In tough economic times, it can be difficult to think about how we got into this mess. All we really want to think about is how to get out of the mess.

But we really must consider how we got there in the first place because if we don’t, then we will make those same mistakes.

One of the common causes of financial hardship is poor financial stewardship. People spend more money than they have to buy stuff they don’t need, and then, they can’t pay it back. If you look back over your financial history and see a pattern of excessive spending and buying on credit with no income to pay it back - you might just have a problem.

You may think one of the great aspects of wealth is how much money you have. It’s not. The great aspect of wealth is how you use money. You may have heard if you take money from a rich person, he’ll be poor, but if you take money from a wealthy person, he’ll just make more. But consider this. If you give money to a rich person, he’ll spend it. He’ll have more stuff and the same amount of money. If you give money to a wealthy person, he will figure out how to invest it to make more money.

Stewardship is the key. You cannot put money into the hands of someone whose habit is to spend it without first developing the habit for good stewardship.

The Great Society was a government program that was supposed to take our poorest neighborhoods, tear down the old, run down houses, and replace them with new homes. The thought was that if these poor people had nicer homes and something to be proud of, they would take better care of them and property values would rise. What happened was the opposite. Within a few years, the new homes were in the same shape as the ones they replaced. Why? Because money was poured into giving people who had no idea of stewardship something to which the had to be good stewards of.

If you cannot be a good steward, you will never be able to maintain wealth, a home, a relationship, or anything else.

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Luke 16:10-12One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own?

You may have heard Dr. John Binkley say, “Faithfulness is the very character of God.” That means we are also to be faithful. We were created in the image of God; we were created to have the very character of God. If faithfulness is in God’s character, it should be in ours.

Are you faithful in what you give to God? Are you faithful in what God has given you? Are you faithful in the stewardship of your finances? I don’t just mean your tithe and offerings, I mean are you squandering every dollar you earn, or are you faithfully using your finances for the kingdom?

We are to be faithful stewards in the use of every dollar we earn. If we squander one dollar, we’ll squander a million just as fast. If we can’t tithe on ten, we won’t tithe on ten thousand.

Why? Because between one dollar and a million dollars, our attitude hasn’t changed. If we think, “It’s just a dollar,” with a single dollar, and throw it away, we’ll think, “It’s just a million one dollar bills,” and throw that away too.

If we can’t be faithful with little, we won’t be faithful with much

The flip side is, if we are faithful in a little, we will be faithful in much.

Consider this; if you put a dollar into a savings account at a bank, it will gain interest. If you are faithful to leave that interest and that dollar in a place it can grow, it will. Over time, that little that you were faithful to save grows into much.

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For David said, “Solomon my son is young and inexperienced, and the house that is to be built for the LORD must be exceedingly magnificent, of fame and glory throughout all lands. I will therefore make preparation for it.” So David provided materials in great quantity before his death. 1 Chronicles 22:5

There is a difference between preparing prosperity for future generations, and hoarding material posessions for the purpose of earthly gain. One desires to get, the other desires to give. I do not think that storing up for your family’s future is in violation of Jesus’ commandment to store up treasure in heaven. Why? Because you are preparing your progeny to do more for the Kingdom of God than you ever could. I don’t believe every generation should start from scratch, because then we are only accomplishing what the previous generation could accomplish.

David began storing up resources to build a temple for God, even though it was his son’s calling to do it. He was building his son’s prosperity so his son could devote resources he could not have freely given in his own lifetime.

But that’s laying up treasure on earth. No. It is ensuring that future generations can do more for God and build upon what was given to them for their future generations.

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Myth #1: A car payment is a way of life.

I have owned three cars in my lifetime. How many have I made regular payments on? None. That’s because I was either given the car, or I bought it with cash. Buy a good, reliable, low-mileage used car for cash, and put those payments you would be making into a savings account. That way, you’re making the interest, and you’ll save up enough money to buy your next car. If you’re going to make car payments, make them to yourself.

Myth #2: A new car is better than a used car.

