Raised Poor
A lot of our perception about wealth and riches comes from the way we were raised. If you were raised in poor conditions, you have a very different view of wealth and what it means than someone who was affluent. Building wealth was always a mystery to me!
I grew up in the poorer part of Palolo Valley in Hawaii. The house still stands and my brother lives there. But the house is still standing only because termites are holding hands! I would go to school with one slipper. The teacher exclaimed, “Oh, you lost a slipper!”
“No,” I replied. “I found one!”
God Will Provide
It is not always that easy to get a handle on money. I had a relative who was a Christian who was also very poor. She would always say, “Well, praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! God will provide.” After a while I thought, “He is not providing. We don’t have anything. My mother is a single mom working at the Flamingo Restaurant for tips. That is all we have.”
Sometimes people don’t like people with faith. I was like that. My relative would say, “Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! God will provide,” and I would get angry at her.
A black lady came out on her porch every morning in a very poor part of town, and would say, “Praise the Lord for You provided for me today.” She just believed God would provide. Her neighbor who was getting sick and tired of hearing her praising the Lord every morning shouted, “Hey, be quiet, you fanatic!”
She looked over at him and exclaimed, “Praise the Lord! You are just going to provide for me today.”
“Well, He ain’t providing for you is He?”
“Praise the Lord for You provided for me today.”
This neighbor got angrier and angrier. Remember, not everyone likes people with faith.
The neighbor got an idea. This lady came out one morning, “Praise the Lord for providing for me!” She looked down and there was a bag of groceries. “Praise the Lord. You provided my groceries today.”
Just then, the neighbor jumped out from the bushes, “Ha, I bought those groceries. God didn’t provide them for you! Ha, ha, I did!”
She looked at her neighbor and praised, “Lord, thank You for providing me these groceries and You even had the devil pay for and deliver them!”
Don’t mess with those faith-filled Christians!
Blessing of the Lord
What is it that makes us wealthy?
“It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it”
(Prov 10:22 NASB).
It is the Lord’s blessing that makes us rich. He adds no sorrow to it.
What is the Lord’s blessing? Is it just one thing? Is it only money? Not necessarily. Some people think that the key to happiness is wealth but if we look at any key, there is more than one cut on it.
We can have wealth or financial stewardship as one of the cuts. Don’t get me wrong. God isn’t intimidated by people of affluence. If we are faithful to steward what God gives us, He will be happy to funnel more wealth through us to help more people.
Money is one cut on the key to wealth, but there are other cuts that contribute to our success and our future. God’s blessing is multi-faceted, not just one-dimensional. So how do wise people build wealth? The first step is to:
ACCURATELY DEFINE WEALTH
Wealth is not just the accumulation of money. That would be the wrong target. Wealth is not solely money. In fact, this is not a message of how to achieve your financial dreams. This is a message about how to live right. I have found that when you live right, your dreams will be achieved.
That is why the Bible says to “…seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” On the other hand, if we seek other things, we may miss the kingdom of God.
So what is the definition of wealth? It may be more than money. I have friends who are wealthy because of their honesty, their purity of heart, or their deep friendships. They are married and have a family, a faith, a ministry. When the end comes, what is it that would make us wealthy?
We need to accurately define wealth. Think it through. It is more than just money. Whatever is at the top of our treasure heap – if it is not God – will morph into a god that the Bible calls mammon. Then mammon will begin to dictate everything about our heart. The Bible says, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” There is only One who can fit that bill and it is God Himself. If money, which is a default of the world, is on top, it will become our god. Ask people, “What will make you successful?”
“Well, more money!”
Before we realize it, our life will be dictated by mammon – not money, but the spirit of mammon.
Many people will say, “If we had more money, we would be happier. If we had more money, the kids could be better educated. If we had more money, we wouldn’t fight as much. If we had more money, we would live somewhere else. If we had more money, we would be more involved in ministry. If we had more money, we could send our kids to private school.”
You see, money is dictating everything instead of God. What if God says to send your kids to a public school versus a private school? Private is great but how many of us went to public school? We are not that bad!
We start to think that money is the answer to everything. It is a part of the answer. We have to be good financial stewards. We will talk about investing, saving, etc. but if money is the only cut on our key to wealth, then it will turn into a god. Our life will become one-dimensional. We will be strong in one area and very weak in all the others. The devil knows where we are weak and that is what he goes after.
The Body Builder
Otherwise we will be like a friend of mine whose name is Stan. Stan wanted to have the biggest chest and muscles than anybody so he pumped weights everyday. He was just huge! It is funny because the bigger these body builders get, the smaller their heads become. He had the teeniest head!
