Category Archives: The Prosperous Life

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Paying off Debt vs Saving Money

A Short on Prosperity #3


There is a difference between paying off debt and saving money. With debt you are paying off a purchase you could not afford to pay for with cash.  Plus, you are paying even more than the purchase price because of the interest added on top.  This is what good consumers do.

With saving you are getting paid interest on your own money.  This is what producers do. Your money is producing income for you in the form of interest or dividends.

It seems like you are getting ahead in both cases, but technically, one (paying off debt) is actually buying something with an interest premium added on top, and the other is saving.  It is not the same thing.  

It may make more sense to pay off the debt before you save because of the interest you are paying on the debt.

BUT once the debt is paid off, you’re still broke.  You still have not followed the biblical admonition to save part of your income.

Proverbs 21:17 He that loveth pleasure shall be a poor man: he that loveth wine and oil shall not be rich.

However, if you save money, you have something to invest, you have something for your labor, you are following the sound wisdom of Proverbs.

Proverbs 21:20 There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.

Saving part of your income is a great habit, and it does something for your self-image to have money that you have saved in the bank. Believing God at His Word brings joy to the heart. Try it.  Pay off the debt, but save at the same time, so that by the time the debt is paid off you are well into the habit of saving.

When it comes to prosperity, this is another small piece of The Prosperous Life.

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Gifts to Children and Grandchildren

A Short on Prosperity #2

Some people have a long-term perspective on life. They give stock certificates as gifts to their children and grandchildren rather than trinkets that soon break.

The perspective some have on life is from one paycheck to the next.

The perspective some have on life is to live from year to year.

The perspective some have on life is for years down the road till the return of Christ.

Giving stock is a great way to open the doors to teach your children and grandchildren about finances.  You can help them see their lives down the road further than just the next shiny thing that comes along.

You can teach them that money is for saving not spending.

You can teach them that our family is a producer of wealth not a consumer of wealth.

You can teach them that our affluence comes from our balance sheets, not our stuff.

There are many things to teach our offspring and this is just a piece of biblical financial literacy.

Even if all you gave them was $100.00 per year in stock you are already fulfilling the verse:

Pro 13:22  A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

And you will start them on the road to The Prosperous Life.

 

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On Purpose and With Direction


I talked to a middle-aged woman a few years ago that had a European accent.  I asked her how she ended up living and working in the heartland of America.

She said she was attending the wedding of some friends of hers and they asked her to stay for a while. She said, “If I was to stay, I needed some money, so I took a job in a flower shop and I have been here ever since.”  Amazing!

What a great example of a person living out their life where LIFE plopped them down. No planning, no forethought, just allowing themselves to be blown about by the circumstances they encounter.

Life does not have to be lived that way.  Over the holidays, you could take some time to reflect on the past year of your life.

Writing your reflections in a journal can be enlightening as the years pile up.  Memories don’t serve us well. We forget too easily. And at times it is nice to read what you wrote five years ago.  It can remind you of decisions, recall what you thought was important, and help guide you in current affairs.

A journal can be a place to capture thoughts you have had, quotes that impressed you and a place to tell the story of the events in your life. (The link is an eight minute video of Jim Rohn on journaling)

Some people record their health progress, their financial progress, their daily to-do list and longer-term goals in a journal. It can become like a house you live in, only it’s in a book.

Some people keep a thankful journal.  They write at least one thing each day that they were thankful for. This helps train the mind to be thankful instead of being negative.

Some people keep a prayer journal.  They record things they want to pray for regularly as well as temporary prayer requests and then date the request as it was answered.  This is great for reminding yourself that God has answered many of your prayers.

Some people keep all these journals in the same book.  Some keep all the information in one entry, and some people divide the book into sections for each topic.

I kept a journal a few years ago as I went out witnessing one night a week. Part of the goal was to see what God would teach me.  I wrote every night when I got home and it was filled with much learning.

In some cases, as the book or pages fill up you might need to rewrite your prayers or daily goals to keep them on or near current pages.  This is good because the act of rewriting embeds them more firmly in your mind.

