“Command (the wealthy) to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age,
so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
I Timothy 6:18-19
The Heart Behind Growing Wealth In this market, the idea of growing wealth may seem dubious. This past month officially welcomed a bear market in stock prices (a decline of 20%). An inexperienced investor may respond in fear, but for a wise investor, the current environment looks like an opportunity. Yet today’s topic is not on strategies to benefit from a market-downturn. For guidance on market volatility, I would suggest you revisit the 5 Wise Principles of stewardship discussed in a previous Friday Flashback. Today, I want to address the heart behind growing wealth. What if... It seems that many Christians feel that even the notion of growing wealth is a demerit to their spiritual report card. This sense of guilt completely ignores the possibility that God would use the wealth of his followers to accomplish his mission for the world. Perhaps God has given you financial margin or an aptitude for growing wealth to care for the ones around you. What if the reason for growing wealth was a liberating one without the sense of guilt for being fruitful? Wealth for a Purpose I work at a financial advising firm and our mission statement says: “We grow wealth to empower purposeful living and giving.” This is not just a catchy business slogan, but something that I try to apply personally. Whenever our reason for growing wealth is rooted in “purposeful living and giving” we are free to be as fruitful as God allows. As our wealth grows, so does our generosity. And I don’t mean we do things that make us feel more generous. We are actively planning to be more generous. As we cast this vision of wealth building to our clients, the enthusiasm for their financial goals become more than material goals and the focus is more on blessing others. We do good to thank the Lord for his blessings, but what if we take it a little further to realize that we have been blessed to be a blessing.
Caleb Crawley MD5 Facilitator