One day we had a church outing and he came to the beach in a Speedo. I don’t know why he put that on. He wanted to show everybody his muscles. It was not a pretty sight. In fact, it was downright ugly! Because he put so much emphasis on building his upper body, he neglected his legs. He had the skinniest legs in the world. They looked like ostrich legs. So there he was: skinny legs, big top, teeny head and a Speedo! Can you just imagine what he looked like?
With these skinny legs I thought, “Stan, you are so big on the top that all somebody has to do is trip you up and you are done. You are finished! It is your weakness and if your legs trip and give way, it doesn’t matter how many muscles you have on top. It just doesn’t matter!”
Similarly, when we think money is the only thing, we can get huge there but we have skinny legs. There will parts of our life that are so weak that the enemy knows exactly where to hit us. That is why we must first get an accurate definition of what will make us wealthy.
The Israelites were taken captive while coming out of Babylon in the year 586. Some 70 years later, a prophet named Haggai, said, “Now, God is giving you a second chance. The first time you used God to bless you and you ended up in captivity. You had a weak point; you were one-dimensional. Now, when we escape this captivity, make sure you do it right the second time.”
God has given many of us a second chance. We are Christians. God has redeemed us. God is saying, “Now don’t take the habits of the world and continue in them. The pattern has not changed. It is same song, second verse, same as the first.
So Haggai is saying to do it right this time. Change it.
“Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Give careful thought to your ways. You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it” (Hag 1:5-6 NIV).
He is not talking about your wife’s purse. He is talking about the fact that we just cannot keep enough because it just seems to drain out. We have to accurately define wealth.
All that Glitters . . .
Tolstoy quotes an old Russian Proverb: “All that glitters is not gold.” Be careful of the lures of life that glitter which we think is gold.
In our effort to accurately define wealth, I would add, “and all that is gold doesn’t always glitter.” There are some very precious treasures in life that may not glitter, but are more precious than we will ever realize. There are treasures of deep friendships, of loyalties, of being able to resolve things, a clear conscience, a pure heart so we could put our head on our pillow at night and rest. There are other treasures of a genuine marriage; an authentic, close-knit family; integrity and honesty. That is what makes a man or woman a person of great wealth, but in a balanced way.
Certainly finances will be a part of our wealth, but can you see all the rest that gives us a stronger base?
Sometimes I travel and a pastor will come up to me and say, “Wayne, you may not remember me but I was in your youth group, back in the 1800’s,” whenever that was. I just wanted to thank you for what you have put into my life.”
When I see his life and hear such words, I realize I could want no greater riches.
We just had a pastor’s practicum where approximately sixty pastors came from all over the world. At first, one of the pastors was a bit reticent to be involved, but after five days of being with this church, he stood up on the last night and began to thank New Hope for all we had done for him and how his heart had changed. In the middle of his first sentence, he broke down and began to weep.
Everyone got really quiet and then all of our faucets started to leak. When he was done I thought, “I have never heard a more eloquent thank you. What a rich evening!”
What is it that would make us rich? “It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.”
What Do You Collect?
We have to accurately define what wealth is.
“Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor”
(Prov 13:7 NLT).
Wealth is not always visible on the outside. A friend, Noel, was with me about seven years while we pioneered the church in Hilo. I used to collect bottle caps and stamps. I thought that the old stamps and baseball cards were going to make me rich.
One day I told Noel, “I am going to be rich because I have bottle caps, baseball cards, and stamps. I collect those things, Noel. What do you collect? Do you collect bottle caps?”
“No.”
“Do you collect stamps?”
“No.”
Do you collect baseball cards?”
“No.”
“Well, you’re going to be poor. What do you collect?”
He responded, “I collect friends.”
Isn’t that funny? Have you ever heard someone say something and think, “I wish I had said that?” I remember that comment and realized that is what makes him rich. Here is a man who is the best friend I could have. He is loyal, compassionate, and caring. I realized that is what makes him wealthy.
How do we acquire these things? What is most valuable?”
• Decide What You Treasure and What Is Not Up for Sale
If we don’t decide what is not up for sale, everything will be for sale: even our family; our virtue; our morality; our integrity; our honesty; our marriage; our faith; our church. Everything will be up for sale unless we decide that these are our treasures and they are not for sale. We must decide and decide early on.
What are some of those treasures we say are not for sale? Would it be our conscience; our faith; our devotion? We need to know what they are. Why?
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34 NASB).
Early on in the story of Job, a storm takes away his house, his possessions, everything! He has nothing left! His flocks are killed, his kids are wiped out! Everything is gone!
