EXCERPTS

The principle of earning is a mix of 1) self-discovery, 2) finding your mission and calling, 3) working diligently and with excellence, and 4) maximizing your mission so that as one result, in the context of money, God will bless you financially. God made you and me for a reason. He knew us before our parents conceived us, embedding in our hearts a plan and a purpose to fulfill on the earth. With that plan, he gives each of us a particular set of gifts, skills and talents to fulfill that mission. He commands us to work, and through the labor of our hands, he blesses us. In the kingdom of God, there is no mission without work and no work without mission. If we make our singular focus our mission, working out our mission, and doing so with excellence, then the money and wealth will follow in accordance with God’s will for you. Together with the other six principles, we then become empowered to use those financial resources, first for maximum effectiveness in the Kingdom, and then, for our comfort and enjoyment in life.

Biblical giving illustrates a divine economic principal that highly correlates giving and receiving. In monetary terms, but not exclusively, giving is a tangible reciprocal expression of our love for God and His love for us. Our giving is not confined to money, however, when giving money is involved, this principle is far from a simple act of handing over money and receiving something in return.
God is not a vending machine. Giving to God and His purposes demonstrates our love and commitment to Him and to the things He cares about. Our giving is an act of love and thanksgiving for all that He has done for us. We have been saved by grace and delivered from darkness and into the light and eternal life. That is all we need and if we receive nothing else, we have enough. However, God makes no bones about rewarding giving and generosity. Scripture is clear that the more we give, based on this principle, the more God will bless us.

We belong to God and everything we have belongs to Him. We don’t have the right to play the role of God, deciding what we need, how much we need and when we need it. Debt empowers us to behave in this very way. If we love God, we must avoid putting the very nexus of our faith on the line every time we borrow money. The formula for being debt free encompasses a specific thought process and a set of disciplined behaviors. We will examine those along with debt elimination strategies in the later sections of this study guide. Ultimately, we must rest on the promise that God will supply all that we need and we will owe no one but God, and to Him, our deepest gratitude.