Starting Prayer
Lord,
I just pray as I reflect on today’s book, although it is not a gospel-centered book, I ask that You would give me the wisdom and insight to see how it can be a tool used for Your glory. In the end, I can accumulate so much knowledge and apply it to my life well enough to become wealthy, but what is it to solely gain that ability without having any purpose. What is it to gain the world only to lose it all at any moment? God, help me to discern the ways I am controlled by money, fill me with the Holy Spirit as I learn, and share important ideas to each person who reads this series.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
Introduction
My first book reflection was “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” by Peter Scazzero, and the point of a book reflection versus a book review is that I’m not really gauging the book on technical points: layout, order of chapters, and effectiveness in conveying a topic. The point of this “Book Reflections” blog series is to take the knowledge, principles, and wisdom - putting them into my own viewpoint as a Christian - and sharing with others what I think should be taken away from the book.
I just wanted to say hi to all my friends who are reading this, and thank you for reading my blog whether this is your first or dozenth time. Consider subscribing to my blog if you like my posts and want to get it emailed to you!
Anyways, enough with the self-promo, I think something I want to state clearly about finances is that, like everything else in this world besides our souls, it is temporary. You can build your wealth like crazy, spend all your time learning and following the stock market, go into real estate and become a tycoon, even win the lottery, and at any moment or any time it can not only be taken from you but it will not be taken with you!
Even more valuable than money is your soul, that is the only thing worth eternal value, so I would say - of course manage your resources in this life well - but in the end, it’s nothing but a vapor. To God, He cares more about your soul and the only thing that will last forever. Never love anything, including money, over God not only because God commands that, but it’s actually so empty and shallow for you to live any other way than putting God first!
Finance is just another way you can put God on the throne, and that’s why I made this series: for me and for others to learn what it means to let God run our bank accounts.
Section 1: Heart of Humility
Robert Kiyosaki is a smart and rich man. These two things are not synonymous.
Smart needs to be redefined in this case. Doctors are smart. Lawyers are smart. Teachers are smart. So, why are many of them (and us) living paycheck to paycheck? Why do people work trying to pay off their debts? Why are the majority of us financially illiterate?
Let’s try to answer some questions together:
What is a 401K?
How do you apply for a loan?
What is an asset? What are some examples of an asset?
Explain how investing into stocks work.
Listen, if you got all these questions down, that’s great. I definitely can’t (I’m in the process of learning), but that doesn’t matter if you could or couldn’t. What matters is if you are willing to learn more than you knew yesterday.
Robert Kiyosaki, to my knowledge, is not a Christian. He brings up Bible verses here and there, but I think regardless of his faith we can look to him as an example of what it takes to become a successful person: humility.
It’s not being powerful, charismatic, smooth-talking, good with numbers, etc.
Again, we are redefining things here. Successful, to me, is overcoming difficulties within ourselves to reach a goal. His external goal was to get rich, but his internal goal was to learn more. If we focus too much on his external goal (that he did reach), we will fall into a couple pitfalls:
We will strive to earn money but never understand how to use it.
We will earn a lot of money and waste it away.
We will never earn a lot of money and feel disappointed, blaming our failings solely on this world and rich, white men.
Let’s talk about the concept of injustice.
Women make less than men for the same job.
Black people make less money than white people.
Immigrants are exploited for labor.
These are all realities of the world, and we should care about them. We get to acknowledge the pain, suffering, and injustice. We should continue to make strides in equality, yet if we pigeon-hole ourselves into a victim narrative then we will never be more than what we tell ourselves we are.
Yes, we are working against the world, but the world is working against God who is FOR us as His children.
Does that mean that the world suddenly becomes a perfect place? No.
Does that mean we have hope? Yes.
Does that mean we should push for more than what other people want to say we deserve? Yes.
Does that mean it will always work out in our favor? No.
Does that mean God is always in our favor? Yes.
I don’t ascribe to the prosperity gospel AKA if you have enough faith, God will make you rich or give you what you want. I do ascribe to being strong in the Lord, courageous in Christ, and glorifying God by mastering our finances and stewarding our lives to the best of our finite control.
It takes a heart of humility to start.
Why is Humility Important?
