The following article is an excerpt from the book:
7 GROSS MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MONEY
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There
are many misconceptions about money and some of these account for why many are
so misled into living in perpetual bondage. There are many opportunities and
possibilities out there for anyone to prosper financially. It all depends on
your mindset. If you have a negative mindset, you will approach money wrongly.
It’s all about mindset! Most of these erroneous misconceptions are religious
and those who adhere to them are most often the most miserable in society.
So
it all boils down to faith: what you believe determines what you become. I have
seen many dressing poorly in the name of holiness. It is so bad to the point
that people neglect basic things like taking care of their hair, outfit and
looks in general. No wonder no one wants to hire such people! What you believe
automatically affects your outward actions.
So,
poverty is in the inside. What we see outside are just the fruits from within. Worst
of all, some of these misconceptions are in the name of Christianity, which of
course is not a religion as clearly proven in my free eBook: God’s Plan of
Salvation For You. This chapter will cross examine these misconceptions and
expose certain alarming beliefs that have reduced many to become slaves to
money instead of being the money masters that they were born be.
Misconception #1: Money is the root of all evil
Top
on our list is the age-long religious misconception that money is the root of
all evil. Just like there are no poor people but only poor minds, I believe
there are equally no foolish people but ignorant and most often misinformed
people.
To
be misinformed is to be deformed. This
has been the case with many through the years who believed the lie that money
is the root of all evil. This lie is actually drawn from the Bible by people
who perhaps, to my opinion, do not know how to read and has been bought by
millions who do not care to read.
This
erroneous interpretation of the Holy Scriptures has made many to use their
faith to endure poverty instead of using it to enter prosperity. In case you’re
wondering what the heck in the world I’m talking about, just hold your breath,
let’s see what the Bible really says:
1Timothy
6:10
‘‘For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while
some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves
through with many sorrows.’’
King James Version
The
Bible really never said money is the root of all evil as many believe but that
the love of money is. In fact everything God made from the beginning including
money (since He created everything) was good; man’s misinterpretation and wrong
application of the Bible which is the creator’s manual is what is bad. Money is
like electricity.
The
fact that someone puts his hand on a naked electrical wire and it shocks him
doesn’t make electricity bad. In the same way, the wrong application or the
abuse of money by someone doesn’t make it bad. This applies to everything in
life. The fact that you bought cooking gas which is supposed to help you
prepare your meals and end up burning your house with it simply because you
decided to neglect the product manual does not make it bad. So, in conclusion
money is not evil but very good. The covetousness, the desperate lust, baseless
or purposeless zeal for it is what is evil.
Misconception #2: Money corrupts holiness
Another
religious misconception is that money corrupts holiness. And these folks have a
powerful scripture, according to them to prove this but yet they read it out of
context. They fail to pay attention to the audience, dispensation and reason
why this statement was uttered. This is what it says:
Luke
18:24-25
‘‘…How
hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! For it is
easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter
into the kingdom of God.
Now
if you read this without paying attention to the preceding verses, then you’ll
obviously misinterpret this scripture. What do the preceding verses say?
Starting from verse 16:
‘‘But
Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you,
Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no
wise enter therein. And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what
shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou
me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments,
Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,
Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my
youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou
one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou
shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he
was very sorrowful: for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was very
sorrowful…’’
Let’s
understand some important things here. Firstly, this is under the dispensation
of the law, so it does not apply to any of us in this context under grace since
we are not saved by works as was the case but by grace. Secondly, the lesson is
on humility and not on poverty. Thirdly, Jesus who knew all men knew that this
man loved money or the things of the world more than he loved God.
1
John 2:15
‘‘Love
not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him.’’
His
life and happiness was tired to his possession more than to God. His faith was
on his riches, a clear transgression of First Timothy 6:10. This accounts for
his sorrow.
Finally,
the difficult access here is based on the covetous lust for material things with
evil motives other than the ability to be rich. Hence, money is not a problem
in itself but the way the possessor relates to it can become a problem.
Moreover,
all the preachers who preach against money claiming that it is evil still end
up collecting money as offering at the end of their sermon. That is hypocrisy
of the highest order.
If
all the rich were to go to hell, why is Job, the richest man on earth in his
days not there? Why is Abraham, the father of the promise and all his rich
descendants including Joseph not there? According to the Bible, he is in
heaven, in the place of rest (Luke 16:19-31)
Moreover,
the wealthiest God is also the holiest God! The Bible says the earth is the
Lord’s and the fullness thereof. God even boasts to this fact in scripture:
Haggai
2:8
‘‘The
silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.’’
Psalms
50:10
‘‘For every beast of the forest is mine, and the
cattle upon a thousand hills’’
So, it
is very possible to be rich and yet be very holy. The same as many evils take
place because of the absence of money and not because of its presence.
