I don’t believe there is any great secret to creating and maintaining wealth. If you’ve already read five books, articles or blog posts on money you may think they all seem to say the same thing just in different ways. I don’t believe there is any secret or new information to be revealed, there are only PRINCIPLES. According to Oxford, a principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour. Principles are lasting, they may change form but at the core they are unchanging. So, I don’t think I’ll be revealing any great mystery to you, just showing how principles have played out in my life and on my journey with God and creating wealth. I pray you will find value in what I share and see how you can apply these principles to your life.
To start I’ll share the earliest time I can remember handling money or thinking about what it can do and what I want to do with it. There are no coincidences with God. Nothing by chance or happenstance. Everything is by His design. We were all created on purpose, for a purpose. I was meant to be here and I was meant to be in the family I was born into. You can’t choose your family and I believe that’s a good thing because whether good or bad they can teach and help you hone principles that can carry you through life.
I was raised in a single-parent home – my mom and the two siblings I shared both parents with. Though I lived with mom, dad was the breadwinner and he provided for us – all that we ever needed and more financially. We were never in need. He wouldn’t be considered as rich but he ensured his children’s essentials were taken care of. Thank God for daddy. While I didn’t know it then, it was an earthly representation of how my Heavenly Father provides for me.
“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Phil. 4:19 NKJV
I was and still am truly blessed.
While the situation was not ideal and while my parents may not have known the impact it would have – principles, beliefs and habits were being taught to their five-year-old about money. Daddy would provide my lunch money weekly but Mommy thought this would be too much for a child to handle all at once so she would not allow me access to the full amount at once. She would “budget” an allocation for each school day and put aside some for “savings”. I don’t know if I fully understood then and I don’t even know if my mom fully understood it either but looking back these are the basics of what all the financial advisors and gurus will tell you to do. It’s Money & Finance 101.
Tell your money where to go – BUDGET
AND
A portion of all you earn is yours to keep – SAVINGS/INVESTMENTS.
I didn’t know those terms or what they meant but I understood how it works. I would have to buy lunch and any knick-knacks I wanted at school but at the end of the week I would still have extra to then do other stuff or to add with other amounts to do even bigger and greater things. These were principles that I took with me throughout the years and they have truly created opportunities and experiences that may not have been possible otherwise.
This of course was not all my doing, that I did not realise until about two years ago. When a goal I had set for myself had come through and I felt proud, I was excited, I felt like I was on top of the world…but GOD. If it was not for Him, for His masterplan, His grace and His guidance it could not have been. I thought I did all of this in my own strength, but He was at work the entire time. He created the circumstances, the knowledge and the desire to follow this path. Though I did not know it and sometimes still question when things don’t go the way I want it to or expect it to, that,
“All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Rom. 8:28 NKJV
God was allowing His purpose to work in me even before I knew Him, before I believed and accepted His Son to be my personal Lord and Saviour.
After giving my life to Christ and learning that He’s the one that gives me the ability to create wealth I implemented the Principle of the First, that is, TITHING.
Give one-tenth of your earnings to the Lord (the Church) – TITHE.
Ever since I’ve started, I’ve seen God’s faithfulness in my life and I’m looking forward to what He’ll continue to do through and for me for His glory.
The story has started, a few chapters have been completed and I don’t know how it will end but I’m learning to trust and have faith in God that His Will will be done. His purpose that He created for me will come to pass. Let’s go!!
“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”
Eph. 2:10 NLT
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