MASTERING YOUR MONEY

Transcription

1 MASTERING YOUR MONEY What would you do for $10,000? Years ago a Chicago radio station offered $10,000 to the individual who could devise the most outlandish way to get the money. More than 6,000 people responded to the challenge. The eventual winner was Jay Gwaltney of Indiana, who consumed an 11-foot birch tree - leaves, roots, bark and all. For the event he wore a tuxedo and dined at a table eloquently set with fine china, sterling silverware, candles and a rose vase. Armed with pruning sheers, he began chomping from the top of the tree and worked his way, branch by branch, to the roots. His only condiment: French dressing for the massive birch-leaf salad. Consuming the tree took 18 hours over a period of three days. Afterward, Gwaltney complained of an upset stomach. That seems crazy doesn t it? Eat a tree for $10,000? Ridiculous! But what would you be willing to do for a million? In The Day America Told the Truth James Patterson and Peter Kim reveal some shocking statistics on how far people in America are willing to go for a million dollars: 25% Would abandon their entire family 23% Would become prostitutes for a week or more 16% Would give up their American citizenship 16% Would leave their spouses 10% Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free 7% Would kill a stranger 3% Would put their children up for adoption There is an old story about a rich man who was at a party. He was dancing with an attractive young woman and whispered into her ear would you sleep with me if I gave you a million dollars. The woman smiled back and answered yes I would. So the man whispered again, would you sleep with me for 20 dollars. The woman was insulted and asked what kind of a girl do you think I am. The man replied we ve already established the kind of girl you are, now we are just haggling over the price. There is a reason why "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire" is so popular. There is a reason why dozens of intelligent, attractive women would parade and degrade themselves on national TV. There is a reason why Americans owe hundreds of billions of dollars on their credit cards, why we work ourselves into an early grave, ignoring the people and things that matter most in life. The reason: we view money and the things it can buy as the answer to all our problems. We perceive the good life as an abundance of bigger and better things. We are infected with a cultural disease one author has termed "affluenza." Influenza used be a major killer eighty years ago. In 1918 some 548,000 Americans died of what we know as the flu. Today influenza is no longer a threat, but affluenza is. Here are the symptoms of affluenza: - Desire for more and more, despite what we already have - Insatiable drive to be successful without ever experiencing contentment - Consistently choosing career over family - Unchecked yearning for more possessions and wealth - Unwillingness to settle for less than the best of everything Affluenza has deadly consequences. It creates stress as we clamor for more and more. It strains and disrupts our relationships.

2 It makes money our master, and rest assured that money is an unrelenting slave driver. It won t let up until it has drained every last bit of you. The key is to master your money, so that it won t master you. Maybe you have already had your influenza shot for the year, here is your afluenza shot: Matt 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. 1. RECOGNIZE the Source of Your Anxiety (vs. 25) Matt 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? In Kuwait the American Army radio station had radio talk show host Tom Joyner the hardest working man on radio. A newspaper article once gave a glimpse into his life. At the age of 40 he was at the top of his profession. His salary was $700,000. Just in case your were feeling envious here s a sample of his daily schedule: He wakes up at 3:30 AM in the morning. At 5:30 AM, Joyner comes on the air at K104 in Dallas to do his 3 ½ hour morning drive time show. Shortly after 9:00 AM, he is quickly on his way to Dallas - Ft. Worth International Airport. He goes directly to the gates, flashes his $150,000 American Airlines Airpass, and sits down in First Class seat 4A of Flight 360 to Chicago. He carries with him only his briefcase and his lunch. Approximately two hour later, a limo picks him up at O Hare airport, rushes him to a local health club for a quick work out, and then dashes him to the studios of WGCI where he s on the air in Chicago from 2:00 to 6:00 for the afternoon commute crowd. Then it s a sprint back to O Hare to catch his flight to Dallas. He touches down at DFW around 9:00 and is in the bed by 11:00. And then he s up the next morning by 3:30 AM to do it all over again. Why does he do it? In an interview Joyner said his primary concern was for his family s future. He wanted them to have all the things he didn t have when he was growing up. He wanted to provide them with financial security and was willing to pay a tremendous price to do it. Underlying our driveness and stress about money is often plain old fear. Whether conscious of it or not, we have this dread that one day we won t have what we need. It may be ridiculous and irrational, but very real.

3 This anxiety is not limited to certain income levels either. It afflicts wealthy folks like Tom Joyner down to those who are at the bottom of the economic ladder. The audience Jesus addressed with those words from Matthew chapter six was a mixed crowd. Some barely had enough to eat from day to day. Others were quite rich by ancient standards. Understand that we all have this fear that we won t have enough. How do you address this fear? 2. REST through Faith in God s Provision vs Matt 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. We overcome the scarcity mentality with faith. It s a trust that if we put God first in all our decisions and activities he ll meet our needs. After all, Jesus said, "If God looks after plants and animals, won t he provide for human beings who are his highest concern?" Story of George Muller. During the next three years Mr. Muller literally fed the orphans out of God s hand. The supply was almost like manna in that it was to be gathered each day afresh. There was scarcely anything left over from one day to the next. Often money had to be prayed in before breakfast could be eaten or the evening meal finished God provides if we trust him enough to give him first place in our lives. Let me add some caution at this point. God promises to meet our needs, not necessarily our wants. Just because you have faith, it doesn t mean he s going to provide you with a shiny new car or a bass boat or big house at the beach. God only promises to give us what we need. You ll likely find that God has provided you with more than enough to meet your needs. The problem is that your spending too much on wants, not needs. 3. REFUSE to Base Your Happiness on Possessions - Jesus would have made a terrible infomercial host. Tony Robbins and the multitudes of other success gurus would not be please by his words. Luke 12:15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." As someone once said: All I ask is the chance to prove that money can t make me happy. If more stuff brought happiness I don t think you see any millionaires. They d have reached contentment long before the million dollar mark. Having more actually can bring less satisfaction and even outright misery because it fuels the desire for ever increasing wealth.

