARED for this day for YEARS.
I made a lot of COSTLY mistakes. I turned my back on God and did things my way! I maxed out my first credit card at 15 YEARS OLD! That was the beginning of several bad financial decisions since I didn’t put any thoughtful planning into them! They were “this will do ’til the next bill arrives” solutions which is NO solution at all!
I hit rock bottom and was in BONDAGE financially, spiritually & emotionally by my early 20s. After a divorce, I was living in an apartment I couldn’t afford and my car was being repossessed so I swallowed my pride, went to D.S.S. and applied for assistance. I was denied for everything. I was told that my full time job paying minimum wage put me over the limit for any assistance for myself and two children. I was devastated. I asked the lady how anyone would qualify if the standards were so low. She advised me to lose my job and showed me that if I would stay home with my children instead of working then I would actually make MORE money on welfare. I left and never went back. I got sick of hot dogs, grilled cheese and pb&j sandwiches but kept working.
I EVENTUALLY came to the conclusion that this wasn’t the life that I wanted for myself or my children!! I was raised in a Christian household and accepted Christ at seven years old. I KNEW that how I was living was wrong. I wasn’t going to church, tithing, or budgeting my money. I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit when I made bad decisions whether they were moral or financial. God had more in store for me than I could ever imagine and I was cheating myself by cheating Him!
I began going to church, budgeting my money and planning for the future. I saved what I could … as often as I could. I got life insurance on myself and my children. I started a Future Scholar 529 College Savings plan (direct so I managed it myself and didn’t pay anyone a fee) for both of my children. I started saving the minimum amount allowable. $50 per month. It was A LOT to me but I am so thankful that I did. I was able to raise the amount over the years and I am pleased to say that my daughter’s first tuition payment was paid in full directly from that account!! AND she is driving a car that is completely paid for!! I think I was the happiest mom at the college last weekend. I literally found myself skipping with joy as I transported her belongings from the car to the dorm!!
If I could say anything to the moms & dads out there it would be this, “Don’t let time get away from you! Start saving NOW!” Ideally, you should save $200 per month per child to plan for their college expenses but WHATEVER you save will help!! God has great things in store for you and your children!! I am still saving every month for college expenses because I know there are more tuition bills on the way.
My goal now is to help my daughter through college with NO student loan debt. I don’t know what’s in store for us over the next four years but I know that I will keep PRAYING, PLANNING and PREPARING every day!!
THIS READER’S STORY FIRES ME UP! How about you? Do you have a story that you want to share with the readers of JosephSangl.com? Send it to me at joe@iwbnin.com along with written permission to share it with our readers. Your story could be used to inspire tens of thousands of other people!!!
Accountability
In school, if you did not pay attention in class and did not study the subject matter, you would receive an undesirable letter grade. It would be the dreaded one-legged “A” – also known as a big ole “F”.
I don’t know what would have happened in your family, but if would have ever brought home a “F” on my report card, I am pretty sure that I would have become the first person who achieved near-earth orbit via an explosion from my parents.
This is an example of near-instantaneous feedback. If I choose not to study, it would take no more than a few months later to receive the dreaded “F” and ultimate accountability with my parents.
It is NO DIFFERENT with your finances! You might think that you are getting away without studying the subject. You might have convinced yourself that you do not really need to take time to plan your finances. You could even believe that you are doing well enough without learning more about finances.
I will tell you that you are dead wrong.
If you do not learn about the subject of your personal finances, you WILL have accountability.
It will come in the form of:
- Not being able to pay for your children’s wedding
- Not being able to pay for your children’s college
- Not being able to retire
- Not being able to take that vacation that the rest of your friends/family are taking because you are broke
- Daily FINANCIAL STRESS that just will not go away
- Questions from your children on why you and your spouse are always arguing about money
- Having to work tons of overtime just to pay the bills
- Having to take a second job just to pay the bills
- Not being able to be a stay-at-home mother because bills have forced you into the workplace
- Not being able to start that business you always wanted to start
- Not being able to realize a lifelong dream to travel around the world
I do not know if any of these have hit home with you, but I made a decision long ago that I would NOT allow money to dictate what I do and do not do. I will take the money that I have and tell every single George Washington where to go. I will ensure that quite a number of George’s are given away and that large quantities are saved BEFORE I start spending them on anything else.
My PRIORITY is to get an “A” on my finances. The only way I will accomplish this is to continue learning and applying what I learn to my finances.
Every. Single. Day.
Looking for financial accountability? The I Was Broke. Now I’m Not. Group Study is the perfect tool to learn about winning with money in a setting where accountability is created. Click HERE to get your group started or learn more.
Why Smart People Sometimes Do Stupid Things With Money
Why do smart people sometimes do stupid things with money?
I’ve seen really smart people make strange financial decisions.
- Bought a brand new car and financed 106% of it (sales tax and all!)
- Go to college and finance it 100% with student loans while obtaining a degree comparable to a degree in basket weaving
- Go on a very expensive vacation to Hawaii and put 100% on their credit card and have no money to immediately pay it off
- Withdraw all the equity out of their home to start an unproven new business
These types of decisions are made every day by very smart people! Perhaps even YOU have made one or more decisions like this. You may have to only look into the mirror to see someone who has done one or more of these financially horrendous items. I know that is as far as I have to look!!!
Back to my question. Why do smart people sometimes do stupid things with money?
Possible Answers
- No plan. They wanted to spend the money on the item, but they did not plan for the expense. Consequently, they only money available when the purchase was made was very expensive debt.
- No self-control. They wanted it! They wanted it now! They did not want to wait. No! Must have item … Must have item now … Will be emotionally scarred for life if item is not obtained now …
- Hope I can pay for this. Not willing to face up to the fact that they can’t have an item now, but they buy it anyway hoping that “the money will come from somewhere.” The reality is that “hope is not a strategy” and this usually leads to tremendous financial penalties.
- Talked into it. See #1, #2, and #3. You’ve seen it happen. The friends start talking about it. The friends are going on the vacation. The friends have the new car. Your friends are going to college and are not having to work while there. Justification is found through others’ circumstances.
If I were to attempt to sum the reasons that smart people sometimes do stupid things with money, I would say it is because they were ignorant of the REAL and LONG-TERM COST of those major financial decisions. If they truly knew the COST of those decisions, many tears of sorrow and regret and many money fights with their spouse could be avoided.