day 900: Wealth Creation

"Have I put my trust in money or felt secure because of my gold? Does my happiness depend on my wealth and all that I own?"

Now having been around the track a few times I can watch those who have worked for me succeed and yes, career wise, even pass by me on their own way to the top of their organizations and career.  I love nothing more than to see it happen.  With it also I can see some who are accumulating great amounts of wealth and struggling on what to do with it.  I have long said that as humans we are not built for fame or fortune that comes to us too fast or prematurely.  For some, who happen to be in the right company at the right time, an enormous amount of wealth creation can occur and then others watch to see if they are ready and able to handle what is happening.  I become fearful for these people and I do my best to encourage them to not lose perspective and don't get caught in the traps that come from too much trappings too fast. We don't do a great job with coaching and mentoring people during these times. We need look no further than to the world of professional sports and celebrities to see how wealth creation can destroy someone.  As we lead our companies and we bring up the next generation we would do well to spend the extra time in teaching someone how to manage their finances and how to keep this in a perspective that doesn't lose the long view.


As believers we know how hard it is for a rich man to find his way to heaven.  It is not because God does not love the rich, it is because the rich are more likely to love their wealth than God. The more we are financially secure the more self-dependent we become and that is the anti-thesis of how we are to live.  We are to give ourselves to God and be dependent on Him, not on ourselves or our wealth.  Money can be a great thing when we know how to manage it, how to keep it in tow, and how to not let it become the lord of our lives. While today you may not be concerned with having too much money, the question still remains as to how much the creation of wealth is driving decisions, thoughts, life patterns and our actions?  Let's today ask the question that Job poses for us and be sure that we are being honest with ourselves to know the true answer.

Reference: Job 31:24 (New Living Testament)

day 546: The Biggest Loser?

If you think this post is going to be about the TV show, I am sparing us from that. I actually like the show, even though it is my wife who gets me to sit down and watch it every now and then. The best part of the show is what happens after the contest is over and people who have had their lives changed go back and teach others how to lose and keep off weight. Whenever someone has improved themselves and then pass it forward, it's a good thing. But, I digress. It's the time of year when we start setting our goals for the coming year and many people will set a financial goal for 2011 and that goal starts with wanting to know what their income will be. There is nothing wrong with this inquiry, but if the quest for more income becomes more than a goal and becomes an obsession then it can be very dangerous. I am reminded of many a friend and co-worker who when you really got under what was most important to them it was the chase for the almighty dollar and when that chase looked fleeting they would bolt from one job to another regardless of all other factors. It became an obsession and that chase became the biggest loser for them. What can happen is that we become fixated on how much money we are making, or not making and then all other parts of our work will become filtered, colored and jaded by that one part of being employed. It's a slippery slope and one that we have to avoid. Paul puts wealth in an interesting category when in 1 Corinthians 7:30 he writes, "Happiness or sadness or wealth should not keep anyone from doing God's work." He was writing to church leaders, but he was writing to us too. If we allow our chase for wealth to become too important it can become a blocker and an obstruction for many other important facets of our lives. Being too fixated on what we earn, could earn or don't earn can without us even knowing it, keep us from gaining the best parts of our lives and leave us instead becoming the biggest loser.

Reference: 1 Corinthians 7:30 (New Living Testament)