GIVING: Why Do It When I Am Barely Paying My Own Bills?

I’ve read a lot of teaching on giving the past 10 years.  I have found a wide range of ideas about giving, particularly within the Christian community.  Some will say ardently that you should give 10%…its 10% or burn!  Others assume that God will understand your circumstances and you can just give whenever you can…funny how the infamous “whenever” never seems to come!  Others say just give some portion even if its just a dollar or two.

I find it interesting that if you talk to any wealthy person, regardless of spiritual convictions regarding giving, how quick they are to tell you that giving is an important part of their success.  I’ve never met a wealthy person that was not involved in giving to charity work…not one.  Some will say to me, “Yeah, but they are loaded.  They have it to give!”  But is there another reason why the wealthy give?  Perhaps it’s the other way around?  Maybe they are wealthy because they give!  When we stop to consider this principle we find 2 dynamics in place:  a spiritual and a psychological.

The Spiritual Dynamic.  Christians generally won’t argue the point of giving even though statistics tells us that only about 2 out of 10 do so on a regular basis.  What Christians will argue about is how much should be given and when.  Paul tells us in Pillar 10 (II Corinthians 9:6) of a connection between giving and the quantity of what we receive from life.  It’s a fairly simple principle taken from agriculture that says if you plant seeds you will receive a harvest.  Conversely, if you don’t plant, don’t expect anything to grow!

A second aspect of “how much do I give?” is a different issue.  Certainly the Old Testament standard was set at 10% and given that the early church was made up of hand-picked Jews it is logical to conclude that the early church recognized the gold standard of 10%.  However, Paul seems to make a little wiggle room when he says “but let each man give as he has determined in his heart to do”.  Some use this to say that the 10% Gold Standard is obsolete and so just give what you want.  But to get caught on the numbers is to miss his point which is found in the words determined in his heart.  Paul is trying to help us understand that giving involves the heart and is not just a matter of numbers.  Paul was challenging men and women to evaluate their hearts.  Why?  Well, its because “issues of life flow from the heart” (Proverbs 4:23).  

The Psychological Dynamic.  One of those “issues of life” has to do with how one’s mind works.  Many behavioral studies have documented how people tend to operate out of a self-perceived schema or notion of who they are.  A man who was raised as a poor farmer and died a multimillionaire once said that when he first understood principles of wealth that he began to “tip like a rich man”.  Why?  Because he understood that his mind continued to operate on a lacking man’s program and that if he gave his tip sparingly his actions would surely reinforce his mind’s notion that he was poor.  He needed to do something to persuade his mind that he was no longer poor and lacking.  As it turns out an overwhelming number of rich people give, not because they somehow feel guilty for their success (as the poor assume).  Rather they give to create in their mind a program that says they are wealthy.  Giving persuades the mind that you are (1) connected to others and their needs and (2) in a perpetual state of receiving.

So giving is not so much an issue of numbers although I do not believe that Paul was intending to abolish Old Testament teachings and that 10% remains the gold standard.  Rather I believe that Biblical teaching dares us to look at our heart and if we regularly practice giving we will begin to make us a better, richer person by changing our self-perception.  

If you want to read more on this subject and begin to reprogram your thinking about money, I recommend getting a copy of my book, 12 Pillars and a Prayer.  In the meantime, I hope that you prosper and are in good health even as your soul prospers!

Does God Want You Rich?

Find out the answer to this question when you get your copy of my recent book,  12 PiIIars and a Prayer Revisited, ABSOLUTELY FREE! This weekend only, we will give away the revised version of my bookabsolutely free on Amazon Kindle! In this book, I present 13 scriptures that will change your thinking about money, success and wealth.  With America's economy as unstable as it is, we decided to make this information available to our readers and their friends absolutely free!  Just click on the image to the right this Saturday, November 2nd or Sunday, November 3rd  to get your eBook Kindle copy absolutely free!: Just click this link to get your FREE copy of 12 Pillars and a Prayer Revisited this weekend only! Why do we need your help?  We have a goal of giving away 250 copies of 12 Pillars and a Prayer Revisited this weekend and we need your help.  Simply download the copy, read part or all of the book, and tell us what you think!  You do this by leaving a short review at the Amazon Kindle website or directly email us at askdrt@simplesolutions4.com.  This feedback is critical to our efforts to help others bring their finances under control.  So please help us that we might better serve you!

We would like to thank you in advance for helping us reach our goal of 250 copies of 12 Pillars and a Prayer given away absolutely free.  Please feel free to forward this email to all your friends and colleagues.  Your help is much appreciated as together, we can help others overcome their financial bondage and live their lives blessed beyond all imagination!  We hope that you find the book helpful to meeting your own goals of financial freedom.