You might think what is the point?  Well, writing brings clarity to your feelings and thoughts.  This type of journaling is like building a home for yourself. It can be where your thoughts live on paper.  This can be powerful.  Some things, once you have written them down, no longer live in endless loops in your mind.

You might think no one would be interested in the journals when you pass away.  That may be, but one of my grandfathers died when I was six years old.  I would like to have been able to read about his life, but he kept no written record of his life. Now he is gone and with his death all his insight and wisdom.

My other grandfather went to seminary for a while, then decided to found a church and was a Sunday school teacher for the rest of his life.  I have heard he was deeply knowledgeable in the Old Testament.  I never talked to him about that subject, and he kept no record of his life either, and now he is gone.

Anyone that reads these kinds of journals will know that you were a serious student of life in general and some subjects in particular.

In the process of reflection, you could ask yourself:

  • What or who most influenced me in the past year?
    What were the biggest events in my life this year?
    What were the books I read, (or for the millennials – what books did I listen to!)
  • What inspired me this last year?
    What is my financial situation now compared to January last year?
    What bothered me the most?
    What did I learn from God’s Word that impacted my thinking?
    Where did I go?
    Who are the people that I am around the most?

If I had the year to do over what would I change? (Brian Tracy recommends asking this question weekly – If I were to start over looking for a job or starting a business what would I change?  Change it now!) This is not for condemnation, but the question is for getting a better direction for next year.

This type of reflection is easier to do if you have the habit of doing it regularly.
If you keep a journal, you could see what you wrote about last year and any progress you have made up to now.
Writing is a great way to cause our brains to process events, situations and thoughts.  It can bring things to clarity that might just be blurry now and easily forgotten.
Now the next part of reflecting is to look at the year coming up and decide what you would like to accomplish rather than just let the year happen to you.
Where would you like to visit?

What would you like to see happen in your job or business?
What would it take to see that through?
What decisions do you want to make with your finances? (Sharon and I have gone over this subject frequently and the more we go over it, the more our finances improve, and things get clearer and better.)
How many books would you like to read or listen to?
What topics would you like to learn?
What spiritual goals could you write down to accomplish in the next 12 months?
Maybe you need mentors to help with different areas of life.
(Bible teacher, CPA, nutrition expert or physical trainer)
Become more consistent in keeping a journal.
What do you want in life?  Define it in your journal.

Many times we do not know exactly what we want.  It is hard to get there if you don’t know where you are going.

By reflecting and writing down those reflections, you can guide your life and not be tossed around by circumstances.

So, over the holiday, take some time to reflect on your life and plan out a great year for 2021!

Living The Prosperous Life on purpose and with direction.

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Never Say “It’s Only 5 dollars!”

A Short on Prosperity #1

Some bills come in with all types of charges enumerated on the bill.  You may or may not need to pay all of these charges. You may be paying for things you are not even using.

This is a good time of the year, over the holidays, to take a good look at the small charges you are paying for.  It seems like everyone wants five dollars for access to their content, etc.   Are you actually using what you are paying for?  If not cancel it.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.”

In some cases, you may be erroneously charged for things you don’t owe.  Many years ago a utility company where I live consistently overcharged people three or four dollars every month for some “line” item.  Eventually, they got sued and had to pay back millions of dollars to their clients.  An honest mistake on their part?  I don’t know, but what may be five dollars to you, multiplied by hundreds of thousands of people over the years, can make some companies a lot of money.  If you don’t understand the charge, call them up and ask them what it’s for or why you have to pay it.  It’s called being diligent or good stewardship. This is all part of learning how to live The Prosperous Life.

Our prayer for you is to have a happy and prosperous year in the coming months.

The Prosperous Life Staff

 

 

 

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I Beg to Differ!

Since this is the time of the year when many people’s thoughts turn to the birth of Jesus Christ, it might be nice to look at how Jesus was born and lived.

Much of Christianity has depicted Christ, the Messiah, as a poor man, born to a poor family, lived life eking out a living as a poor carpenter, and died as a poor man on the cross.

