“We must be the same person in private and in public. Only the Christian worldview gives us the basis for this kind of integrity.”  ~ Chuck Colson 

I am not one who likes to ‘cut and paste’ articles and post it in my blog but I am making an exception on this one. During my Bible reading time courtesy of the Bible app Youversion, I encountered something that I felt I must share.

In our quest to make a living, earn a profit and achieve a comfortable life for our loved ones, are we tempted to sacrifice our integrity? 

Here’s a very good insight from Youversion:

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Making money is a fine thing. Taking money is not. It is amazing how fertile the human brain can be in devising schemes to separate other people from their money. Have you gotten e-mails from Africa claiming that you are a trustee of a fortune? Or gotten e-mails from a “bank” that just needs your own checking account’s routing numbers to fix something?

Some people define morality as whatever they can get away with. If there is no one in the forest to hear the tree fall, did it really make a noise? If I never get caught, is it really wrong?

P. T. Barnum remarked famously that a sucker was born every minute. Do you share Barnum’s sharp eye for taking advantage of people?

Remember that Someone is watching how you acquire your money. Satan owns the short term, but only the Lord can give lasting satisfaction.

“Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man, but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel” (Proverbs 20:17).

I have always been an advocate of proper money management and financial planning. I’ve written hundreds of articles & blogs about it and have spoken in hundreds of seminar reminding people to manage their money properly and achieve financial freedom. In fact, sometimes I find myself like a ‘sirang-plaka’ because I say the same things over and over again. The financial education of many Filipinos though improving is still far from ideal and many of our brothers are misguided with regards to handling money.

But that’s not what I am writing about this time. While they are definitely a small minority in this nation, some have gone the opposite route when it comes to money and have amassed a sizable fortune in their lifetime. There are quite a number of people who have embraced money as if it is the answer to all their questions in life and that money is the end goal. Money being a source of true joy is wishful thinking as wealth is insatiable – many will not achieve satisfaction until they are consumed by the quest for wealth. My friend Jayson Lo often says that “the best financial principle is contentment” and I say amen!

Money is important, there is no denying that – in fact Zig Ziglar once said that “Money isn’t the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen on the ‘gotta have it’ scale.” Money is a tool that allows one to get the best in life and it is a powerful tool in being a blessing to others. In a TV appearance at ANC’s On The Money, I told Edric Mendoza (the host) that ‘money is just money’ – it’s what you do with money that really counts. While financial responsibility is definitely a given and we need to save and invest to secure our future, we need to be mindful that ‘money is just money’ and not the end goal. It is sad to see a lot of wealthy people who become so attached to their wealth that they are forgetting to be generous; the ability to be a blessing is a privilege that the Lord has bestowed upon us. I now realize that the ability to create wealth and wealth in itself is something that comes from the Lord himself and while I believe God wants to bless us, He also has a purpose for the wealth He allows us to have.

During a recent discussion at a small group with one of my mentors, Atty. Banjo Navarro – he cautioned us that money is a very powerful idol that can keep us away from establishing a real relationship with God. He said that it is very hard to call yourself a real believer of Christ if you have issues of parting with your wealth. A believer who religiously goes to church and even one who tithes can be so enamoured with his money that he can’t help others even if he was given an opportunity to do so – and totally forgetting the teachings of Jesus himself.

A good reminder to all of us can be found in the book of life (as always):

Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” – Luke 12:16-21, NLT

Like anything in life, it’s all about the balance. Don’t take money for granted but don’t make money your everything. True wealth can only be found in our relationship with Christ.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Luke 12:34, NIV

Catch me at No Nonsense Seminar on Finance: How to Invest for the Future, presented by Sun Life Prosperity Funds. It’s my investment seminar and it will be held on Sept. 22, 2012 at the Legend Villas, Pioneer St., Mandaluyong City. For inquiries, send email to vlqmagalong@gmail.com Details HERE

It has been a known fact that Filipinos are lagging behind many Asian countries with regard to financial literacy. Facts and figures such as savings, insurance, investments and other data will show how far we are behind countries like Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, etc.   Previous studies also points out that Filipinos do not prepare for retirement and are not keen on investing their money properly.

That was then, this is now.

Global financial services conglomerate Citi runs an annual survey called the “Fin-Q Survey”.  What is this survey about? According to Citi, the ‘financial quotient’ is a measure of the financial well being of respondents – the respondents were all over 18 years old and either owning a bank account or holding a credit card.

Previous surveys have showed the Philippines  below the passing mark for the region and well below some ASEAN members. But in 2011, the results of Citi’s Fin-Q Survey shows that things have improved for the Filipinos. The survey has a ‘passing’ score of 50 and the Philippines was able to register an all-time high of 52.6 – the first time we breached the 50 mark. While 50 is hardly a hurdle we should be happy about, I am ecstatic that our numbers are indeed improving. The survey is a sampling of 500 individuals.

Sanjiv Vohra, Citi’s country officer for the Philippines said “the survey numbers in the Philippines are indeed very encouraging. The results show that Filipinos are becoming more determined to take charge of their finances and are responsible users of credit.” Further, Vohra also said “Filipinos are also looking at investments in the form of cash, real estate and insurance to ensure a comfortable retirement.”

Some interesting figures from the 2011 Fin-Q Survey of Citi for the Philippines:

1)      Retirement savings is up by 11% and 42% of the respondents claims they save money every payday.

2)      60% of respondents said they paid their credit card outstanding balances in full every month.

3)      70% of the respondents said they have used the internet or their mobile transactions while 52% of them prefers electronic transactions over personal visits to their branch – the highest among all the countries surveyed.

4)      Over 60% of the respondents felt they were in a better financial position in 2011 as compared to 2010.

5)      80% of the respondents are more optimistic about their financial standing in the future.

The average score of the region covered by Citi’s Fin-Q Survey was at 54.5 percent, few points up from the previous year’s 53.2 percent score. The countries that were covered by Citi’s 2011 Fin-Q Survey were Philippines, Australia, India, Indonesia, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Sanjiv Vohra says that the improvement in the Filipino’s score (and other Asia-Pacific Countries) in financial quotient (or literacy) is a result of efforts to promote financial literacy.

While I am ecstatic that we are showing improvements, we must aim at a much higher rate – maybe 60-70% if we are to really experience sustainable prosperity. Further, a bigger challenge is to bring financial literacy to the masses and we need to do this as quickly as we can. How? We need more dedicated advocates and we need to be more passionate in championing this cause.

A much higher financial quotient for the Pinoy? Yes! We will get there… I believe we will get there. Stewardship and education is all we need.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. – Psalm 33:12, NIV