The Money Mind-Set
MONEY HAS PURPOSE
There are so many Christians today who struggle with a belief that it is not possible to be both rich and spiritual. Somehow we tend to create a separation between financial abundance and spiritual growth.
Nobody is created poor. As a matter of fact, God is not glorified by our poverty. How can the Kingdom of God advance if all the Christians are poor?
To change your money mind-set, you must first recognize that money is not good or bad by itself. It is just a tool. In fact, money is more often used to do good than bad.
For example, think about all the people who are starving around the world. It is the generosity of giving nations and charities that show just how good money can be.
We should appreciate all the good that money is used for and not always consider it an evil commodity. Money can be used to make positive changes in the world and should be sought after, not avoided.
There is sufficient money around for everyone to enjoy and that includes you. But if you believe that money is scarce, that belief will ensure that money does not land up in your pocket. It will find someone who has a positive attitude towards money.
As I have said before, I do not look for money. Money looks for me. In my ministry I say very little about money, I never have to manipulate people to give me their money, and I never ask anyone for money. Yet I always have an abundant supply of money. It is because I have developed a healthy money mind-set.
But that was not always the case. I suffered many years from unnecessary lack and that was not due to being unemployed. Before entering into the ministry at age 44, I was an engineer and I earned an above-average salary. Yet I always seemed to have financial turmoil. It was only after I changed my attitude towards money that my situation began to change.
It’s not about the money but it’s about the money mind-set that is keeping you back from enjoying the fruits of God’s blessings in your life.
Money is a vehicle for the advancement of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Prosperity is a right for every child of God.
Money is a vehicle for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.
It is His desire for us to live a rich and fulfilled life. Fulfilment in life can only happen when you impact the lives of others through selfless service. Wealth is a factor to achieving this because you cannot give what you do not have.
Money is an important vehicle that helps you make your life’s purpose a reality rather than an impossible dream. God has not called you for small things and the journey He is taking you in this life will take a huge amount of supernatural provision. Think about it – your divine purpose comes with a huge price tag!
Most of our financial conflicts have nothing to do with how much money we have but rather our attitudes toward money and how we handle it.
No amount of money will make life meaningful. Life's meaning is found in our relationship with God and discovering our divine purpose.
When we allow money to disproportionately influence our decisions, we are likely to make poor ones. Money was designed to be our servant, never our master. It is to be used to honor God and to fulfill that for which He has called us to do and to become. Having a proper perspective on money is the first step to solving financial conflicts.
We need to replace false assumptions with the true ones. You are destined for greatness but it all depends on whether you believe in yourself or not.
God will give you lots of ideas to generate wealth when you are positioned for a change. Your new mind-set will be open to ideas which you will recognize as a potential wealth generator. It’s all about your belief system.
RE-PROGRAM YOUR MIND
Ephesians 4:23 - And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Money is a big issue that affects everyone. That is why Jesus talked about it quite a bit.
Everyone wants to prosper and to have plenty of money. God has given us the power to obtain wealth. Until we change our mind-set and back it with action we will continue to struggle financially.
The poor firmly believe that God created them that way. They have been taught terms like “filthy rich” or “stinking rich” when referring to those who are blessed financially.
God has placed inside each and every one of us the potential and ability to harness and create wealth for Him and for ourselves. But our mind-set limits us and that is why so many Christians fail to fulfill their financial destiny.
You need to create a mind-set of abundance. It is the mind-set of an individual that determines whether that person will be rich or poor.
You are the only person who can prevent yourself from achieving financial freedom.
God desires for you to live a prosperous life, which includes success in every area of your life – mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially.
You need to see how wrong thinking in the past has kept you stuck in a poverty mind-set. The Word teaches us that we need to transform our minds because God wants us all to increase our faith for prosperity.
Money is nothing more than a medium that people use in exchange for goods or services and was never meant to become a security against hunger or lack.
As with everything, the deceiver of this world has transformed what was good into bondage for mankind.
What was meant for a simple payment system has been used by the devil to place people in bondage. He has transformed it into a statement of our security and made it a benchmark of our success.
Money has become the key element in our lives for all things that are perceived as necessary for our divine purpose. So many Christians think they are living for God but are actually living for money. That was never God’s intention for His chosen people.
Deuteronomy 8:18 - And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
The power to obtain wealth comes from God and not from our own abilities. This calls for a mind-set change because as long as we continue to believe that it is our ability to work or invest that gives us the ability to earn money, then we are no different from the world. That way we are applying the same mind-set that is prevalent in the world. All Christians must understand that they are not to live as the world because we live under a different set of principles.
That is why our minds must be transformed from thinking and doing things as the world does to viewing things the way God does. That takes faith and in order to live by faith, we need to change the way we think. The faith walk is God’s way of blessing us exponentially and it is much different to the world’s way of obtaining wealth. His ways are not our ways.
