I have said it time and time again and without shame that Dave Ramsey is my role model and benchmark when it comes to my finance advocacy

What makes Dave Ramsey really good is his straight-to-the point and no-nonsense approach with personal finance. Here’s a great video on why we should start looking at money differently and go against what the world has been teaching us. It’s time to go against the normal!

Like Dave, I believe the bible holds the answers to our many financial questions… as well as all the other questions we have in life.

A lot of people ask me why they are not earning as much as they should and they feel demotivated when they compare their income with others. In my talks and seminars, I encounter a lot of people who will confess to me that they can’t save simply because what they earn is just enough for their needs. While many of  us can’t save is because they spend more than they should, a big number of us is simply not earning enough.

In my book the No Nonsense Personal Finance: A Step by Step Guide, my first step was about improving cash flow by applying two things — Earn more money, Spend less money. A lot has been said about spending less money but we must also give the same emphasis on earning more money. The best way to earn more money? Invest in yourself and make yourself excellent in what you do.

Excellence in work is a guarantee for you to earn more wether you are an employee or you are in business. Income is a result of value and as your value increases, your income will ultimately follow.I know some of us feel that we are doing our best but the question is are we doing things excellently? Promotions, opportunities and profit will be a by-product of work done in excellence. If you feel that your current environment does not see the excellence in what you do, just be patient and continue to excel and you will reap the fruits of your excellent labor — sooner than later.

If you are truly excellent, people will see it one way or another and opportunities will follow you. I love how the Bible encourages us to be excellent:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. (Colossians 3:23)

Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will serve before kings; he will not serve before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)

I believe that everything we do should be a form of worship to our Lord therefore, when we work, it should be excellent because we worship an excellent God. It’s time to be EXCELLENT!

Here’s a very nice video about excellence in the workplace:

As I was going through my reading plan from Youversion.com, I encountered a very strong message on stewardship. Many times we focus too much on accumulation of wealth forgetting the real purpose of why we are accumulating. God gives us wealth and the ability to create wealth and He has a reason for doing so. Below is an excerpt from one of Youversion.com ‘s many bible reading plans. 

Equitable Distribution of Resources

God told Moses that the promised land was to be distributed according to the relative size and needs of the various tribes: ‘To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one’ (Nu 26:54). In this way, socioeconomic equity was ingrained in the DNA of Israel’s agrarian economy. Biblical scholar Craig L. Blomberg observes, ‘The ideal contrasts markedly with arrangements in other feudal kingdoms near Canaan in that day, in which by far the more common pattern was the concentration of vast tracts of land among the royal and aristocratic elites, leaving a majority of the people in considerable poverty.’

Similarly, when we look to the New Testament, the book of Acts provides an outstanding example of how the equitable distribution of resources became an important characteristic of the early church (see Ac 2:42-47; 4:32-37). Today the same principle should govern our financial decisions. Second Corinthians 9:11 tells us that God makes us rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion. Thus, distributing resources equitably means recognizing the fact that in God’s economy he equips some with more so that they can bless others who have less. Pastor Stephen Olford (1918-2004) clarifies this idea of ‘sharing the load’ in giving:

Such teaching does not in any way support either the Marxist idea of communism or the kind of giving that encourages luxury or laziness in the recipient. Equality in giving teaches that while it is the responsibility of the rich to bear their share of the load, the poor are not excused from proportionate responsibility.

Olford continues by adding this limitation, based on 2 Corinthians 8:13-14:

Paul warns, however, that equality in giving should not cause the saints in one area to be eased while givers become burdened. The Jerusalem saints were not to enjoy plush seats while the Corinthian Christians sat on hard benches. On the contrary, there should be wisdom and a sense of balance in the matter of sharing the resources of a local church.

Olford maintains that we are also to be gracious receivers when it becomes necessary:

Some people will not accept gifts lest they should be obligated to the donors. This, is Paul’s view, is unethical (see 2 Co 8:13). We should gratefully receive all that God gives us through our brethren because the time may come when we must reciprocate. This truth was not for Corinth only; it is relevant today!Today we may have abundance and tomorrow we may be in want. Today we may live in luxury and tomorrow we may suffer need. Today we may have the privilege of giving and tomorrow we may have the equal privilege of receiving.

As you read through today’s Scripture please reflect on the following questions: what is one way in which you are rich, and how do you share your riches with others?

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Youversion.com is today’s biggest Bible app for your phone and tablets, I highly recommend you download it and even subscribe to its many Bible reading plans.