Have you ever desired to make millions? After all, having tons of money comes with tons of benefits right?
Having money gives you freedom. You can go do things that most people can’t afford. You can also give away all the money you make if you want.
If you don’t have to spend all day every day working to “make a living,” money can provide time to spend with your family. Having lots of cash can even buy you the time to go on missions trips. It provides you the opportunity to serve Jesus in ways many people cannot.
My Goal
Well, I have a desire to make millions. Here’s why:
I feel I’ve been given a vision from God to give $1,000,000 to a particular charity. That means I need to have at least $1,000,001 come into my possession during my life. Naturally, I will use more than a dollar to live, but hopefully you understand the concept. So, since this is a goal, it’s been something I’ve pondered, thought about, and have studied.
Among those I have studied are Dave Ramsey (Financial Peace University) and Robert Kiyosaki (Rich Dad, Poor Dad). They both mention the same statistic when it comes to people making millions:
They both teach that many millionaires fail multiple times before they succeed in making buckets of money. We learn lessons about being rich while we are poor.
Dave Ramsey recounts his bankruptcy story multiple times throughout his teachings. He wants to help people avoid the pain and heartache he went through in building financial success against the wisdom of the Bible only to watch it fall. Robert Kiyosaki teaches different concepts of making and handling money than Dave Ramsey, but he teaches from a heart committed to God. I remember listening to his story of how he lived in his car, homeless on purpose, all because he didn’t want to take the charity of others. He wanted to learn what he needed to learn during the time of having nothing.
What Do Most Millionaires and the Apostle Paul Have in Common?
They can say this:
Most millionaires understand what the apostle Paul knew: life isn’t about making money. Even when the drive for prosperity is couched in good, “godly,” goals — life still isn’t about making money. What does this mean?
Well for me, I must continually examine my inner motives and my drive to make money. I can say good things about feeling directed by God, but I can easily mix these righteous ideals with false motives and become deceived.
Money may give us certain freedoms, but money does not equal power. Most millionaires learned the secret to living with power before they made their millions.
What’s the Secret?
Real power is Jesus Christ living inside of us.
True prosperity is righteous living with a thankful heart.
Paul expresses this thought in different wording to his protégé Timothy:
For men who set their hearts on being wealthy expose themselves to temptation. They fall into one of the world’s traps, and lay themselves open to all sorts of silly and wicked desires, which are quite capable of utterly ruining and destroying their souls. For loving money leads to all kinds of evil, and some men in the struggle to be rich have lost their faith and caused themselves untold agonies of mind.
But you, the man of God, keep clear of such things. Set your heart not on riches, but on goodness, Christ-likeness, faith, love, patience and humility. Fight the worthwhile battle of the faith, keep your grip on that life eternal to which you have been called, and to which you boldly professed your loyalty before many witnesses.
The one who lives inside of us is Jesus Christ. We have given our hearts to Him, and He has re-created our Spirit. We are being formed into His likeness every single day.
Let us not become distracted by money. May we continue to push forward, to fight, to become like Christ. May we give everything we are to living upright before God. Godliness is the secret. This is what many millionaires and the apostle Paul share in common, a life of integrity. A life guided by the Spirit of God.
Will you decide to stay loyal to the one who saved your soul? Stay focused on Christ, he is the secret to living with nothing or everything.
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