People of Faith in America: Steward what’s God’s and build what’s yours
As people of faith in America, around here we're driven by two deep truths about money. First, we owe it to our God to steward our property wisely, and second, we owe it to our country to build our wealth privately.
Let those two truths settle into your consciousness:
We --> property --> God --> steward wisely
We --> property --> country --> build privately
In the first truth we recognize that fundamentally it all belongs to God, all the property, and he's given it to us to use in wisdom. In the second truth we recognize that the primary (if not sole) purpose of government is to protect its citizens' property.
By property, we don't just mean my Honda Odyssey and my house in Ocean Grove. Along with James Madison and the other founders of America, we see that property is anything and everything that I can possess and controllably dispose of. From internally immaterial to externally material it goes like this: my thoughts, my opinions, my mind, the words I speak, my body, the actions I take, the stuff I earn, the stuff I buy, the stuff I receive. That's property.
Apply the double truth to my business Odyssey Coffee:
It's God's. It's not really mine. He gave it to me. My purpose is to steward it wisely.
It's mine. I built it as an imago dei. My purpose is to serve its customers beautifully, and to build my own wealth privately with it, so that I don't have to depend on my fellow citizens to make a living.
What does this have to do with our lives (other than everything)? And how might it change the way we spend our money?
For today, do this:
Property --> God --> Steward Wisely
Take a look at everything you own. You worked for it. You bought it. Or your grandmother gave it to you. Now recognize that it's not yours. It's God's. But he's loaned it to you for you to enjoy, and for you to bless others, and for you to be generous. How can we steward our minds, bodies, and possessions for God with more of an open hand? Five words: give first from every paycheck.
Property --> Country --> Build Privately
Take a look at your retirement savings. You worked for it. You have plenty. Or you don't have enough. The purpose of wealth is freedom, of money purchasing power, of investing income. It all aims at self-governance, the ability to have control of and to be able to pay for my own life -- without relying on the government. How can I build and protect my private wealth today so I'm not a burden to you tomorrow? Start here: pay another $78 on your debt. Add another $57 to your investments. It all adds up. Get free, and commit to building your own private wealth.
Our wisdom for today is to recognize what we owe God and what we owe our country with our property. Imagine the lives we could transform in our houses and in America if we Freedom Quest-ers took these small daily steps of generosity and wealth-building over and over.
That's exactly why I started Freedom Quest. To help you steward what's God's and build what's yours. I'm here if you need me. Reach out any time with any questions.