Yet, he is able to say, “Praise the Lord! God is going to provide. I am just going to keep my integrity. I said I would be loyal to God and that is not up for sale. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are because I don’t serve God only because He gives me wealth and goods and other different possessions. No, I am going to serve God even if there is nothing. I will stay true to my integrity.”
His wife got angry at him and said, “Stop that! Just get mad at God won’t you?”
“No! Praise the Lord. God is going to provide,” Job responded.
She was like that lady’s neighbor. She was just getting angry.
“Then his wife said to him, ‘Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die! But . . . in all this Job did not sin . . .” (Job 2:9-10 NASB).
What a wife! I wonder if Job got her out of a catalog. Where did this egghead of a wife come from?
Job defined what was true, what treasure to him was, and what would constitute wealth. He vowed, “No matter what happens, that is not up for sale.”
He learned how to live right and in the end, God said, “Because you live right, I will restore to you not just what was taken away, but I am going to give you double what you had!”
He became so affluent because he had developed discipline, integrity and resolve. To him that was a treasure and God says, “Now you understand the righteousness of the kingdom.” It is not just one-dimensional. It is a treasure chest of different things.
So how do we build those disciplines?
BUILD SLOWLY
Wise people build slowly because we are not just building wealth; we are building all the disciplines necessary to sustain the stewardship of that wealth. We build slowly and thoughtfully.
It is just like anything else. I have been learning some new runs on my guitar. In the beginning I had to slow it way down and practice it very slowly, day after day.
I would like my fingers to move faster but they just don’t in the beginning. I have to go slowly until I get it. I think, “This does not sound good. This is not fun.” But I do it every day because I am building a discipline in my fingers; a muscle memory; coordination.
After four or five weeks of practicing every day, I did that run again and miracle of miracles! Speed is a by-product of discipline. If our goal is speed, we will get sloppy because we will cut corners. Some guitar players are sloppy because they haven’t built a discipline, but only want speed. They are sloppy players. They can do a run but it is sloppy. On the other hand, the runs of those who took the time to build slowly and build discipline are clean. They are clean players.
It is the same in life. Unless we take the time to develop the disciplines necessary, we will cut corners.
“An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will not be blessed in the end”
(Prov 20:21 NASB).
So, how do we build that discipline? Is it important?
“Listen to counsel and accept discipline, that you may be wise the rest of your days” (Prov 19:20 NASB).
An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginning will cause us to cut corners and we will be penalized in the end. Mark my words and build slowly; build thoughtfully; accurately define wealth. Take the time to build what will make you a wealthy person in the end when you are taking your last breath. Collect and develop something that will make you say “This has made my life rich.” What is it? Write this down and start to think it through. Then build slowly. Don’t rush into it. Build right. Build correctly. Otherwise, you will be penalized in the end.
The Canoe Race
Some time ago we were in a big two-hour canoe race in Kona. There were 80-100 canoes. Everybody was filled with adrenalin and we were all like horses in the gate of the Kentucky Derby. We were ready to go! Two buoys marked the starting line and when canoes would encroach on the line, the starter on the escort boat warned, “Move back! Move back!”
We had to back-paddle but then we saw another canoe inching up so we would move even with them. Everyone was jockeying for position.
“Move your canoes back! We are not starting this race until you are behind the line!”
The starter was getting upset so we just paddled far behind the line, but other canoes were still in front of the line. They wouldn’t move back. As we were moving back, the horn went off! The race had started! These other guys were way ahead and we were going the wrong way! “Reverse! Go, go!” We were yelling at each other thinking, “They cheated!”
We never did make up the difference and we came in towards the middle of the pack. But when the results were finally posted, our team came in second in our division! How did that happen? We were in the middle of the pack.
A note at the bottom of the results read, “These 60 canoes were penalized ten minutes because they were in front of the starting line.” They added ten minutes to their time. That is why we got second. I read the footnote and thought, “Good for them!” A man of compassion I am!
In order to try to gain a few seconds in the beginning, they were docked ten minutes in the end and lost all their places. That is how it is in life. Build slowly. Just take your time. Don’t cut corners because you will be penalized in the end.
That is what Haggai says. “Think through carefully your ways this time for God has given us a second chance. He wants us to be a wealthy people but we need to be sure we define wealth correctly, lest we default to the definition of the world which is just money.”
When we do that, we become big on the top, with a small head, and skinny legs in a Speedo! We don’t realize that it is not a pretty sight spiritually. We go through life like that because that is the default of the world. But Romans 12 says “Don’t be conformed to the world” in your second chance because we are all second chance people.
