Category: Bible

The third thing that kill prosperity is:

3. Impatience or the Entitlement Mentality.

If you’re just joining us on this discussion you can read Part 1 Here or Part 2 here.

I believe Pastor Doug when he says if we change our mind we can change our world. When we think we are entitled to have a certain lifestyle then often we make unwise decisions to get that lifestyle.

If someone else has to buy your lifestyle then you aren’t entitled to it. If someone else has to buy your groceries, pay your rent, your cell phone bill, etc.. then you aren’t entitled to it. Let me say this another way. If VISA has to buy your lifestyle then you can’t afford it. If your parents have to buy your lifestyle then you can’t afford it.

Galatians 4:1What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were children, we were in slavery under the basic principles of the world. 4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, 5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.

Now a word to parents. I know you want your children to have things you didn’t have. I know that. I am a mom, I get it. I also know that your being able to keep your little chicks under your feathers means you have control over them. I get that too. The question then becomes do you want the Kingdom of God in your child’s life? In the kingdom a child is no different than a slave. Some of us have slave children that are 40 years old. I want my children to be children of God, not children of Susan Young. I understand your need for control. You just have to ask yourself the tough questions. What happens when you can no longer supply all their needs? If you were to die today, would your kids crumble or stand on their own? Would they become your burden to society or not?

Now a word to the kids. It’s easy when our parents take control of our lives and pay our way through. I get it. I also know what it is to be independent and I can promise you that being independent is a whole lot better than being dependent. I want to call my own shots in life. I can’t do that as a debtor giving my control over to someone else other than God. Have patience all things happen with the fullness of time. You will have your heart’s desire, and pay cash for it all! God is not trying to keep things from you. He is waiting for you to achieve your maturity level to handle what he has for you.

I read an article by Jeffrey Strain called 10 Reasons Why You’re Not Rich that impacted me to break it apart, compare it with the word and see where I stood. I had some learning to do so I’m bringing it to you. The first point was to stop making excuses and you can read that here.

2. Caring what your neighbors think.

So many of us are trying to keep up. Buying the new car because of what the commercial says it says about us. Buying new clothes and shoes when we can’t afford it because we worry about what it says about us.

Prosperous people will tell you this rule: You never invest in something that depreciates. How many of you would buy a stock if you knew it would go down in price instead of up in price? People are watching their money decline right now, but poor people, people with a poverty mentality, throw good money after bad investments. Some people are at the mall every payday but they don’t own a home or have a savings, or a worthy credit score. We need to be smarter than that.

Deut 15:4 However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, 5 if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you as he has promised, and you will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. You will rule over many nations but none will rule over you. 7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.

Proverbs 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Pay what you owe. We must quit cheating, trying to get something for nothing, and wondering why we aren’t blessed. If you borrowed money go pay it back. These seem like basic human principles don’t they?

Psalm 37:21 The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;

Romans 13:7-7 Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. 8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

Don’t worry about what your neighbors think. Live life with a generous spirit and a worry-free heart, not looking left or right to see what others are doing but do what you know is right.

I was working from home one day and I ran across an article on Yahoo that just stood out to me. It was called, 10 Reasons Why You’re Not Rich and was written by a man named Jeffrey Strain. It was less than 700 words but impacting.

I am going to bring you the points from his article, add some bible and opinion to it, and let you take an assessment to see if you are where you need to be. When I took an assessment I wasn’t where I was supposed to be, so I’m hoping it helps you. As women, we tend not to be as savvy about money mainly because we don’t understand it. For the local TLC group, we live in the poorest county of California. So we need good solid application.

1. No more excuses!

The first reason people give for not saving or being able to prosper is because they don’t make enough money, yet each time we are given the opportunity to prosper we spend more money. We are finally able to afford that “thing” that we think we’ve been missing. We lived fine before the “thing” and we need to determine why we want the “thing”. This question is about our heart issue with money.

Ecc 2:10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

When we read that passage, we see that the things we buy with our money aren’t prosperity. It only feels like it. Often times, we become slaves to the stuff. I have heard many of you say, “Now that I’m not getting any overtime, we are really hurting financially.” Well, overtime is just temporary. There isn’t a company in the world that runs prosperously on overtime. Instead of counting on the overtime, see it as an opportunity to save, or pay off debt. Begin to save your money. There will be times when a savings account will be necessary. You need to have at least 3 months worth of savings in the bank for emergencies. So the next time you see that beautiful pair of shoes, if you don’t have three months in savings then please don’t buy them.

Becoming a millionaire has more to do with how you treat money than what you earn. I know millionaires who did not make a lot of money. They saved a lot of money. Period. Treat your money with respect. There is a principle to money that needs to be respected. How many of you have found money in the washer or the dryer? It means you do not respect money. I know someone who found $200.00 in the garbage before. So if we are going to prosper we need to respect money and we need to stop making excuses for its misuse.

For every promise there is a price to pay. ~ Jim Rohn

The bible has a lot to say about promises. They called them vows back then but the seriousness of it wasn’t diminished. In fact, to have anything come out of your mouth was considered a vow. We aren’t so careful with words these days, we speak a lot of them that we don’t really mean but does it change the fact that what we say has meaning, whether we mean it or not?

We were made in the image of God and everything he says happens and IS. So therefore, the speech we carry IS.

Luke 14:28 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it– 29 lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?

In this passage of scripture it’s talking about a discipleship of ministry but here is where we find ourselves. Have you counted the price you’re going to have to pay to live out the life you’re creating? Many of us bought homes in the last 10 years. We thought we had it all planned out and then the economy tanked. Did we think, “Can we pay this price for the next 30 years? Can we pay more to get out of debt sooner?” No, most of us didn’t count the cost of the economy.

So for today chew on this. Have you counted the price you’ll have to pay to live out the life you are creating?