A choice called poverty- (2)

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There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise, but a foolish man spendeth it up – King James Version

The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get – New Living Translation

The wise store up choice food and olive oil but fools gulp theirs down – New International Version

Valuables are safe in a wise person’s home, fools put it all out for yard sales – The Message translation

Above are four different versions of Proverbs 21:20. The message in all four is self-explanatory. You are not made rich by the money you waste or spend but by the quantum of what remains to be used. Let me also say upfront that poverty is first in the mind before it is reflected in a bank account.

Order is the precursor of predictability. Laws and principles operate on predictable outcomes. If you do certain things in a particular way, all things being equal, you will have certain predictable outcomes. Success is sustained by order and structure and governed by certain laws that make it reasonably predictable. The poor hate order.

Wealth is not produced by wishful thinking. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. God can equalize opportunities, but He cannot equalize or legislate wealth or success. If at the end of several days of fasting and praying for financial breakthrough, you slept and on waking up, you found a full bag of 100-dollar bills by your bedside when there is no evidence that anyone entered your locked bedroom, would you be confident to spend the money? I am sure you would not even want to touch it! If prayers and fasting were the keys to attracting wealth, why aren’t the richest people in the world found in mosques and churches? God is not in the lotto business and so, does not give anyone CASH because cash in any currency is only produced by the ruling authority over any nation where it is legal tender! Think about that.

So, where does God come into the equation of financial prosperity? His answer to your prayers is for God to inspire you in those quiet moments, giving you ideas and opening your eyes to opportunities that abound around you to put those ideas to work. Our major challenge is like that of the person described in the Bible as a slothful man who has food in front of him and still cannot muster the initiative to put it in his mouth. God is not a respecter of persons but a respecter of principles. No matter how godless a man is, if he understands the principles around wealth creation and activates them, he will prosper significantly while the lazy man is still praying. Contrary to what most people believe, God is not the one who makes anyone poor or rich! Miracles only become essential when the operation of principles have failed and man is at his wit’s end.

The fundamental difference between the rich and the poor is not in the size of the bank account. It is what each one does with the tools of time and opportunity as he has been given. If you want to know who has the potential to be financially successful, watch what they do with these two assets. Opportunity may be repeated but not time, which is a wasting asset that cannot be replaced or replayed except in your memory. The rich man learns to maximize and invest both while the poor usually wastes them. I learnt recently from one of my mentors that money loves speed. So, with money, if you linger, you litter and will usually fritter.

Dreams and vision are not the exclusive preserve of the rich. Everyone dreams of success and what he could do to achieve it. Vision is the first raw material that God gives every man to lay the foundation for his success and reward on earth. We were all created to be potential problem-solvers who are sustained by the fruit of our solutions. However, where the rich differ is that they get up from slumber and put legs to the dream, perfecting the details as they go. The poor on the other hand, keep dreaming and waiting for all things to line up and be perfect. While waiting for all “i”s to be dotted and all “t”s to be crossed, they spend so much time in contemplation until the dream dies in the paralysis of analysis, or at best, becomes a nightmare that continues to haunt them! Procrastination is the favourite pastime of the poor. Whatever you keep posting into the pidgeon-hole of tomorrow will always be there in addition to tomorrow’s tasks. Postponing action doesn’t make the challenge go away. It simply defers the corresponding achievement and injures the other things that could have been done at the time you deferred the job till.

If you live in the Western world, it is easy to become a slave to the credit system that allows you to spend money you don’t have even if it is to impress people who don’t care. The financial system is wired that way. Your credit history is always a reference point whenever you want to buy anything of significance like a house or a car. The system does not encourage you to pay cash for the full value. With a very good credit history and a minimum deposit, you simply walk into a car lot and you can walk away with a car of your choice with a replacement plan spread over a period of time. If you know how to use the credit system, it has its advantages. Banks advance you credit based on your history of borrowing and paying back promptly. At least, you must exhibit the capacity to pay a minimum rate every month. The advantage is that this helps you to have a footprint of trust and financial credibility as you employ the Law of Leverage, using other people’s money while making yours go farther to achieve other things. The rich use this to advantage but the poor fall victim of the system. If you pay well above the monthly minimum payment, you are okay and may not pay interest. One default however, and the system penalizes you with high interest rates. What rich people do is use their credit cards like a debit card. In most cases, they use it to finance assets or investments. So, the money keeps generating enough to pay the monthly instalment and more. Not so the poor. Poor people usually max out their credit without thinking of how they will pay back. Unfortunately, the money is usually spent on liabilities or at best, depreciating assets that add no significant value to them. For many, it is the latest version of their dream car, shoes, clothes, jewelry, food, and many other things that give them a social image even while they live totally on borrowed money! They usually move from one cycle of debt to another until they are so enslaved to the system’s vicious grip that they find it difficult to escape from… continued.

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

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