Believer or not, pride will kill your relationships, your career, and your life.
When you are humble, you want to learn more and you are teachable.
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2
Humility is the fear of the Lord;
its wages are riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 22:4
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
James 3:13
Wealth and poverty both come from God, so if you start to think you earned everything by yourself ask:
Who gave you this life?
Who gave you this opportunity?
Who made a way for you?
Who gave you this interest?
Who gave you the intelligence, understanding, and ability to perform?
So, let it be known that as God was the one who gave you everything also has the power to take away.
Robert exhibited great humility when he was willing to learn from his friend’s father about wealth and finances. He even worked for free for months even against his own father’s wishes and knowledge to learn about what it means to break free from the fear of money. He was able to take his emotions and stop letting them control his decision when it came to money.
He learned that ignorance about money leads to greed and fear.
Let’s work backwards again: ignorance is the lack of knowledge, awareness, or education of something. In order to gain that knowledge, we must learn. In order to learn, you must be willing to be taught. In order to be willing to be taught, you must have humility.
Humility is simply the heart of someone who is aware of their shortcomings, they know they aren’t the smartest, kindest, or even the humblest person. They know that fact, and they are willing to face it by submitting themselves to someone who knows more.
As a Christian, you know you are a bad person aka a sinful person. You are mean to your sibling, you are envious of someone’s life, you lose your patience, and you don’t care about God as much as you should. Just knowing you’re a sinful person is only half of the equation. If you just stay in “I know I suck and that I’m not perfect and I never will be” then you easily fall into depression, anxiety, and a whole other set of problems.
If you never realize that you are a bad person, you become prideful on the other hand. You take credit for all ‘your’ accomplishments. All the money is yours so why would you give it away? You pride yourself in all the trinkets and paper you can collect in the next 60, 70, and 90 years all to … give it to someone else who might also just waste it all away or end up leaving it all one day too. You give up your life for something that doesn’t give back.
Humility says, I know I’m bad, and I need Your help, God, because You are the only good in this universe. I need Your help, and I want to receive whatever You have to give me: wisdom, insight, power, influence, relationships, networks, intelligence, etc. knowing that none of it belongs to me. I will use everything, give it all for You and for the people You love instead.
Humility is where everything starts: salvation and otherwise.
Section 2: Financial Literacy
A big part of finances is having financial literacy. It’s the foundation of it all because when a person has poor financial literacy they spend money on what looks like investments and end up draining their bank accounts, living paycheck to paycheck, and stuck in debt.
Assets (things that make you money) and liabilities (things that take your money) are not set in stone objects. If you understand numbers and what the numbers tell you, then you’ll understand if buying X (a car, a rental property, a stock, etc) will make you money or make you lose money.
Understanding cash flow or where your cash comes from and goes through paints a picture of a person’s financial literacy. It’s also important to understand that managing money is a part of the financial literacy equation that education doesn’t teach you. Getting good grades, a degree, and a salary job will make you money - but they won’t teach you how to keep that money, how to avoid pitfalls, and how to invest that money to buy assets and not liabilities.
Financial literacy is deciding how to spend the money you do have.
For me, financial literacy seems overwhelming. It’s a foriegn word to me when I’ve been taught Social Studies, English, Math, and Science since I started pre-school. I don’t know what a ‘hedge fund’ is or how taxes work or how to invest. I just look around at what my parents and other people around me do. I never bothered to learn more, there didn’t seem to be a benefit or point - yet.
I realize now, barely a step ahead, that it’s such a disservice we do to ourselves. We think working harder equates to making more money, but what is the point if we end up losing it all because we have no clue how to manage it? We’re afraid of questioning common knowledge, fearful of financial literacy because of all-or-nothing thinking, and we don’t want to be different.
If you’ve been reading my most recent blog posts, you’ll know that after I read and reflected on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality (Blog #5), I decided to dedicate my summer to conquering and mastering two fears in my life: driving and finances. That led to my first Faithful Finances blog post where I did research and learned what a credit card is, how it works, how to avoid paying the bank fees, and how to get one that would fit my needs.
That’s an example of financial literacy. Getting a credit card isn’t financial literacy: managing your spending and avoiding annual fees, overdraft fees, paying on time to avoid fees, and such are financial literacy. Maximizing the benefits and minimizing the losses.
