Money; Means to an End

Image Credits: http://www.e-allmoney.com

I believe money is to serve us, not the other way around

Money is a very important part of our lives. Often we get mixed up and end up in a rat race chasing after money. We look for every opportunity to cash in. It’s unfortunate that some of our relationships have been monetized, in terms of what money or financial gain I’m I getting from the relationship.

The love for money is the root of all kinds of evil. We need money to pay bills, serve others & God, live a happy life etc, but we shouldn’t let money dictate how we do this. We should always take charge and never let money run our lives. Most of us have become slaves to money. We follow it, it dictates how we live our lives, how we handle our relationships, families etc.

Money should be a means to an end not an end in itself. Money is there to make things work for us, to make us serve God and those around us. Our belief around money varies but I believe we either face money with abundant mentality or scarcity mentality. This will largely determine what money means to us and how we use it. Abundance mentality believes in opportunities for all. If money becomes the end in itself, we end up using people to achieve this end.

A friend of mine once told me that a problem that money can solve is not a problem. I totally agree. It depends on which paradigm you adopt.

Image Credits: http://www.flippingheck.com

To most of us, money has become the center of our lives; we look at all other aspects of our lives with the glasses of money. Our attitude towards family, work, friends, relatives, spouse etc is dictated by money. This is in itself is a problem. It means, if you don’t have money, then all these aspects of your lives are in trouble. As we know money is something that we cannot predict. You can have it or lose it the next minute. So if all you have in your life is wrapped around money, then you will experience a lot of challenges enjoying the joys of this life.

We should shift to adopt principles centered paradigm. When you have clear principles that your life is all about, money becomes a tool, not the main thing. Money becomes a means to an end, not the end in itself. This leads to more happiness and significance in life than focusing on having a fat bank account that means nothing should you leave it to someone who doesn’t appreciate how you got it. If I’m to choose between a fat bank account and living a life of significance & legacy, I’d rather go for the later. No one has ever at the end of their lives been glad they have a fat bank account, but most would be glad they impacted many lives and made a contribution that transformed lives. Happiness is not how much you own, but how significant your life is, how intentional you have lived your life. It’s dangerous to have money without principles, without a ‘why’ or a ‘how’. How much money can you hold in your account and feel it’s enough? And how many people will be like you at that level?

Image Credits: https://youngfoundation.org

This is not in any way to belittle the need for money in our lives but is to make us reflect on how we view money, how we use it, our paradigm towards it. Is it a means to an end or the end in itself? I wish I’d have more money with me, I wish I’d have opportunities to make more money. But I don’t want to have that money just because I want it, for me it should be a tool to live out my life’s mission, to facilitate my why and fuel my how. So I need to begin with the end in mind, answer the why, the how, my life’s mission. I believe where He leads He provides. If God puts a mission in my heart, He will provide for it. I have seen this happen in my life countless times. God facilitating something he has put in my heart to make it happen. If you adopt this belief with wisdom, provision will come in many ways to get you where God wants you to be. You will not even need to see the money in your bank account. Your life will just happen, you will enjoy a unique favor, a special privilege that some people will never understand.

A friend of mine once told me, he can literally visit any of the six continents in the world without having to spend a shilling on where to stay. All he needs to do is to let the connections he has in those places know that he’s coming and he will be given access to whatever he needs at no cost. That’s what this is all about. Provision without money, but through years of focus on your life’s mission.

If this resonates with you, go ahead to evaluate your paradigm towards money. Start now… Then look for a small community of friends who you can do this together with… Being accountable to a few and practicing with a few. It’s about building a community of friends to share each other’s journey of life with, discover each other’s paradigm towards money and offer support to each other.  You have to be deeply committed to each other and desire to see each other grow in this journey. You have to create a support, encouragement and accountability platform for each other. The community has to be a small as possible so that there is active engagement by all involved.

Find a community around you and see if these conversations make sense to you…

Image Credits: https://www.goodshepherd-naperville.org 

By Gabriel Odhiambo Achayo