Because of a lack of understanding of Eastern culture, religion (tradition) teaches that Jesus was a poor man.

Religion (tradition) says he was poor because he was born in a manger/barn, wrapped in rags, his father was a carpenter and he said of himself that he had not a permanent home. Therefore, they say at the end of his life he died a poor man on the cross.  And that if we are true disciples of this “poor man,” we should renounce all worldly possessions to follow him.

Here are a couple of quotes from some websites I found.

“The English word “swaddling” indicates that these were clothes in which a baby was wrapped.  But the Greek word translated “swaddling” indicates that these clothes were pieces of old castoff clothing which were cut up into strips and wrapped around a baby.  This surely was not the kind of clothing that a baby of rich parents would be wrapped in; he would be dressed in decent clothing.  But Jesus was wrapped in rags.  He was born poor; Joseph and Mary were poor.”

“Just as He was poor in respect of material things, so must we be ready to give up earthly riches to be His disciples.”

“This poverty of Jesus which was evident in His birth was an indication that He would be poor His whole life.  Jesus never was rich in material goods.”

A line from The Little Drummer Boy, “I am a poor boy too…”

I beg to differ!

To understand the topic of Jesus’s financial status in life one needs to start at and consider his birth.  From the book Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed, one can begin to understand Eastern customs regarding childbirth.  

“Whenever a son of a king, a prince, was born, that child was “salted” and “swaddled.”  To salt a child meant that soon after birth the newborn babe was gently washed with water having a small portion of salt in it.  Salt symbolized the qualities of truth and honesty.  Bathing a newborn in salt water indicated that the child would have these characteristics.  His words would be “salted”.”

(In other words, he would speak the truth.)

“After salting the newborn child, strips of fine linen cloth, about two inches wide, were then wrapped around his body.  These were called “swaddling clothes”.  The child was wrapped from head to foot, with only a part of his face being left uncovered so he could breathe.  The baby’s body and limbs were held very straight when wrapped in this fashion.  These linen strips were not rags and did not mean Joseph and Mary were poverty-stricken, but rather, this was a sign to God that these parents would raise the child to be upright before the Lord, and that he would be free from crookedness and waywardness. The babe (which now looked like a mummy) would normally be left in the swaddling clothes for only a brief period of time, (maybe 15 to 20 minutes) while the parent took time to meditate and make their commitment to God concerning the sacred trust which was given to them in having the child.”

“Salting and swaddling were recognizable as significant to an Eastern person.  In Biblical times, any child born to nobility or royalty would be salted and swaddled.  If this were not done, there would be doubt regarding the person’s integrity both in his youth and in his adulthood. …”
If the parents of a noble-born son had not salted and swaddled their son, the young man would always be suspected of being dishonest, unreliable and having no integrity.
But Joseph and Mary did bathe Jesus in salted water and then swaddled him because they knew he was the rightful heir of the throne of King David. If you knew a child was swaddled, you knew without saying that he had been salted.

Joseph and Mary had gone back to Bethlehem, their ancestral home, for the registration on the order of Caesar. Both were of the house of David, and Bethlehem was the home of King David.  Therefore, to Bethlehem they went.  So many people came there for the registration for the enrollment that the inn was full.  So, they bedded down in the manger which was a stone building behind the inn where the food and bedding for the animals were stored.  In our culture, it might be like a hayloft or a haymow.  They would have laid a sheet on the straw, and Mary and her newborn would have slept together as was the custom of mothers and newborns to sleep together in the lands and times of the Bible.

This bedding down in the manger was because the inn was full not because they were poor.  They were not poor, poverty-stricken people as we will see.

Sometime later the Bible says wise men, or Magi, came to see the young child. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.  We have all seen pictures of three men, so-called “kings” coming with three small boxes.  The Bible does not refer to them as kings nor does it say there were three men.  It only names the three types of gifts the Magi brought.