4 A few years ago I saw a movie The Aviator. It was about Howard Hughes who at one time was the richest man in the world. An article Leadership Journal, described him this way: All he ever really wanted in life was more. He wanted more money, so he invested his inherited wealth into a billion-dollar pile of assets. He wanted more fame, so he broke into the Hollywood scene and soon became a filmmaker and star. He wanted more sensual pleasures, so he paid huge sums of money to indulge his every sexual urge. He wanted more thrills, so he designed, built, and piloted the fastest aircraft in the world. He wanted more power, so he secretly dealt political favors so skillfully that two US presidents became his pawns. All he ever wanted was more. He was absolutely convinced that more would bring him true satisfaction. Unfortunately, history shows otherwise. He concluded his life emaciated; colorless; sunken chest; fingernails in grotesque, inches-long corkscrews; rotting, black teeth; tumors; innumerable needle marks from his drug addiction. Howard Hughes died believing the myth of more. He died a billionaire junkie, insane by all reasonable standards. Matt 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Make the decision that acquiring money and more possessions will not be the operating principle of your life. Intentionally make God your CEO. The key to understanding this is to live simply. We d worry less about money if we could see that we don t need lots of stuff to have a happy life. Ultimately possessions are not the source of our happiness. An American tourist paid a visit to a renowned Polish rabbi. He was astonished to see that the rabbi's home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a cot. The tourist asked, "Rabbi, where is your furniture?" He replied, "Where is yours?" The puzzled American asked, "Mine? But I'm only a visitor here. I'm only passing through." The rabbi replied, "So am I. G.K. Chesterton said, "There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less." An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a tiny boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked why he didn t stay out and catch more fish. The Mexican said he had enough to support his family s needs. The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" He answered, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life senior." The American scoffed, "I have a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat, with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several more boats, eventually owning your own fleet. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you will run your expanding enterprise." The fisherman asked, "But senior, how long will all this take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then senior?" The American laughed and said, "That s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions, senior? Then what?"

5 The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and in the evenings stroll into the village where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos." There are many who spend so much time building a life that they never actually live. Learn to desire less stuff and more of God and you ll find fullness of life. 4. REPLACE your Materialism with Generosity - There is an old Jack Benny skit. An armed robber approaches Benny and demands, Your money or your life! Benny hesitates and says nothing. Finally, the robber says, Well, what will it be? To which Benny replies, Don t rush me, I m thinking about it! Here s a way to be proactive about finance related stress. Begin giving it away. Generosity is the antidote to materialism. Stress flows from a desire to have. When happiness is measured by what you have then it can be destroyed by what you lose. So many today are so worried about losing their treasures. Matt 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The issue here is not how much you have but how you view what you have. The key thought here is for yourselves. Don t accumulate wealth for yourself. Remember it belongs to God. How much is Bill Gates worth 5 seconds after he dies. In the game Monopoly you can own everything on the board but it all goes back into the box at the end of the game. Why not be generous with it now instead of waiting until it is all gone. It is more blessed to give than to receive. -- Acts 20:35 I started by asking what would you do for $10,000. I know a church in Ottawa that did an interesting experiment recently. A member of the congregation gave the church $10,000. The pastor took it and gave 100 people in the church $100 each during the morning worship service. My sister was one of the ones to receive the money. They were told to figure out the best use of the money they were given and to report back to the church a month later with their decision. It was amazing to see all the creative and valuable ways the money was invested into kingdom ministry. If you were given $100 today, how would you use the money? The very first person to reach the status of billionaire was a man who knew how to set goals and follow through. At the age of 23, he had become a millionaire, by the age of 50 a billionaire. Every decision, attitude, and relationship was tailored to create his personal power and wealth. But three years later at the age of 53 he became ill. His entire body became racked with pain and he lost all the hair on his head. In complete agony, the world s only billionaire could buy anything he wanted, but he could only digest milk and crackers. He could not sleep, would not smile and nothing in life meant anything to him. His personal, highly skilled physicians predicted he would die within a year.

6 That year passed agonizingly slow. As he approached death he awoke one morning with the vague remembrances of a dream. He could barely recall the dream but knew it had something to do with not being able to take any of his successes with him into the next world. The man who could control the business world suddenly realized he was not in in control of his own life. He was left with a choice. He called his attorneys, accountants, and managers and announced that he wanted to channel his assets to hospitals, research, and mission work. On that day John D. Rockefeller established his foundation. This new direction eventually led to the discovery of penicillin, cures for current strains of malaria, tuberculosis and diphtheria. The list of discoveries resulting from his choice is enormous. But perhaps the most amazing part of Rockefeller s story is that the moment he began to give back a portion of all that he had earned, his body s chemistry was altered so significantly that he got better. It looked as if he would die at 53 but he lived to be 98. Rockefeller learned gratitude and gave back from his wealth. Doing so made him whole.