Don’t Just Lay There! What to do when people reject you.

 There was once a man totally committed to his work.  He lived, ate, breathed and preached his passion...literally.  He was a preacher.  But not everybody was as excited about his message as he was.  In fact, when you're in the business of trying to communicate truth to people sometimes dissenters emerge with hostility.  Some even desire to silence you.  In this case, this man's enemies were serious about rejecting his message.  

I'm talking about the Apostle Paul.  The story is found in the book of Acts, Chapter 14.  Paul’s dissenters became so enraged with him that they stoned him, dragged him out of the city and thinking him dead, abandoned him in a remote location (vs. 19).  What happens next defies logic, not to mention medical explanation.  Records indicate that "after the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went in the city" (vs 20).  The next day Paul went back to work as usual.

Now, I have to admit I've read this story countless times but never really noticed the fine print. 

• ·        Paul was stoned.  Yeah, I knew that...
• ·        He was left for dead.  Yeah, I knew that...
• ·        The disciples gathered around him.  Yeah, I knew that...
• ·        He arose, went into the city and the next day departed to another city.  Can't say that I caught that part!   

But it begs a few questions.  What were the extent of Paul’s injuries?  We can deduce that they were severe enough that his assailants thought they had killed him.  What did the disciples do when they gathered around Paul?  I don’t know but soon thereafter he got up and returned to the city where he was just stoned.  Whether the disciples nursed his wound, prayed for his restoration or Paul just flat out had an iron will is not revealed.  But what is known is that a man left for dead is on his feet and moving on with life in a matter of hours and the next day he’s back on the road again doing his work.  This seems a little bit miraculous don’t you think?

Now, you might be wondering what in the world this story has to do with success, money, prosperity and wealth?  I say it has everything to do with it and that we’d do well to understand the story’s main points which are as follows:

• ·        Sometimes you’re not that well received
• ·        Sometimes your  rejecters don’t mind attacking you and leaving you for dead
• ·        There’s power and refreshing in gathering around like-minded people
• ·        When you’re focused on your purpose nothing will keep you down
• ·        Finally, …don’t just lay there focused on what hurts, get up and get back to work!

It seems to me that the man or woman who follows these principles in life cannot do anything but succeed! 

Until we talk again…prosper and be in good health even as your soul prospers!

By Dr. Russell Thomas, PhD

Pillar 10 in Real Life …Sow abundantly, and you will reap abundantly!

By M. Russell Thomas, PhD

Its been 7 years since first committing the 12 pillars and prayer to memory.  Throughout that 7 years I have enjoyed numerous in vivo, or “real life” experiences that bring a specific Pillar to new understanding.  It’s an energizing moment when it happens and the words of scripture live in a practical way.  Recently, Karen & I had one of those in vivo experiences involving Pillar 10.

Pillar 10 (II Corinthians 9:6) says that if with sow our seeds in life sparingly we will also reap from life sparingly.  Conversely, if we sow our seed abundantly we will also reap abundantly.  The Pillar goes on to say that we determine what kind of sower we will be and with what kind of attitude we will cast our seed.  There are basically 3 types of givers we will become:  a cheerful giver, a begrudging giver or a withholding giver.  The choice is ours.

The seed to sow or give is given to us.  Most of us in Western culture think of giving only in terms of dollars and cents but I think its much more comprehensive than that.  Life provides us all types of seed to sow and give.  While it may be literally money, it may also be patience at the checkout line or grace when offended.  It may be a home to the orphan or clothes to the homeless.  Tithes and offerings in ancient days often involved the giving of produce or livestock, or even perfume, all of which represent a portion of one’s labor.  Whatever is given, it is clear that giving involves a heart and lifestyle verses an actual percentage or dollar amount.  Thus the words of Pillar 10…let each one give as he has determined in his heart to do. 

Pillar 10 connects the dots for us that there is a correlation between how you give and how you receive back into your life from that giving.  That brings me to our recent in vivo teaching.  Karen & I have several dozen free range chickens that roam our backyard each day.  They serve two purposes:  to eat bugs and to supply us with the most vibrant, flavorful eggs one could ever ask for! 

Recently the gals had been slacking off.  Generally, we were gathering less than half the eggs we usually received each day. While still producing enough for our immediate family, we were somewhat concerned about the lower production because we like to distribute the eggs to our older children.   Our oldest daughter and her husband had come to visit and in spite of the reduction of eggs, Karen loaded them up with 6 dozen eggs as they left to return home.  We were happy to do it and did so without hesitation. 

