MountainWings A MountainWings Moment
#3249 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
How To Keep From Being Ma$tered
======================
MountainWings focused on money in the week this issue was first
published.
Monday and Tuesday's issues were the worldly wisdom of Rich Dad.
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/3244.htm
Wednesday was the joke concerning the realistically low figure
of giving in the church; 1% to 2% of income among Christians.
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/3246.htm
Thursday was this quote:
One of the greatest things to know,
and often the least known knowledge,
...is when you have enough.
Friday, I outlined eight principles called, "The Issue of Money."
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/3248.htm
Today I tell you the specific commands that God gave me to help
keep me from being mastered by money.
This verse sums it up but it is the roughest verse in the Bible.
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and
love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise
the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
(Mat 6:24) "The Roughest Verse In The Bible"
http://www.theonlineword.com/s/5125.wma
So how do you keep from being ma$tered by money?
That's not as easy as it sounds. Few manage it, especially if
you are blessed enough to be financially well off.
I struggle with it, and YES, it is a struggle.
One morning, in my 5 A.M. prayer I asked God,
"How do I keep from being attached to money?"
The answers that I received may benefit some of you struggling
with money issues.
When we think of money issues, we think shortage as the main
problem but abundance is far more dangerous to the spirit.
I've seen few escape from the trap so I sincerely wanted to
know, "How do I keep from being mastered and attached to money?"
I am a businessman.
My father was a businessman.
My grandfather was a farmer who sold his produce at a roadside
vegetable stand so he was also a businessman.
The primary goal of business is to make money.
How do I accomplish the goal without the goal defining my
purpose and being in life?
That's not an easy answer.
The force of money is extremely powerful.
I believe it is why Jesus would not allow his disciples to take
either money or a purse when he sent them forth.
They could take neither money nor anything to store money in.
I believe it is why Jesus said that the preachers and ministers
of that day, the Pharisees, loved money.
I believe it is why Paul, the main writer and second most
influential person of the New Testament, preached without pay.
http://www.mountainwings.com/past/paulspay.htm
It is why I choose to receive no pay from the church that I
pastor or the donations that come from the online ministries.
I believe it is why the only disciple who was allowed to handle
the money, Judas, the treasurer, became the betrayer.
Few can handle abundant money without money becoming the master.
Money is the number one cause of divorce. Our main human
relationship can be destroyed if we don't learn to master money.
So what did God speak to me in the darkness of the dawn as I
earnestly sought wisdom?
I asked,
"How do I keep from being mastered and attached to money?"
God spoke,
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First: "Don't get emotional over money."
This applies both ways. It is easy to see the wisdom in not
getting depressed when money is short, but what about when it
floods in? I understood the principle. My instructions were
not to get emotional either way.
If money gushed in, don't get excited.
If money dried up, don't get depressed.
I was told not to tie my emotions to my monetary state.
Money is called currency and a current flows. If your spirit and
emotions are tied to your money, you will flow up and down like
the tides of the ocean because your money will flow up and down.
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Second: "Keep your base expenses at a certain percentage of your
income. For whenever your expenses equal your income,
then you need the money, and anything that you need,
you are automatically attached to."
God gave me a particular percentage of my income to keep my base
expenses so that NEED would not bind me to money. I understood.
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Third: "You can only take half of your company's profit."
Although I own the company, God made me share.
It helps control greed. No matter what, I had to share the
profits with others and could not keep it all.
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Fourth: "You can only build your house a certain number of square
feet excluding garages and detached structures."
I was planning on building a fairly huge house. I had to reduce
the size by nearly half.
"Why," I asked God, frustrated over the foiling of MY plans.
"Because your pride can't handle it," God answered.
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Fifth: "You can only earn a certain amount per year."
God gave me a specific dollar limit in my income.
I am a long ways away from the limit but once I reach it, no
matter how big the company gets, my income is pegged.
My brother James pointed out that God gave the kings in the
Bible a similar command.
"The king... must not accumulate vast amounts of wealth in
silver and gold for himself." (Deu. 17:17)
God's limit is beyond sufficient but like many of the Biblical
kings, since when do people stop because it is sufficient?
At first the limit bothered me, but later I looked forward to
the day when no decision that I made would be based upon
personal monetary gain because I couldn't earn anymore anyway.
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Sixth: "Anything beyond sufficiency is insignificant."
It took me awhile to digest and understand this.
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God never mentioned church giving or tithing in my answers; I had
been doing that for over 25 years so He didn't need to tell me
that apart from the Word. It was the spirit of giving that led me
to make the investment into MountainWings.
I already knew that was a part of the reason I was blessed.
In the darkness of the dawn, God gave me wisdom on how to handle
the blessing of money. Wisdom that many desperately need.
I know most of you aren't faced with trying to handle financial
blessings but some of you are or will be.
When you look at the principles of what God told me specifically,
they apply to some degree no matter what your financial level.
Perhaps you can benefit from my instructions
and you will become the master, not the slave.
Remember, a gold chain binds just as tight as an iron one.
~A MountainWings Original~
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