An example in the book goes that the author’s father believes that a house is an asset while his friend’s rich father believes it is a liability. A bigger home came with more expenses and the cash flow would go into expenses (mortgage payment, property tax, insurance, maintenance, and utilities). This goes against popular sayings that a home is a person’s greatest asset.
What RK (Robert Kiyosaki) would recommend is to put more money into their assets then their assets would grow and help to cover their expenses instead of adding to their expenses. Learn to start your investment portfolio instead (which is another Faithful Finance blog post: coming soon)!
Read: 8 simple ways you can become financially literate on your own
With some after thought, I’ve decided that I’ll also make a future blog post on what it really means to be financially literate, steps to financial literacy, and best practices. You are always free to use Google, Youtube, buy/borrow books, and even reading the Faithful Finances blog series is hopefully increasing your financial literacy.
Section 3: Assets > Income
After we spend some time gaining financial literacy (knowing what an asset is), it’s time to apply the knowledge we learned. Wisdom is the application of knowledge, and it’s important to understand that godly wisdom comes through prayer!
So, take the chance to pray to God! In James 1:5 it says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Ask God in humility for wisdom on where to start, who to listen to, and the discernment to make sure we are not being led astray by our hearts or our wallets.
Example prayer:
Lord,
I ask that you would grant me wisdom that comes only from You. I don’t know so much, yet You know everything. You know what’s best for me. I can read all the books and apply all the knowledge perfectly, but if it is not of godly wisdom and for godly use then it’s all for nothing in the end. I pray in humility that You would guide me on the journey of financial literacy.
Amen.
In school they will teach you academics to get a job. They will teach you the way in which normal people earn an income, yet they never learn about building their assets. An asset is different from an income because it will make money without your sustained labor. The moment you are fired from a job or cannot work, you lose your income. An asset will continue to build wealth (i.e. stocks, real estate opportunities, Youtube videos) after an initial investment with some upkeep here and there, but for the most part it should run without your continual output of work.
What RK understands about wealth is that we should not focus on increasing our income but rather focus on building our assets. Continue to work your job, but use left over income not used for your needs, debts, and savings towards your assets. Again, in order to not fall into the trap of financial illiteracy, we have to know what a real asset looks like.
Knowledge applied leads to wisdom.
Proverbs 12:15
The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
Proverbs 1:5
A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.
What is an Asset?
Read: The difference between assets and liabilities, Assets and Liabilities
Great question!
Stocks
Bonds
Businesses that don’t require you to be there (you own them but they are run/managed by someone else - otherwise it is just your job)
Income-generating real estate
Royalties from music, scripts, and patents (think Shark Tank)
Anything that has value, makes income or increases in value over time, and has a high-demand in market
After you build your assets then go for your wants, but until then keep the wants part of your budget at bay and go for assets instead. Don’t focus on looking rich but working poor. It also makes your purchase that much more worth it, it is a reward for your due diligence.
Section 4: Understand Taxes
Everything I know about taxes:
Everyone has to pay for them (legally) and Jesus said to pay them (Matthew 22:21-22)
Tax season is in April
FAFSA cares about them
New York City has really high taxes so people move to Florida or Texas
So, I know basically nothing.
Let’s understand something: academics are great, but they don’t teach you about the real world for the most part. What your everyday real life revolves around will not be the French Revolution, the atomic ions in a particle, or evolutionary theory. So, there is a gap in what we are taught for a majority of our lives and what a majority of our lives consist of.
We become really smart and poor, basically.
Here’s a summary of RK’s summary on taxes: Taxes emerged from a take from the rich, give to the poor mentality that is managed by the government. However because the government became corrupt and greedy, it started to include the middle class in the ‘get taxed’ bracket. The rich learned how to get around this tax problem through the use of corporations. The rich can put their money into a corporation, get whatever money the corporation makes, and use their personal expenses as the expenses of the corporation.
It’s a complex theory, but the rich have this higher level of financial literacy that keeps them rich. It sucks. It’s capitalism. Socialism fails in how it understands financial literacy as well because the rich will use their knowledge and apply it to avoid taxes.