What happened next reminded us clearly of Pillar 10 and how these pillars are foundational for living life well.  The days following Karen’s giving saw the chickens’ egg production jump way, way up.  Generally they were laying about twice what they had been!  The principle is clear:  give abundantly and receive abundantly if your heart is set on being a giver.  We weren’t playing Heavenly Slot Machine and reminding God that we did so He must…, but rather, we were simply trying to bless our daughter and her husband with something good and in the process God reminded us that living life giving freely has its rewards. 

As I reflect on this story, I am reminded that there are foundational truths in this world.  In spite of all the changing ideas and philosophies in our world, God has set in motion a set of simple solutions 4 living life well!  They are as sure as gravity and more trustworthy than the laws of physics.  They guide us to a rich, successful and abundant life!

For more about the 12 Pillars and a Prayer and how they offer a firm foundation for your financial success and wealth, visit us at www.simplesolutions4.com.  Until we talk again…

I pray that you prosper and are in good health even as your soul prospers!

Lessons from the Master Teacher

Today I read an interesting story found in the Bible in the book of John the 7th chapter.  Jesus is walking along with His brothers when a rather curious conversation breaks out.  His brothers extend the invitation to Jesus "Hey lets go up to Judea for the Feast of Tabernacles" as if they have had some kind of epiphany.   Because of threats on His life, Jesus respectfully declines the invite.  But then, what ensues is a bit curious.  Jesus sends His brothers on to Judea and then...He promptly goes, perhaps incognito.  

But why?

Obviously Jesus knew that He would go, so why did He tell His brothers to go on and observe the Feast of Tabernacles without Him.  I think there are 2 possible answers:  first, His brothers had not fully bought in.  Verse 5 says that “even His brothers did not believe”.  Perhaps their disbelief in some way would hamper Jesus' mission. 
The second possible explanation has to do with timing: Jesus' time had not yet come.  Twice in Chapter 7 He says "My time is not fully come".  Perhaps Jesus didn't want to show up to the Jewish Feast, which incidentally it seems that He was pretty determined to fulfill, with a band of brothers.  Doing so might draw attention to Himself.  And why would that have been such a bad thing?  What if in doing so He was killed in the mob, thus failing to fulfill His mission and purpose on earth?  The entire plan of God's restoration and salvation for man hung in the balance and would be thwarted.

But what does this have to do with finances you might ask?  The answer lies in the "timing" message.  If you have read my book 12 Pillars & a Prayer you might remember that God's plan and purpose is to make stewards out of each of us.  That means that prosperity and wealth and money are found within the context of being a steward, i.e., a conservator of God's provisions.  Such conservatorship is rarely bestowed upon the novice and when it is that novice is even more rarely up to the challenge.  No, stewardship carries with it the conation of a battle tested warrior who has learned the tactics of conquering an enemy.  In the case of finances, that enemy is usually from within.  I think that the hardest thing to tame in life is your spirit when you know that God has something for you, you see the need, but your time is not yet come.  Your job is to lay low and let time have its perfect appearance.

As business owners, entreprenuers and those who simply desire to be financially sound and prosperous, we often want it now.  We want the booming business, lots of cash flow and balanced bank statements...now!  And when we don't get it now the tendency is become discouraged and retreat into old habits.  Things like not making the extra call, bouncing a check, not writing on your book today and even worse, starting to doubt that God really desires to see His people do well in this world.
You see the real message of this story is this:  calling and purpose are great and necessary for us to succeed in this world, but they are not enough.  Timing is everything!  You may be on a real mission to build your business, but if you're out of time, I promise you, your desired results will be for another day.  

• Rush out there to open your restaurant without training your servers and chances are you'll be out of business real soon.  
• Talk to someone about purchasing your product and they just lost their job and your chances of closing the deal diminish greatly.  
• Tell somebody about this dynamite business opportunity and they just got burnt in their last one and chances are you're going home empty.
• 4,000 books were just released on How to grow your garden and you might rethink if this is the right time to hit the market with another one.

You get the point?  .  Just as the Master Teacher was not sucked into the moment you might need to go to the feast incognito for the time being.  His time had not yet come, He knew it and He was willing to pass on the moment in order to get to the maximum payoff.  Had Jesus acted solely on His calling it would have cost Him his life prematurely and the entire plan of salvation would have been derailed.  The lesson here is that calling is not enough.  You must also discern the time.

The point of the story can be expressed in a mathematical equation: 

Calling + timing = Tremendous payoff and harvest.

Our job is to know both our calling and the times.  In such is great prosperity of body, soul and spirit!  Until we talk again, may you prosper and be in good health!