If you have received Jesus as your Lord, you have been given a second chance and He is saying in the second time around, “…do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom 12:2 NKJV).
Matrix
The 1999 cyber thriller, Matrix, featured a huge, all-powerful computer which created an illusionary world where people lived an imaginary life. People could experience whatever they wanted but none of it was real. The Matrix computer tried to control and enslave people’s thoughts – the way they think.
Some people became satisfied with just living in this imaginary world. People were presented with a red pill and blue pill. It was their choice. If they took the blue pill they got into this imaginary world where they could become or do whatever they desired. It was not real; it was just cyber-space. It was their imagination, but people were attracted to it because it seemed real.
If you took the red pill, however, you returned to reality. It was a bit more somber and with many more challenges, but you saw the truth of what was going on.
A guy named Apoc lived in the real world, not the imaginary one, for about a decade. He was getting tired of it. There was a vivid scene in which Apoc was presented the choice: a red pill or a blue pill. Apoc said, “I know if I take the red pill I will stay in what is truth and reality, but I have always wanted to be a movie star. I have always wanted to be rich and famous.”
He reached down and he took the blue pill. “I know it’s all imaginary but sometimes ignorance is bliss.”
When God gives us a second chance, it is like a choice between a red pill and a blue pill. Do we want to be a people of truth or do we want to be a people who live in an imaginary world? The illusionary world is fine for this life, but it doesn’t hold anything for the life to come. It doesn’t give any eternal results unlike wise choices which will.
We have to choose every day which pill we will take. God is saying that in this second chance, we must be careful. Choose wisely. Define wealth correctly. Build it slowly.
INVEST IN WHAT WILL BRING WEALTH
Begin investing in what will bring true wealth. If our only investment is in money,
“…those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Tim 6:9 NIV).
If money is our only goal, it becomes a god; and our goods become our god; and our self worth becomes synonymous with our net worth. My prayer is that God will add another 20, 30, 50 millionaires to this church. That is our desire and our hope but before that happens; we need to build a sturdy and stalwart base because I don’t want you to end up with small heads, big chests, skinny legs, and a Speedo. We can be one-dimensionally strong with the rest of the areas of our lives very weak.
So define accurately what wealth is. What will make you wealthy? Then build slowly and start to invest on a daily basis in all of those things. Is it friendship? Is it honesty? Is it integrity? Is it a marriage that is true and strong?
If your marriage is shaky, then invest in it. A lot of times a marriage is shaky because you don’t invest in it. That is why it is bankrupt. The areas of your life and mine are like bank accounts. If we don’t invest, we don’t have anything. It is empty. Why do you think your marriage was so good in the beginning? It was because you invested in it. But after awhile you take it for granted and you don’t invest in it. You just withdraw and then you realize it is bankrupt.
The same is true with our faith, our devotion, our serving, and our friendships. What are the things that are wealth to you? Then begin to make deposits in those things.
The kingdom of God is like a pearl of great price. It is not just one-dimensional. The kingdom of God is what makes us truly wealthy. That is why the Bible says to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” for “it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it.”
God, what are you blessing? Join God in what He is blessing. The Lord called it a pearl of great price. That is a part of the kingdom of God. It is our second chance to invest wisely.
The parable in Matthew 13 tells the story of a merchant who had this beautiful, extraordinary pearl. A man exclaimed, “This is the most beautiful thing I have ever set my eyes on. How much is it?”
“A little more than you probably have.”
“Oh,” he replied, “I’ve got to have this. It’s beautiful.”
“How much do you have?” asked the merchant.
He took out his wallet. “I’ll give everything I’ve got - $180.00.”
“Good, I’ll take that. What else do you have?’”
“That’s it!”
“You don’t have anymore money in the bank?”
“Oh well, I do have a savings account.”
“How much?”
“I’ve got $4,000.”
“OK, I’ll take that.”
“Well then I won’t have anything. What will I retire on, just my pension?”
“Oh, the pension. I’ll take that too.”
“But what will I tell my wife?”
“Oh you have a wife? That goes in here.”
“Then my kids won’t have a mom.”
“You have children? Alright, we’ll take them.”
“Then my house will be empty.”
“Oh you have a house? We’ll take that too.”
“Wait a minute! I’m going to drive home to nothing.”
“Oh you have a car …”
“If you take all of that I have nothing.”
“No” said the merchant as he handed him the pearl, “now you have everything.”
Treasure is not one-dimensional. Define it accurately, build it slowly, and invest in what
you know is truly wealth. Then, the second time around, you will be a very rich person and you will understand the definition of wealth in the kingdom of God. That is the kind of wealth wise
people build. Let’s be those kind of people.
