Wealth builders: A Godly perspective

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“I was put on earth to get rich, to collect the money that already had my name on it and give it all away.” — Felix Dennis. What an awesome statement! It is God’s will that we live prosperous lives (2 Corinthians 8:9).

“I was put on earth to get rich, to collect the money that already had my name on it and give it all away.” — Felix Dennis. What an awesome statement! It is God’s will that we live prosperous lives (2 Corinthians 8:9). However, we should never allow money to manage us. Money is just a tool and we should never allow ourselves to be possessed by our possessions such as money.

Grace tidings with dr doug mamvura

Money mastery is you and I becoming the masters of our money as we serve God. As we learn how to manage and control our finances, we start mastering our money. Former UK Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher once said “No one would remember the good Samaritan if he only had good intentions. He had money as well”.

It is true that the good Samaritan didn’t just have good intentions, he had resources that empowered him to take care of a person in need. That is where we should aim to be as believers.

God promised to “give us the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places, that we may know that He is the Lord who calls us my name ..” (Isaiah 45:3).You and I have to know how to find these riches that God has for us.

When you get to the point in your life where you are the master of your money, there is immense freedom. However, you still have to work on it and continuously resubmit to God’s will in your life. Whenever you drink water, never forget the source. Some of us we are so proud and we think we are responsible for all the wealth that we have. “Then you will say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth. And you shall remember the Lord your God for it is He who gives you the power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day (Deuteronomy 8:17-18). The minute you forget that it is God who gives us the power to get wealth, you get off track. At that moment, money becomes our master.

As Christians we tend to take a fearful approach to wealth as we saw in last’s article. But as we look back to Deuteronomy 8, we read about how God taught the Jewish people to view wealth. We can learn from their approach.

In the New Testament, Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 6:1 that we are co-labourers together with God. In other words, God has His part to play and we have ours to play too. God’s part is grace, while ours is faith. This is the first foundation that we have to have which involves participation in the creative process.

The second foundation is about the protection of private property. It is important to have property or in other words, to become an owner. When you own something, you have the opportunity to become a steward of that which you own. Apostle Paul makes it very clear that there is nothing we have that we haven’t received so we are mere stewards.

The third foundation we need to have is the appreciation of the fact that accumulation of wealth is a virtue. In Jewish economic theory, they believe that accumulating wealth is a good thing. I used to have a Jewish friend from whom I have learnt so much. Sadly he is no more. He treated me like his son and as a result I have a good appreciation of their belief system. The Jewish mindset sees being able to steward and manage wealth as being “holy in the earth”. However in our mindsets we are conflicted. We think if you are rich then it means that you are not a serious believer. We misquote the Bible. The Bible doesn’t say money is the root of all evil. Instead it says the love of money is the root of all evil. Money is neutral. It depends on our response to it.

The other foundation is about caring for the needy. We are blessed so we can be a blessing. Blessed is the hand that gives than the one that takes.

Another thing we find in the Jewish mindset is that they consider work to be the same as worship. This is true. I believe my office is my pulpit through which I glorify God and this is why my first book is entitled, Marketing as a Calling.

I believe God wants to see His people empowered so that we can see His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.

God wants you to do well. He does want you to build wealth. The paths to building wealth are many and varied. Not all wealth builders take the same path. But true wealth builders have some characteristics in common. If you are looking to build wealth and become financially free these are some things you should work on grafting into your personality.

The first one is a spirit of entrepreneurialism. People who have this spirit aren’t going to sit quietly. They are going to keep dreaming and keep starting things. That acceleration is what builds wealth. Most people in Zimbabwe know how to earn money but we don’t know how to make money. You open up many doors when you cross the bridge into making mine the entrepreneurial way.

The second one is inner drive. A lot of wealthy individuals have high energy because they are driven by their passions. They are often “visionaries” who err on the side of “too busy” rather than “too lazy”. It is more common for these people to struggle to rest (which is incredibly important for the long haul) than it is for them to overwork themselves. If you don’t have an inner drive, then it is time to take a look at your personality and your life. What inspires you? What gets you dreaming? Where is your joy being found?

The next one is careful risk taking. There is a difference between risk tolerance and insanity. Wealth builders commonly share the ability to make choices when it comes to whether or not risks should be taken. If this is your weak point, don’t be afraid ask for help. Everyone has to start somewhere. Seek out professional help or financial advice. Take a wealthy friend to a six course dinner and keep him talking. Listening to people who successfully and unsuccessfully took risks can encourage you to wisely take risks. You also have to be a resilient learner. Failure is in your future somewhere and that is fine. Most people who have built wealth had to lose some first. The path to building wealth is full of potholes. I can testify to this because I have lost a lot of money according to me own standards. Now I am working on doing the same thing I am sharing with you in terms of wealth building. However, taking risk is almost always necessary to building wealth.

It is also important to have self belief and an innovative approach to achieving goals as one builds wealth. Attitude is powerful and wealthy people often display a confident one. Not only do you need to have the confidence to go in and ask for loans (whether for business or real estate or otherwise) to start building wealth, but you have to have the confidence to run with your decisions once they are made. Of course you spend time making the decision carefully, but once it’s made, you confidently commit.

The other characteristic of wealth builders is a frugal lifestyle. Wealthy people are often the ones who know how to live modestly and avoid flashy lifestyles. They are people who know that achieving wealth is only half the battle. This is why so many people who win lotteries end up being broke. They don’t know how to maintain their lifestyle and keep their wealth. Knowing how to live under your means can make a drastic difference both in how you build your wealth and how you keep your wealth.

Admittedly, not every wealth person has all these characteristics, however those who build their wealth and keep their wealth often have these things embedded in their personality.

I believe that building wealth that lasts begins with acquiring knowledge, so that you know how to attract and manage wealth. Then understanding on what needs to be done and wisdom on how to do it will come. This is why the Bible says in Proverbs, “through skilful and godly wisdom is a house (a life, a home, a family) built and by understanding it is established (on a sound and good foundation) and by knowledge shall its chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

Wealth building must start with obtaining knowledge about a particular category of investment or business and learn the method, processes and systems along with developing an entrepreneur and investor’s mindset.

Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura