Hey #JustWrite!! We are talking about finances in this month's blog. I studied Business Education in high school, Business Administration and Accounting in undergrad and I later received my Master's in Accounting and Financial Mgmt. I've worked for two different CPAs and can truly say that in the last few years, I have learned more about finances from conversations, blogs, and my own trials than I did throughout my formal education in public school and college. I do recall as a child, my mother teaching me the basics of sales tax (it was 6% then) as we shopped in one of my favorite stores, Dollar Tree. LOL. I can also recall being fussed at by my father when he found out I spent all of money on music and other stuff instead of important stuff. It's amazing how much I value a dollar more today than I did back then. The important thing now is that I understand the necessity of financial literacy and the biblical principle of stewardship. As believers, not only are we stewards of people, but we are stewards over our time, talents, faith, businesses, employment, and finances. It's very important that we understand that God called all of us to utilize and have wisdom over our financial resources for the Kingdom as well as for the generations after us. You may recall a blog I wrote entitled
"The Write Investment: Creating Intellectual Property". In that blog I touch on the subject of understanding the various forms of intellectual property and the importance of investing in our creative, literary works. As creatives, it's necessary to know how to protect one's assets and create generational wealth. Through a recent conversation I learned that money has four functions: to be spent, given, saved, and invested. When it comes to multiple streams of income, most wealthy people have at least 7 streams of income. What does the bible say about finances? Money is mentioned more than 800 times in the Bible with over 120 plus scriptures. Here are a few:
Proverbs 13:22 says, “A good person leaves an
inheritance for their children's children”.
Romans 13:8 "Let no
debt remain outstanding except the continuing debt to love on another."
Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender."
Psalm 37:21 "The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives."
It's amazing how the written Word can speak to so many things we deal with, even the concept of money and being great stewards. I know the latter part of 2018 and this year, I have been looking at other ways to manage my money particularly through investments. Investing has been a top goal of a few people I talk to and just understanding how money works when you have a Kingdom mindset is amazing. We should always pray and ask God for wisdom and His will on how to plan for our finances whether it's for retirement, education, debt, estate planning, investments, business, etc. I close with this scripture, "To whom much is given, much will be required" (Luke 12:48). I challenge all of us to view money with a Kingdom mindset. If we can't see the value of $1 and manage it properly, then how can we expect to receive anything more? Let's all strive to be better.
In His service,
Lequvia Ousley
