Attitude Towards Money And The Value Of Work Part 3

I used to think that money would come immediately because I had studied, got an upper second class degree. I thought I would apply for jobs and get them automatically because my papers were good. This wasn’t the case.

I walked the streets of Kampala applying for jobs, I even knocked on some doors and asked to start as a volunteer. Looking for a job became my job because our education system is simple but holds us captive, go to school, study hard, and get a job. The era we are in is a time where jobs are increasingly scarce because they aren’t being created. There is systemic poverty. Inflation is high and the economy isn’t doing as well as we all expect. It is a cause for an alarm because the gap between the rich and the poor is widening every day. However every nation will face hard times, we need an industrial revolution to be able to create jobs with the vast resources Africa has. We aren’t poor at all but we are poor in our minds.

We need not give up though because there is still hope and a lot of opportunities that are presented in the problems we face as families, communities, organization and the nation at large. Such a time demands serious innovation and creativity, it’s the time for more entrepreneurs to come out of their shelves and weather the storm of taxes and still do business and create jobs for many.

To cut the long story short on my employment journey, I happened to start out as an intern for 4 months even when I was done with University, from that time I learned so much from the various opportunities that I got. I volunteered for 6 months in an organization and I learned so much, I was given lunch every day as I did add value to the place. I still couldn’t get a formal job but with grit and not giving up I still got training opportunities that came with their own challenges but I kept pushing on and growing every day. As experience started coming in, confidence kicked in and the doors for jobs opened. But now I strongly believe we need both the formal and informal workforce, they can still be given training, vocational training is so important that they can create more jobs for our nation.

From the book Money Won’t Make You Rich by Dr. Sunday Adelaja, I have read some insights that have clearly spoken about my life up until now. There are things I was doing that have made more sense through the insights of this man, there is a strong biblical backing for what God tells us in his word.

1. Money doesn’t come to us because we are Christians - “The Bible says God gives us the power to make wealth. Notice that God doesn’t give wealth, He gives the power to get it. Unfortunately, many Christians are still hoping and thinking that just because they are Christians, God is obliged to give them wealth.” – Dr. Sunday Adelaja Deut. 8:18
2. Money doesn’t come to us because we are good, we have seen so many good people who aren’t doing well in this area, I personally have seen this happen in my life, and we have to be good but also work.
3. Money doesn’t come to us because we are educated, in my journey for hunting for a job after school, my education did not immediately get me a job.
4. Money doesn’t come to us because we have businesses, we have seen so many businesses come and go, it isn’t as easy as we think, and it takes diligence to run a business and the patience to reap from it over time. Some people have run fake business in order to earn, some of supplied fake goods in order to earn, some have exploited others in business by not even paying their workers and at the end of the day, they crumbling down.
5.  Money doesn’t come to us because we pray a lot but comes to those who pray for ideas to create wealth. I know that we can get a lot from praying to God, but the same bible is clear about time, a time to sleep, a time to work, a time to cry, mourn, etc, after we are done with prayer, we must engage in work, prayer should be so important that we don’t miss engaging in it to build our relationship with God but we only use it to create a list asking God for this and that and many times, a financial breakthrough is a major one, we should start praying to God for ideas to create wealth as well not only money.
6. Money doesn’t come to us because we are the best seed sowers or tithers or givers. We have seen people give and give and give and still remain the same, it is true for us to sow, but we need to be cautious and also led of the God to sow in the right place, when it comes to giving, don’t give to get because that is a wrong mentality, Give to be a blessing. We have seen many philanthropists giving away their wealth to charity, most times they don’t expect to be given back, they keep working to help better the world and better the lives of people. It is written in Mathew 23:23 NLT “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens but you ignore the more important aspects of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”
7. Money doesn’t come to us because we claim it or covet it or steal it, or be corrupt – ill-gotten wealth dwindles away. “After naming and claiming, you need to show diligence in your work. You need to show the virtue of hard work. You need to display your dedication to the principle of the dignity of labor” – Dr. Sunday Adelaja
8. Money doesn’t come to us because we have a good credit history or asked for a bank loan. I once tried asking for a bank loan and my bank denied me, I even told them that I have good savings with you guys and this can be used as collateral. They said it wasn’t possible because they weren’t giving out loans at the time. The pressure to get a loan was coming from around me when the bank refused, I told myself, I will keep putting money aside to raise it and do what I needed to do with my wife. As I write I have never taken a bank loan. I believe the word of God is true from Deuteronomy 28:12, It says … you will lend to many nations, but you will never need to borrow from them. I am not saying I haven’t got money from friends and family, I have but not from the bank. I have had my fair share of borrowing here and there but you never get peace until someone is paid off, I rather have no debt except the debt of love.
9. Money won’t come to us because we keep quoting that the wealth of the wicked is ours, it can only be ours when we produce goods and services. This is what Dr. Sunday Adelaja had to say about wealth transfer that I strongly believe it is true. Someone like Paul in the bible did not only preach but he was also a tentmaker.

