Category: #stewardship

My Relationship with Money

My Relationship with Money

Defining my relationship with money is not easy since I didn’t get much of an opportunity to get to know him when I was younger – he didn’t stay around very long. I’m relieved when he’s around – he can be very helpful when needed – life can be very challenging when he is absent. 

He is the type that needs to be told what to do and where to go, otherwise he tempts me to see how I could use him in all sorts of ways. If I don’t use him properly, he diminishes or is unavailable. He even says, if you want more of me around, you need to work harder, longer and extend yourself or, borrow more of him to get things.

I understand that Money is spiritual and is the opposite of God. For God to increase, it is me that needs to decrease. Money wants me to increase, to think more highly about myself than I really ought to think. Money tries to convince me that my abilities and hard work are really what has increased wealth in my life. God, on the other hand, desires that I see that the abilities and talents I have to generate wealth are actually gifts from Him. God wants me to walk humbly through this life with him, while Money wants me to be proud of my accomplishments. 

Money tries to convince me that he is here mainly for my personal benefit and I need to keep him around to secure my future. God, on the other hand, is my future; my eternity is in Him. He convinces me to “be generous and willing to share.” God prefers my security be in Him and use the wealth that He has blessed me with wisely. He knows that too much of Money might find a place in my heart – so much so that my dependence on Money grows and my dependence on Him shrinks. God calls me to be financially dependent (on Him). 

Who to Trust in These Times

Who to Trust in These Times

It seems that everyone is talking about President Trump these days. Some are fearing what seems to be inevitable now – a recession, while others see Trump’s aggression on Canada as a threat to its sovereignty as a nation. Politicians are searching for ways to negotiate or strike back against the imposed tariffs. There are more questions than answers, right now. One thing is certain, things have become extremely uncertain.

As Christians, we often quote this very familiar verse about trust from Proverbs that says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” At times of uncertainty like our world is facing right now, the tendency is to lean more on ourselves and try to understand, which is not real trust. My experience tells me it is much easier to say “I trust the Lord,” but much more difficult to really live a life trusting Him. The tendency is to lean and begin to trust what we understand.

“Trust Me”

Canada is in the middle of a leadership transition and therefore, not in a strong bargaining position. In the coming days, each of these leaders will try and position themselves as the best person and the best party to stand for the interests of Canada. In essence, they are saying, “Trust me.”

It’s difficult to understand what the end game might be for President Donald Trump in regards to Canada. It is also a challenge to determine who can be trusted most to lead Canada through these challenging times. Maybe our focus is completely wrong. Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to trust God!

The fact is this: when we do not understand, we can so easily spiral into anxious thoughts about our future – job insecurity, higher cost of living, etc. When we focus on our understanding or lack of understanding, the result is the same which is the opposite of rest.

Trust Yourself

Compare Proverbs 3:5 to a much less familiar verse in Proverbs that uses a similar word for “understanding:”


Do not wear yourself out to get rich;

do not trust your own cleverness (emphasis mine).

Proverbs 23:4 NIV

The pursuit of wealth is so easily connected with an individual’s own cleverness. The NASB says we should not exhaust ourselves to gain wealth; in fact we should “Cease from the consideration (or understanding) of it.” What exactly are we to cease from? Surely the instruction is not to stop considering how we ought to earn income, after all, we are also instructed to provide for our family (1 Tim 5:8).

It’s pretty clear: Proverbs instructs us to seek wisdom and understanding (Prov. 4:1-9). Consider King Solomon who had the unique opportunity to ask God for anything (1 Kings 3:5) … his request was to have an understanding mind. “And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure” (1 Kings 4:29). God not only gave Solomon wisdom, but also added an extra bonus by giving him what he did not ask for: “both riches and honour” (1 Kings 3:13). So he was granted wisdom and wealth, but the choice before him is the choice we all must make: where to lean.

Consider the Source

Clearly, Scripture is teaching us that the source of wisdom and understanding matters. When we look at Solomons’s life and leadership we can see how he drifted from the source of wisdom.

It’s far too easy to think we are the source of any wealth we have accumulated and lean on our own cleverness for more wealth. Where we lean affects our heart, often without us even realizing it. Maybe that’s why the Israelites were reminded to remember that the Lord your God gives you the power to gain wealth (Deut 8:18).

In the same way, political leaders around the world can naturally lean on their own understanding or cleverness to resolve issues that affect millions of citizens. Take a look at these verses as it relates to the King of Tyre:

Your wisdom has certainly made you rich, because you have storehouses filled with gold and silver. You’re a clever businessman and are extremely wealthy, but your wealth has led to arrogance! Ezekiel 28:4-5 CEV (Emphasis mine)

When one possesses wealth and wisdom and sees themselves as the source of what they have, it can lead to arrogance and pride.

When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies to the heavens. Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; for he is like one who is inwardly calculating. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.