In the lands and times of the Bible, there were three people you were required to bring a gift to if you were to visit them — kings, prophets and pregnant women.  In the record we are considering, these men came to see him who was born King of the Judeans, the Messiah.  They knew he was not just another king but the redeemer — the one prophesied about all through the Old Testament.

The Bible gives us a couple of examples of the types of gifts brought to a king or prophet.

2 Kings 5:5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he (Naaman) departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. (Raiment was so valuable at that time it was treated as money)

2 Chronicles 9:1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart.

This should give you an idea of the gifts brought to a king.  Much more than would fit into three small boxes!

Also because of the bandits that preyed on travelers in the lands and times of the Bible, most travelers traveled in very great caravans.

NOVA did a documentary many years ago called Searching for The Lost City of Ubar. Ubar was an instrumental city involved in the frankincense trade.  The large caravans of merchants came through it.  The searches found the old caravan routes, and the ruts were still there in the hard-packed ground.  The ruts were 70 camels wide with no indications of how deep the lines went.  This is how they traveled safely with their wealth in that day and time.  

So, when these Magi came to pay their respects to the heir of the throne of King David, most likely they came with a great caravan and a great number of presents.  It has been said that kings in the Eastern world many times had multiple sons because of the great wealth they were presented with at the time of their birth.  They became very wealthy men.

Now after the visit from these Magi, God spoke to Joseph:

Matthew 2:13-14 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:

In today’s money, how much would it cost you to leave your home on an hour’s notice and move to another country? You not only have the expenses of travel, car rental, airline tickets, food, etc., but now you need to buy or rent a new home, furnish it and set yourself up in business again.  That would be expensive.  But Jesus’s father, God, just gave Joseph plenty of wealth to carry out what God asked him to do.  Joseph must have been a wise man that knew how to handle money and not waste it as the prodigal son did with riotous living.  That is interesting.

Then a few years later God came to Joseph again and told him it was time to return home, and he moved his family all over again.  Once again God had provided Joseph and Mary with all the funds they need to take care of God’s only begotten son. They moved back, got a new home and set their business up over again.  

From reading the parables in the Gospels one gets the impression that Jesus was raised in a home where there were servants because many parables deal with the goodman of the house and his servants.  He must have understood firsthand how a lord worked with servants.  Example:

Matthew 25:14-15 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

This understanding is not something a young poor man working at minimum wage would know about.

Luke 12:42-44 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.

Jesus well understood what it was like to live in a home with servants.

This teaching that Jesus was born poor, lived poor and died poor and that we are to renounce all worldly possessions to be a true follower of him falls into the category of doctrines of devils.  It has served to keep God’s children in bondage financially for centuries.

Another verse that is used to show Jesus was poor is in Matthew.

Matthew 8:19-20 And a certain scribe came, and said unto him, Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

They use these verses to say Jesus was a poor man.  This is an idiom or Eastern expression.  Foxes dig a hole when they have a mate and are ready to raise a family, and birds build a nest when they are ready to lay eggs.  Jesus was saying in an Eastern way, an idiom, “I am not married, I have no permanent place to stay and entertain you.”

The people loved Jesus and knew who he was.  Every home was open to him.  This was true of every holy man in Eastern culture.  He was not poverty-stricken, but he was simply not married and had no permanent resting place.  The man in the above verse was looking to be taken care of and not have to work.  Jesus knew this and thus his response.  

He wore a seamless tunic or robe.  

John 19:23 NIV When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

This seamless garment was very costly and was usually worn under the outer garment.  Mostly, only the wealthy and royalty owned them.  Most robes or tunics were made of two pieces of cloth sewn together.  However, his was woven from top to bottom as one continuous garment.  

Therefore, they cast lots for the tunic when he was crucified to see who would get it.  He was not a poor man.

I am not presenting this to encourage people to strive after riches, but my purpose here in writing about this is to show that Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten son, was well taken care of by his Father.  We have the same Father he did.  Jesus Christ is our brother.  There are a great many promises of prosperity God has put in His word for us, His children, to believe.

Born a poor man and died a poor man on a cross?   I beg to differ!