Personally, I have observed that it is very difficult for a Christian to live a
pure life with the yoke of poverty on his neck. God’s blessing does not come to
make us poor or to make life difficult for us.
Proverbs
10:22
‘‘The
blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.’’
There
is therefore no sorrow or evil in money. Money is good. The negative
application of it is bad.
Misconception #3: Money is materialistic
The
third misconception is the fact that money is materialistic. They claim that
those who are in possession of money are materialistic. This is a gross
misconception because most people who have a materialistic mindset are not
necessarily in possession of money. To be materialistic is to value material
things over human life; to value the creation over the creator – which is some
sort of idolatry.
This
still points back to the love of money and not money. So money in itself is not
materialistic, if not everyone who uses money will be considered as
materialistic; which of course is not true. By the way, money is earned and not
acquired by just desiring. You can’t waste your life lazing about, only to term
somebody materialistic because he worked for his money. Money is not
materialistic but people with the wrong mindset are.
Misconception #4: Something Will Rescue You
One of the worst misconceptions about money is that
something will come to your rescue. Maybe you'll win the lottery or receive a
sizeable inheritance. An inheritance is possible, but cannot be counted on. And
a lottery win just isn't going to happen. People gamble away their life by
believing that something will come to their aid in the future and as such fail
to manage their finances wisely. This is often costly at the end of the day.
Failing to plan is planning to fail, irrespective of the excuses. You can’t live your life by chance or on luck. If that is what you believe, then hey! Wake up, buddy! Welcome to the real world. Things don’t just happen in this world. You’ve got to make them happen. People need to quit hoping they’ll pick money. I’m sure all thieves start like this and when the money doesn’t show up, they go for it the other way round. You don’t have to go that far! You need to get to work if money will come your way.
In the Bible, the miracle fish catch met Peter in the middle of his fishing business. Joseph and Daniel got to the palace by solving a problem through the use of sound wisdom (tushiya) in interpreting dreams. Your ability to solve difficult problems will open doors for you. Your labor, assignment or work guarantees your promotion. Those who do nothing but wish get nothing in life. That’s why they say: ‘if wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’
Proverbs 13:4:
‘‘The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.’’
Proverbs 20:4:
‘‘ The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.’’
Misconception #5: The State or someone, an angel perhaps will look after you
This misconception is similar to the previous one. People believe that the state, their parents, the church or some other person will take care of them and as a result, they don’t build their financial future. Even if you live in a country with a welfare state, you should never assume that the state will look after you if you become sick or lose your job. Cutbacks are being made all the time, and even if you receive welfare, it will not be that generous. Have your own insurance or a back-up plan.
Many have eaten the seeds that were supposed to birth their future because of false hopes in unpredictable sources of income. Never forget this: foolish people waste money; average people spend money while wise people invest money. Where do you belong?
Proverbs 6:6-11:
‘‘Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.’’
Misconception #6: Money is vanity upon vanity
Vanity simply speaks of something
that is perishable, something that does not have a lasting or eternal impact.
It is often used to contrast the importance of the material world with that of
the spiritual world. ‘Everything in the physical realm shall pass away’, they
say. Well, even the air you are breathing is vanity. You will die and leave it
here, so why breathe anyway? Money is as important to your physical well being
as air is important for your survival. We’ve already seen the importance of
money, so to disregard it with the notion than all is vanity is just like
saying life is not worth living.
Misconception #7: Poverty (as opposed to prosperity)
is piety
Now, this is the scripture that religious people use to defend this heresy:
Matthew 5:3:
‘‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’’
From this verse, we can clearly see that the Bible is talking of those who are poor in the Spirit and not those who are financially poor or poor in the body. Hence, poverty is a function of ignorance as prosperity is a function of wisdom. The problem with those who mistake poverty for piety is that they don’t only yoke themselves and become a burden to the society but they raise disciples with this same mindset and the chain of poverty continues.
CONCLUSION
So far, we have seen that poverty is nothing but a disease of the mind that needs to be cured by unlearning the wrong conceptions, perspectives and beliefs we have about money and developing the right mindset as far as making money is concerned. As we will see in these tutorials, financial intelligence or sound wisdom is very crucial as far as mastering money is concerned. You’ll eventually understand that everything in the school of success rises and falls on wisdom.
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man
that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the
merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more
precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be
compared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand
riches and honour.
Her ways are
ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to
them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her. The
Lord by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the
heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down
the dew. My son, let not them depart
from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: So shall they be life unto
thy soul, and grace to thy neck. Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely,
and thy foot shall not stumble.”
Proverbs
3:13-22
Visit Money Master Tutorials to learn how to make, maintain and multiply your money
Visit Money Master Tutorials to learn how to make, maintain and multiply your money
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