I have done fumigation business, sold yellow York eggs in exchange for money by meeting the needs of people. I have lent money at interest and also been given money for services of teaching that I do. I have earned from my ICT Skills by offering ICT services as well. I have done the transport business (Uber) and private transport services and I have made money as well. When you offer a service people need, you get value for money.

• The wealth of the world will only come to you if you are good enough in what you do, because the Israelites were good at what they did in Egypt before the wealth of Egypt came to them
• Secondly, the wealth of the world will only come to you if you produce better products than your competitors, that is when you are a good representative of the Kingdom of God and God will honor you for that
• Thirdly, for any wealth to come to you, you must be busy producing either goods or rendering services. If you are only claiming promises, you will end up being disappointed at the end of the day.
• For Christians to begin to enjoy the blessings of prosperity and wealth, it is high time for churches to begin to teach and educate their members, not just on how to give and sow seeds, but also in how to produce goods and services. There is no prosperity without goods or services.

The real reason behind poverty is not because of our backgrounds, not because of our environment,

“The real reason behind poverty is THE IGNORANCE OF THE LAWS OF MONEY.  It is that ignorance that later leads to a lack of discovery, it leads to a lack of productivity, it leads to a lack of sales, it leads to a lack of opportunities, it leads to a lack of services, etc.”

– Dr. Sunday Adelaja

The first place to be wealthy is in your mind, not your pocket. That means that even when you start making money and accumulating wealth, it can always be made even when you have a setback because you know what brings in money and what takes it out. We can kill the poverty of the mind by investing in our minds, through reading and study, remember “my people perish because of the lack of knowledge – Hosea 4:6”.

One of the laws of money that I have painfully learned to apply and discipline my wife and myself with has been the principle of saving, and not saving to consume but saving to invest. We have seen this work based on the stories of the Ants in Proverbs 6 (they have no leader but gather in summer for winter) and The Story of Joseph in Genesis 41, after interpreting the dream of Potiphar about the 7 Lin cattle and 7 healthy (fat cattle), he interpreted this by saying as God gave him insight that there would be 7 years of famine and 7 years of harvest. 

The question I normally would ask anyone is, “what do you do when you are earning?” Everyone has earning seasons and a dry time where the business isn’t going on well or winter season where there is not much farm productivity. What we do when we earn can enable us to secure the future not only for ourselves but also for our very own households and the world at large. Egypt was saved during the 7 years of famine but so was Joseph's family and the neighboring countries. The 1/5 of grain or 20% given to Potiphar sets a benchmark on how we can also plan the finances that come to us. God gives us the wisdom to create systems that will not only enrich us but act as a safety net for many people or generations. Let us be wise in our dealings and be prepared, Jesus Christ said that before you build a house, count the cost, it is important to PLAN and then commit the plans to God.

  #Transform #Impact #Empower