Proverbs 23:5-6 AMP, 7 ESV

Why would someone who is trying to impress you by offering a meal be “inwardly calculating” the cost of that meal? Maybe it is because when someone sees themselves as the source of this wealth, it is natural to think about how much this generosity costs.

Trust the Lord

When you recognize that any wealth you have is from another source other than yourself, you begin to understand that you are a steward, therefore you are not the true source. Then, where you lean shifts to the true source of the wealth (Deut 8:18). At this point, our own ability to gain wealth shifts to a source that is much great than ourselves.

This is a significant heart shift – this shift means that what we “treasure” also shifts (see Matt. 6:21) because our heart now has a different focus – one where giving is a greater priority, greater than the cost of generosity or how this amount will be replaced. The heart of the steward has trust in a higher source than their own “cleverness” to generate wealth. The steward has clarity about money that was previously missing: wealth is now seen as a tool rather than just a resource to be stored.

The End Game is trust!

The Key to Business Success

The Key to Business Success

This is a significant month in my history – Nine years ago in April 2015, at the peak of my earning years, I left my role as a financial planner after 24 years.

In my last blog, I explained how God multiplied my business significantly in less than five years. A logical question is, why would I ever consider leaving a business that God had obviously blessed?

Journey

I find it so interesting how God uses little things to nudge us along the way. In April 2012, we visited our daughter in Calgary, AB. We attended Centre Street Church, then the book store after the service. There I discovered the NIV Stewardship Study Bible. I briefly looked through it and saw there was so much alignment with the Kingdom Advisors Core Training that I had studied in 2011. I decided to purchase it (USD $39.99) and proceeded to the cashier. I waited in line, then laid the Bible on the counter and took out my wallet to pay.

The cashier simply said, “That’s yours!”
I responded by saying, “No, I just picked this up and am here to pay for it.”

She then explained how someone had donated this Bible with the understanding that whoever expressed an interest in it – it was to be a gift to them! I was completely shocked but couldn’t help believing that God was working through this somehow.

Interestingly, about one year earlier a pastor shared something with me (a “word from the Lord”) that I sincerely questioned. For me, this was one of those things that needed to be tested and confirmed, but I decided that rather than reject it, I would park it, then wait and see. It went something like this: “You are to leave the old word and God will give you a new word that He wants you to share.” The question that I struggled with was that I love God’s word so much; how could I leave any word that was God-given and so meaningful?

The Word – Stewardship

That first evening I had gotten my Stewardship Bible, I opened it to Genesis 50 and read such a powerful story. It illustrated even deeper what Joseph meant when he said to his brothers (in vs. 20),

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Immediately across from this verse was a story that came from the province that I was born and raised in and where I was practicing as an advisor for more than 20 years.

God Meant It For Good

Good things can come out of bad beginnings. The story of a fishing fleet that left a small harbour in Newfoundland and was caught in a terrible storm illustrates this point. The ships, caught in a storm, did not return home when expected, and during the night, the mothers, wives, and children of the fishermen, walked along the shore looking for some sign of their loved ones and praying for their safe return. That same night, one of the homes in the village caught fire and burned to the ground. When morning dawned, the entire fleet of ships sailed back into the harbour. Everyone rejoiced except the woman whose house had burned. She approached her husband in grief and said, “We are ruined! Our house and everything we had was destroyed by fire.” Her husband shook his head. “Thank God for the fire. It was the light of our burning home that guided the whole fleet into port.”

Ronald E. Vallet

Was it a coincidence that we were in Calgary and just happened to into the bookstore that day? What are the chances of walking into a Christian bookstore that exists to sell products and be given such a gift? Was God involved and using this event to lead me toward “a new word” which was clearly stewardship?

Living as a Steward!

I remember the day well. It was the end of my work day – I sat alone in the waiting area and just looked around at the reception area, my office, then the filing cabinet which represented my clients and the assets under management (AUM). I started to pray (out loud) and surrendered my business to God. “This is yours, Lord. It’s not my business, I surrender it to you. Please use this business for your glory.”

The overriding purpose of Christian stewardship is glorifying God. God was transforming my thinking – I was no longer the owner, I was only the steward. I was overcome with gratitude as I recognized how God had been active in my business to help me build meaningful relationships.

Today, as I continue to read my Stewardship Bible, I see how King David was “overcome with gratitude. His natural inclination was to give back to God and he longs to build a house for the Lord. But Nathan shuts down David’s enthusiasm” with a message from God:

“God reminds David that he has never asked for a house. In fact, God turns David’s offer on its head, announcing the he (God) will instead build David a house, establishing his throne forever.”

The Stewardship Bible, How We Give to God, p. 504

Reading this made me realize that what David desired was quite different than what God intended. It’s less about what we want to do for God and more about what He wants to do for us! When we completely surrender our business to God, our deepest desire shifts to running that business for God’s glory. Interestingly, it seems God turns our offer to Him on its head! Our work becomes an opportunity for God; He (God) works to build a business for us.

That my friend is the real key to business success!