There’s rich, and then there’s rich

I believe in generosity. And abundance that fuels generosity. Not Christian get rich quick schemes. Not assumptions that Christians are divinely marked for affluence as their spiritual right. Not presumption that being born into one economic culture or another means you were fated by God to remain there all your days. But that you should be free to work out what that looks like, between you and God. And then be generous to others with however little or much you possess.

But usually it’s much.

We were born into a culture, or chose a culture, or were led into a culture, that runs on some kind of economy. And money is the fuel. Since you’re reading this online, I assume you are rich enough to afford a computer, or to rent time on one, or at least to live somewhere that can afford to offer free access. Which means that by any objective contemporary or historical standard, you would be considered well-off, if not wealthy, by the vast majority of humankind.

Whoa! I got bills! Things are tight! I’m not rich!

Actually, today, if you are living on more than $2 a day, you’re better off than half of the world’s population. And that’s literally today’s $2, not adjusted for how much maize you can buy in Ghana, or what a nickel got you at the general store back in the 1900s.

In my Healing Your Financial Soul seminars, I like to quote a statistical model to bring perspective to the material state of people around the world. Especially as a wake-up for North Americans who fancy themselves to be deprived because they’re feeling financially stressed. It’s called, “Who lives in the Global Village?”, updated in 2005 by David Copeland. If the world was a village of 100 people:

• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 67 would be unable to read
• 50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
• 39 would lack access to improved sanitation
• 33 would be without access to a safe water supply
• 24 would not have any electricity (and of the 76 that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night)
• 5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth – all 5 would be U.S. citizens

So, if you have heat (or even air conditioning) where you live; will eat once, twice, thrice or more today, and probably again tomorrow; have clean running water (hot, even) and sewers; electricity to spare for your toaster, coffee maker and smartphone recharger, anytime of day; sleep safely under a roof that doesn’t leak and behind a door that locks if you need it; can get medicine when you need to; and can read this … you are already living like nobility.

Not that we should feel guilty for having these things — actually, it means we’re in a tremendous position to serve the needs of others for these basic necessities and recruit other well-off people to pitch in too.

I guess what I’m getting at is that middle-class Christians who say pretentious, laughable stuff like, “It’s okay for Christians to be comfortable, and even be blessed … but not rich,” need a perspective check. They’re already judging from a privileged position, looking up from an already elevated status. (Financially, at least.)

There’s a Canadian bank that is running a campaign with the slogan, “You’re richer than you think.” I think they have a point.

“I am [already] rich in _____ !”

Your personal crucifixion

Hugh MacLeod is a salty cartoonist — as in, he renders both virtue and nastiness without mollifying for our comfort level. He hit his stride by drawing impressions on the backs of business cards. He also does a good job on his online presence and business.

He’s a friend and fan of marketing luminary Seth Godin, so this piece is derived from Seth’s latest book, Linchpin. Here’s Hugh’s comment underscoring the cartoon.

We all get “crucified” somewhere along the line — that’s the cross — the universal human condition.
Our own unique circumstances that get us there in the first place — that’s the nails.
Simple, eh?

“I am rich in _____!”

8 Questions about HYFS

I’m a fan of Seth Godin, a marketing luminary who is passionate about people tackling their purpose and not their wasting time.

I decided, as part of my re-branding process for the Healing Your Financial Soul seminar, to answer his rhetorical questions. I hope this helps you understand where I’m coming from in terms of the purpose of HYFS.

1. Who are you trying to please?

• Stymied Christians whose ideas, dreams, callings and destinies are held hostage by marginal finances and stress.
• The men and women who are pastoring these families and individuals.
• Why? Because I love the Church and its people and families; because I want to see marriages healed, childhoods redeemed and poverty broken; because the Church shouldn’t be so mediocre.

2. What are you promising?

• Financial breakthrough from the inside out – the fruit will speak for itself.
• To break old, self-sabotaging, self-defeating patterns of thinking, believing and behaving regarding money.
• Teaching, prayer, ministry, practical exercises and experiences that break up those old patterns and make room for God-breathed truth and freedom.
• To renew the financial mindsets of Christians to stop living out of need and live lives of depth and generosity.
• Why? Because I needed it. And because I’m frustrated by the mediocrity I see in the Church, the financial lack that holds back generosity in the face of great need.

3. How much money are you trying to make?

• I intend to help a LOT of people with my book and seminars.
• Why? I want fair value for what I’m giving, to provide for Charmaine and live well. And then to see millions of dollars released via the lives of other Christians for the sake of the poor, hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, lame and imprisoned because I want to stand before Jesus and know that I fed, watered, clothed and visited him. Because I love him and he loves those people.
• 

4. How much freedom are you willing to trade for opportunity?

• I am willing to commit 1 or 2 weekends per month to start.
• I am willing to dedicate half of my workweek to this.
• Why? This is more meaningful to me than my other work.

5. What are you trying to change?

• Ooh, just the financial landscape of the Church
• Poverty mindsets and ‘The Lie of Benign Scarcity’
• Financial stress and family tension
• Career mediocrity and business blandness
• Ministry stinginess
• Why? Because it might have helped me when I was in full-time ministry; because I’m tired of how ministry is paired with marginal finances; I’m frustrated by Christians’ meager expectations; I’m saddened by the toll that want takes on marriages and families.

6. What do you want people to say about you?

• “David’s book revolutionized my relationship with God.”
• “David’s material helped heal our marriage.”
• “HYFS brought healing to pain from my childhood.”
• “David’s seminar was fun and changed how I look at money and live my life.”
• “HYFS removed blocks to my career, business, ministry, investing, money management and giving.”
• Why? I want to know I had a hand in changing people’s lives, relationships and experiences of God.”

7. Which people?

• Parents, single parents, business owners, wage earners, executives, pastoral couples, elders, missionaries, students.
• Why? Because they’re all affected by their attitudes toward money. They should all be free to respond to God’s calling based on the merits and relevance of the call, not whether they can “afford it.”

8. Do we care about you?

• If you’re stressed about money, you should.
• I am a credible source.
• Why? I’m an articulate communicator. I’m a former Director of the TACF School of Ministry. I am an ordained minister and prayer minister. I am a prophetic teacher.

“I am rich in _____!”

Lock ‘n’ load your wallet

I’m still learning, internalizing and walking out my own teaching.

One of the easiest, no-cost and surprisingly surprising, financial healing exercises I teach in the book and seminar came in handy for myself yesterday in church.

Space doesn’t permit unpacking here what the exercise entails, but suffice it  to say that I had the on-hand cash to respond to a real need, for a wonderful Kingdom work called Iris Ministries, that will tangibly impact the life of orphans in Mozambique.

Ready, aye, ready

And the reason I could is because I wasn’t starving my own wallet. If you’re into the book now, or you’ve been to the seminar, you’ll know what I’m getting at.

And it doesn’t have to be in the context of a pitch for support. It can be as spontaneous as the Holy Spirit highlighting an engaged young man who’s trying to marshall his finances in the weeks leding up to his wedding. Being ready to respond to these promptings is reward in itself.

• So, have you tried it?
• Did you notice the way you were changed?
• Do you have a story to share about what you did or what happened?

“I am rich in…”