Some people are savers and don’t risk their money. I am not one of those people. While I don’t consider myself to be frivolous, I do like to maximize my use of it. What about you? What are some financial principles we can adopt as Christ-following leaders? Here are three thoughts for your consideration.
- Be generous to your family. I am stating the obvious here, but remember that your family is your support system, and you are theirs. When I was in medical school, my brother Roger would come to visit me sometimes. He was a few years ahead of me in his medical training, already moonlighting as a resident doctor. He would often give me a check he was just paid from his work, endorsing it to my name. For a struggling student, it meant the world to me. But more than money, it was his love and support that made the deepest impact.
- Be generous to invest in your growth. I like the saying that we should take money out of our pocket and put it in our brain. Many people do not think to invest in their growth. However, I learned this principle many years ago, and I have since applied it diligently and seen it pay off in big ways. If you believe your success increases as you grow and improve, then invest in your growth and improvement. As a corollary, invest money in your people.
- Make a life-changing donation. Years ago I joined a board of trustees of a ministry whose CEO worked a regular job as well as heading this ministry. In my first meeting on the board, I challenged them to have the CEO work fulltime in the ministry and quit his regular job. I then made a donation large enough to make that happen. I can humbly say that event not only changed the life of the ministry leader, it also changed the trajectory of the ministry. Now, more than 10 years later, I look back and thank God for equipping me to do that. How can your donations be strategic to maximize their impact?
How will you assimilate the three points above? Take a moment and write down some reflections to assess and plan out your next steps of growth in these three areas.