Corporations aren’t a place or a building, it’s just a legal file that grants certain protections against taxes if you are named a corporation. This is because corporations are taxed less than individuals are taxed so if you use a corporation to pay for expenses (personal and corporation expenses), you end up with less money and less to be taxed but that money was used to cover what needed to be paid for.
RK’s point in sharing this is to say that there is a game being played, regardless if you want to be part of it or not, you either play and try to win or you refuse to play and you lose. Everyone should play because the rich are playing already.
The rich will look for places to reduce their tax burdens, and it’s not that these same opportunities are not available to the poor but the rich are always looking for them. They are maximizing assets and minimizing liabilities, income is a small piece of the pie. We just accept what the government tells us instead of going out and questioning things: looking for tax deductions. I honestly feel overwhelmed by this sentiment alone, but I think that’s what keeps us from progressing. I can count my burdens, my limitations, my lack of resources, and call it quits or I can at least learn more than I did yesterday. Find another place where tax deductions don’t exist. Learn a new thing about taxes.
It doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
Ignorance is lethal. It kills us.
Understanding the law and corporations can provide you so many more benefits than as an individual or a solo small-business owner.
Example:
You work 9-5. Your paycheck is taxed on what you earn and you make do with the leftover.
A corporation earns money, spends everything it can, and gets taxed on whatever leftover.
If you have assets/investments with cash flow, setting up a corporation isn’t too difficult. Once it’s set up, all the corporation expenses (car payments, insurance, bills, meals, even your vacation) can be set as a corporation expense. Legally, it’s fine, and you get to spend pre-taxed dollars!
Another thing is that ownership of a corporation means that if you get sued, your wealth can be hidden in the corporation so there’s nothing for them to even gain from you. This is because the government and other people like to sue the rich (rightfully so many times, but this is how they legally avoid it).
The world of the financially literate changes the game.
Section 5: the Courage to Be
In my previous blog post, Transitioning Back Home From Missions, I talked more about “the Courage to Be” which is a term coined by Christian philosopher Paul Tillich.
Source: Paul Tillich on 'The Courage to Be'
“The following extracts some of the key ideas from Tillich’s book The Courage to Be.[1]
Tillich claims that ‘[c]ourage is usually described as the power of the mind to overcome fear’ (43) and that ‘anxiety is the state in which a being is aware of its possible non-being, or anxiety is the existential awareness of non-being’ (44). It is not the transitoriness of everything or the death of others ‘but the impression of these events on the always latent awareness of our own having to die, that produces anxiety. Anxiety is finitude, experienced as one’s own finitude’ (44). This anxiety afflicts all human beings and to some extent all living beings.
Fear has a definite object which can be ‘faced, analysed, attacked, endured’ (44). Courage is able to ‘meet every object of fear, because it is an object which makes participation possible’ (45). As long as fear has an object, it can be conquered by love. But anxiety has no object, or has as its object ‘the negation of every object’ (45).
…
Fear of dying is fear of being killed by illness or accident and experiencing great pain and the loss of everything. But anxiety about death is about the unknown after death; the threat is the threat of nothingness. Thus, anxiety ‘is always the anxiety of ultimate non-being’ (47). The root cause of anxiety in any situation is the anxiety of being unable to preserve one’s own being (47).
…
Tillich offers his solution to the problem in his final chapter, ‘Courage and Transcendence [The Courage to Accept Acceptance]’. He claims that ‘[c]ourage is the self-affirmation of being in spite of the fact of non-being. It is the act of the individual self in taking the anxiety of non-being upon itself by affirming itself either as part of an embracing whole or in its individual selfhood’ (152). Those who are said to be courageous attempt to transcend themselves and their world in order ‘to find the power of being-itself and a courage to be which is beyond the threat of non-being’ (ibid). Every example of courage has a religious root, whether acknowledged or not, because ‘religion is the state of being grasped by the power of being itself” (152-153).
For Tillich,“[p]rovidence is not a theory about some activities of God; it is the religious symbol of the courage of confidence with respect to fate and death. For the courage of confidence says in spite of even to death’ (163). Faith ‘is not a theoretical affirmation of something uncertain, it is the existential acceptance of something transcending ordinary experience. It is the state of being grasped by the power of being which transcends everything that is and in which everything that is participates’ (168). ”
Why did we suddenly have a religion and philosophy discourse here?
RK talks about how he sees that something that holds everyone back is a degree of self-doubt. This excessive fear kills our ability to reach our greatest potentials, and so we settle and follow the herd that does the same. It’s honestly what I want to do. I don’t like challenging myself into uncomfortable spaces because I know my self-doubt and it feeds into my fear of failure. It kills my boldness to go for more, until I found the remedy to fear: love.
1 John 4: 18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
What is anxiety then? Anxiety is not about an object like fear of heights or swimming in open waters. Anxiety is about self-preservation or rather the inability for that to happen. The anxiety that we will not be okay, not strong enough, not good enough, not tough enough for this world, and unable to overcome our circumstances which means we lose ourselves. From my basic understanding, Tillich’s solution is courage: which looks in the face of this fear and affirms instead that we are here and that we are part of something greater that keeps us here. For me, that is God. In my anxiety, I am afraid for myself. Will I be okay? Can I do this? What will happen to me?
God is the only tangible affirmation and answer.
I can tell myself I’ll be okay but that’s just my best guess: a shot in the dark.
Trusting in God means that I know the truth, God preserves my life. God holds me, never letting me go for a moment, and He keeps me afloat.
The same goes for our finances.
The purpose of learning financial literacy is so that you have more options. Yes, you can learn about corporations and never need that information in all honesty. The point is that you would have the option to use that information. The purpose of financial literacy is so that we no longer live in the abyss of fear that comes from ignorance.
When we know truth we lose ignorance, yet truth does not combat fear. You can know the truth of how money works and how to manage your money well, but fear only loses to love. Anxiety ends with the courage of being loved. You can have all the money in the world by learning and applying the top financial principles, but you can lose it all - your life and therefore everything that was in it - without a moment’s notice.
Proverbs 1:19
So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain. It takes away the life of its owners.
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.”
It is a good thing to learn about finances, but it is the best thing to learn about God and do everything to learn more about God with finances as another avenue.
God gives you the guts to take a risk. This isn’t a shot in the dark. This is a shot bathed in divine light, and it is guided by His hands. God is in charge of it all. Do you think God can’t give you money? He owns every cent of Jeff Bezos. He owns everything.
Romans 14:8
For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
God doesn’t want you to trust in your bank account. God wants your trust in Him as the sole provider and breadwinner in your relationship with Him. Does a child ask their parents when the next paycheck will come? If there’s enough food? Will they last until tomorrow?
Matthew 6:25, 33
Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 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?
Romans 8:32
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
God wants you to be able to steward the money well so that you could overflow into blessing others in every area of your life.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything; you may have an abundance for every good deed;
Don’t believe me? Try it out yourself. Live a life dedicated to God. Read the Word. Pray. Fast. Love orphans and widows. See if God provides for you or not. This isn’t to test God, it is simply the kind of God that I have faithfully known, served, and loved. I know our God, and I believe that He is more than willing to give you what you need to live a glorifying life for Him.
Investing your time into financial intelligence may make you great gain in this one area of your life, but investing into God brings eternal riches and value.
RK knew that courage took him great places in the financial world, but God will give you the courage to transform your life, the lives of those around you, and that will bleed into eternity. That is the true wealth we can carry out even after we die and leave this earth. It is a treasure that will carry into generations because God preserves His people. It is the best asset you will ever get, and the best part is that you never have to work for it. It is given over completely free of charge when Jesus died for us all on the cross!
Jesus, a loving relationship with Him, is the gift that keeps on giving.
That’s my greatest piece of financial advice.
Ending Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for the opportunity You have given us to know you and love you well through every aspect of our life. I know that each and every person’s life is held within your hands, and I pray that we would be people of humility, teachability, filled with knowledge, eager for Your wisdom, leadership, and courage. We cannot be all those things to our fullest potential without you, so onto Your hands, we surrender our finances and steward what You have given us well.
God, we worship You because You are our eternal joy and wealth. The only thing that we have that doesn’t fade is our reconciliation with You because of Christ.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen
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