Am I Prosperous?

What is prosperity? How do you become prosperous? Doesn’t the bible speak against becoming rich?

Short answers. Doing above well. Study hard, be prepared, and open to opportunities. No, but it does speak about how it could be harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

For those that may know me or have listened to me talk about my life with Christ or better yet my theology, I stray far from prosperity teaching. I find it ironic that I decided to name my blog and first business Shear Prosperity. It goes to show that I somewhat understand the grey area. The truth of the grey area is that some people can handle it and others cannot. Some people can handle success, money, power, fame, and other describing words that make you think of prosperity, but others struggle and fail miserably when they get a piece.

What I have planned for this post is to take a few questions and answer them with my opinion, take a look at a few bible versus, and lastly add some practical steps for those wanting to become prosperous.

1. How do I become prosperous

Prosperity is a mindset added to a goal. Some people’s idea of prosperity would be working a 9 to 5 in a career you love, coming home to a family, eating a good meal, watching their favorite sport team beat it’s rivals, laying in bed with the love of their life, and getting a full 12 hours of sleep before work the next day. I also must agree that this sounds nice if there was more time in the day. When I think of prosperity I go a little above this. I say that I want to be able to do all these things but I want it on my own terms. I want to produce these same outcomes without having to worry about our 9 to 5 going away, getting laid off, business going bankrupt. This is my lomg definition of financial prosperity. You become prosperous with finances when income is inevitable. You become prosperous with finances when you find a way to make your money work for you instead of your time making you money. You become prosperous with finances when you figure out that being an employee your whole life will not set you up for retirement in the end. Prosperous with finances is a mindset and the goal is your idea of freedom.

2. Why do Churches always ask for my money? Are they only becoming prosperous because of others?

I want to start of by saying that all organizations need workers. Volunteering is the exact same thing as giving your money. Assuming that you know your time is valued. Churches, not for profits, for profits, small gatherings, and other organizations all have the same thing in common and that is time/money. Without having resources all things come to an end. The answer to the second question is… of course. A building cannot be constructed without labor, iron, wood, and cement. Sunday schools and teen worship do not happen without dedicated leaders and volunteers. Choirs, bands, mission trips, and ministries are not prosperous without you, your money, and your time.

Bible versus on prosperity

Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 1:10, 1Kings 2:3, Proverbs 16:20

There are many more versus on prosperity, but this is a good starter.

Prosperity in a Bible

What you may find while reading the bible is this never ending speech on “do this and prosper or do this and be shamed forever”. I can guarantee that you will never see the bible tell you specifically what career to seek, investments to make, day of the week to grab a lotto ticket, or what businesses start. I do guarantee that the bible says to follow God’s instructions. This is the beauty of being a human. We have choices! We can be a teacher, warrior, NBA star, fisherman, or pastor. But what God requires of us is that we follow him and be great at what we do. Thus, to be great at what we do we must study and learn how to be great. We must take risk and never sit on money (“parable of the Talents/Three Servents” Matthew 25:14). I know you are asking the golden question, “How do I learn?” My best answer is to read the following books and then research books that are specific to your field and learn more.

My Favorite Books

The Bible

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kyosaki

Set for Life – Scott Trench

The E Myth – Michael Gerber

Be Obsessed or Be Average – Grant Cardone

Life lived Intentionally

Intentional: Done on purpose. Calculated.

Have you ever heard some of your friends say, “I live life day by day” or “all this crazy stuff just keeps coming out of no where”. Then in your mind you are thinking, “That kind of stuff is always happening to them. How are you not prepared?”

I have been having a lot of thought around things that happen in my life. How they happen and how much I want to be ready for instead of being blind sided. This thought process has taken me into many different avenues that I wanted to share and write down for myself.

I’ll start with my prayer life since it is when I began thinking about being intentional. Prayer for me is something I usually do as a reaction to life instead of prayer as a precursor. During a fast that I went on last week. I had it timed out when I would pray and it had me thinking to myself, “If I only pray because it is the time to. I AM DOING IT ALL WRONG.” Another excellent example is praying over food. If you only pray over food because “it is the thing to do”, then you missed it. Prayer should be intentional, it should be in reverence, and it also should be done with expectation.

Now for my finances. Living pay check to pay check is one of the most dangerous ways to live. Coming from poverty and now on the cusp of lower middle class. I’m at the point of can’t get medical or food stamps, but at the same time spending my last dime on hospital bills and food. This last year my wife and I sat down and got on a real budget. I made a spreadsheet on google docs and we have been following it as best as possible. We have a number for eating out, clothes, beauty, vacation, investments, and so on as the month allows. When you intentionally have plans for your money and know where each dollar is going you are setting yourself up for success. Even when a surprise like a broken phone comes along you can know that the $80 you would usually spend on a game or nails has to be held off till next month. I guarantee that by being intentional with your finances, it will take away 50% of your stresses and possible fights with spouse or significant others. I will be sharing a blank version of our budget spreadsheet later on so you can use it for yourself.
Now for the finale. Being intentional with your life and pursuits. This can be difficult, but I promise that the moment you get serious with a commitment of intentionality. Your life will change and your countenance will as well. It’s incredible what one win in life will do for you especially if it is planned and calculated. It’s dangerous to your money and life going to college without a plan for what career you want. A business fails when it has no goals or rules that it stands by at all times. Your life will be miserable if you do not have a purpose that you are in ruthless pursuit of.

Living life intentionally is only tough because doing nothing is easy. Here are some tips for living an intentional life.

1. Write down goals. 1 year goals. (Yes, I said write them down). Then do everything that you have to do to make it happen. Real goals are like breaths, you should not be able to live without it happening.
2. Talk to friends and family. This may sound easy, but intentionally being a good friend or family member is important.
3. Be friendly & polite to everyone that you meet. You may never know who you run into and the possibility of needing their help. Who wants to help a rude or snooty person?
4. Pray with boldness and expectation. When you pray over your food, expect it to be harm free and delicious. When you pray for sickness, health, travels, or whatever. Expect that God will really make it happen. May I even be bold enough to say that empty prayers, that sound like a good thing to do at the moment, are absolutely worthless and a waste of time.
5. Give intentionally. This is in all ways that you give. Whether it be money, time, or attention. It needs to be intentional. Do not give your money to charity, church, friends, family, or anything unless it brings you joy. Giving money that you expect something out of is an investment, not a gift. When you give your time, don’t give it unless it is planned out. Your time is precious and is limited. When you give your attention, do it intentionally. Attention to your wife, brother, and friends shows your character and love for them. Fake friendships, distant family, and open marriages always lead to disasters.