Cars depreciate 60-70% in the first 5 years. Let someone else take that loss. Let’s say you want that new Ford Mustang that retails around $20,000. If you were to buy it new, you’d be making payments around $390 for 60 months. at the end of that 5 years, your car would be worth $8,000 and you would have paid your $20,000 plus interest on it.

Now if you would put that payment in a savings account or money market account, at, let’s say 3% compounded quarterly, you would save over $30,000 at the end of that 5 years, and would have more than enough cash to buy three of those cars. Save, buy used, and make the interest work for you.

Myth #3: I have to buy a new car to drive like a milionaire.

80% of all millionaires drive used cars. If you want to drive like a millionaire, drive a used car.

I do uderstand that life does happen sometimes and you may need to buy a car earlier than planned. If at all possible, buy your car outright, for cash. Get a car that will get you by for the time. It doesn’t have to look good, it just has to get you from point a to point b. In time, with careful spending and saving, you’ll be able to buy that car you really want.

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From my next book, Show Me the Money due out June 1st

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A feast is made for laughter, and wine makes merry; but money answers everything.

(Ecclesiastes 10:19)

Money is a highly sensitive topic in all circles, not just within the church. It is a funny thing, because we spend our whole lives thinking about money, working for it, planning what we will do once we have it and dreaming about what we would do if we had more. I don’t believe that we should be uncomfortable talking about something that plays such an enormous role in our lives.

Money is a representation of our life. We give our time, our talent, our passion every day at work, and in return we receive a paycheck. Money is foldable time. Every occasion that we fold put our paycheck in our pocket, we are putting away a representation of what we spent our energy on for the week or month.

How you spend your money shows what you value. If you show me where you have spent your money, I can tell you what you love.

What the bible says

Whenever I quote this Ecclesiastes scripture, people’s first reaction is: “That’s NOT true, the bible doesn’t say that.” Or, “You’re just making that up, you’re one of them there prosperity preachers.”

But it is there. The Bible said it.

So then … does money answer everything?

Think about it…

If you’re hungry, what do you need? Food – right? But what buys food? Money.

If you are praying to buy a house, what is the answer to your prayer? Money.

If you are praying for God to help you pay your bills, what are you praying for? Money.

Some go so far as to suggest that 89% of all marriage breakdowns happen over stress relating to money issues.

So why do we have such a hang up over something that is so basic and fundamental to our lives? I believe that the issue lies in the fact that for centuries, the Western church has suffered from false teachings in the area of personal and corporate financial prosperity.

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One of the things that religion has done is teach us to be in bondage to mediocrity, failure, and poverty. Religion says it is a sin to achieve great things. Men all over the world are bound by that today, and as a consequence they are frustrated because of the gifts, talents and attributes they have buried in an effort to achieve spirituality. The devil is a usurper. He’ll steal everything he can from you. He’ll usurp your character and personality, and put you into bondage if you allow him. But God quickens you. He makes you alive. He plants creative ideas in your mind.
He creates desires in your heart-not worldly ones, but godly ones. And then He fulfills His will by enabling you to realize those dreams. The problem with many men is that they heard humility preached in the church, but saw inferiority practiced, and inferiority is what they learned. It’s an error in understanding. God created men to be successful-to be heroes and champions-and He placed that desire in every man’s heart, in his ego. But men who base their lives on error will never fulfill that God-inspired goal for their lives.

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1) Pay your tithe.

Malachi 3:8-12.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, `How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings.
You are under a curse–the whole nation of you–because you are robbing me.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty.”

It rebukes the devourer and opens the storehouse of heaven. This is foundation to your success.

You turn away wrath with a kind word.
You turn the other cheek to a hostile man
Your first steps in breaking the poverty cycle is giving your tithe, and sowing your offerings wisely into ground that will produce fruit.

Your first 10% always belongs to God.

2) Pay yourself the second 10%.

We pay every body else first before we pay ourself.

We should pay ourselves first, then pay our bills diligently.

This is the foundation key to generational wealth.

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