The biggest obstacle to living this Kingdom life is a mind that has not been transformed by the Word. A transformed mind is one that understands that God is the one who give us the ability to obtain wealth. When we start thinking the way He thinks, then our ways become His ways.
It means that we conduct ourselves in the complete knowledge that God will provide us the opportunity and the ability to obtain wealth. It means a complete submission and reliance upon His guidance and direction.
3 John 1:2 - Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.
True prosperity is obtaining wealth God’s way and not the world’s way. Wealth is a physical manifestation of the state of your soul or mind. The more you renew your mind in accordance with God’s patterns, the more you will set yourself up for a transfer of wealth.
It is not God’s will for you to be in financial stress. It is horrible to live an uncertain life because of instability and lack.
You can never ascend higher than your thoughts.
That is not the abundant life that Jesus promises us. The Word of God is our final authority and God’s principles are everlasting.
THOUGHTS HAVE POWER
Proverbs 23:7 - For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
You can never ascend higher than your thoughts. What you think and say to yourself daily about your finances is critically important. In fact, it can bring life or death to your financial situation.
We generally verbalize what we think and many times we speak ourselves out of our blessings. If we change the way we think, we will change the way we speak. Words have power and can build or destroy your life. We can choose to speak words that bring life or death over our lives.
Start by examining your thoughts. What you think is what you will ultimately say and what you say to yourself will determine practically everything you do.
Kingdom thinking is not of lack. But you will never allow yourself to possess more money than you think you deserve. Make sure you are willing accept what you ask for. Start accepting the fact you deserve wealth. Do not try to work out how this will come about because that will stop the process. Following this process takes a lot of trust and faith. God takes care of the how. All you need to do is to place your trust in Him and to confess the blessings by faith.
How you think about money is the single most important factor that determines whether you are wealthy or not. So if you want more money in your life it is essential that you develop a positive money mind-set.
However, many of us are taught to think negatively about money.
We’re told things like:
* money is the root of all evil
* money does not grow on trees
* rich people are greedy
As a result we subconsciously avoid wealth and miss out on the great opportunities having money can provide.
As long as you hold on to negative and incorrect beliefs about money, you will never create the wealth you desire or deserve and neither will you truly fulfill your God-given destiny.
How you think about your finances will determine your level of prosperity or failure in that area of your life.
If, however, you begin to think and believe that God wants you to live a prosperous life mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially, you will be well on your way to achieving prosperity.
By changing your mind-set from poverty to prosperity, you will see your faith begin to increase as you see greater opportunities for success before you.
Many struggle with conflicting beliefs about money. Deep down in their core there is that old paradigm of scarcity and lack still running the show at an unconscious level. This can sabotage the greatest intentions and best efforts if they are not handled.
THE MONEY LEGACY
We are all products of our environments. We learned how to walk, talk, and eat from those around us. Everything we know how to do we learned or were influenced by those around us.
Children tend to learn our habits, beliefs, and traditions. They therefore also inherit our money mind-set.
When a child hears what we say about money and observes how we handle money, it should not surprise us to see how quickly they adopt our views and habits.
Generally, a child who grows up in a house where money was spent foolishly will probably do the same.
A child will adopt a certain mind-set about poverty and wealth depending on their home environment.
I grew up in a large family which meant that there was just not enough of everything to go around. I grew up believing that everyone struggled to make a decent living. All I heard every day was:
* I cannot buy that for you now
* We cannot afford that
* I am waiting for my ship to come in
* You cannot have a second helping
* Go next door and borrow a cup of sugar
* Your brother needs it more than you
Today I understand that it must have been impossible for my parents to raise fourteen children on a miner’s weekly wage. I cannot fathom how they did it. They went to church every Sunday with all their children and tithed faithfully.
All these things conditioned my thinking about money and when I started to work after finishing high school, I could never manage my money well, because of my negative view towards Godly provision.
I went overboard and made debt in order to buy things that I never had before. That caused a different kind of financial burden and stress. But I had to have those things and that caused me a lot of problems wherever I went.
It was many years later that I began to deal with the money legacy that I had inherited and I began to renew my mind concerning God’s love and will for my life. As I changed the way I viewed money, things began to improve.
I then started to study how to work with money and that exercise began with applying Godly principles relating to prosperity and blessings. I began speaking to other Christians who were prosperous and they taught me what to do.
I just want to tell you that it is possible for you to live an abundant life. Change your traditions and you will change your financial future.
Your children are always listening and watching, whether you realize it or not. They see everything and they learn so much faster than we adults do. Groom them for success instead of unintentionally grooming them for failure. If your children are going to succeed it is going to have to come from you.
