Growth Starts with Gratitude
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’”
Think about how many advertisements are based upon the “quick-fix” mentality. Corporations will tell you that you can quickly save money, quickly loose weight, quickly master a skill, and quickly do just about anything…IF you use their product! That type of thinking is compelling to us because we are often looking to take the path of least resistance in our lives (unless you’re a sucker for punishment, haha).
The scriptures teach us a different lesson, and part of being “transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12) is forgoing our normal mode of “quick-fix” thinking and accepting to Biblical path. It’s a longer road, but one that will produce in us the fruits of the Spirit of God almighty.
When it comes to finances, I am convinced that the first step towards maturity in this area is gratitude. In fact, I might conject that the first step towards maturity in any area of your life is gratitude.
Gratitude is so powerful because it mutually excludes other types of attitudes. A grateful person cannot be entitled, dissatisfied, resentful, jealous, envious, or bitter. To be any of those things can be summed up as being “ungrateful”. When looking at our finances, starting with being grateful for what we have allows us to look at the Lord’s blessings for what they are: abundance! This leads us to be satisfied. The feeling of satisfaction brings peace and fulfillment; something that all of humanity is searching for on a daily basis.
The scripture I started this blog post with has something else to say about contentment and gratefulness. The writer justified the command to be content with what you have because God said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” The source of our grateful hearts and attitudes is that God is with us, so what could we ever possibly lack! He is our good shepherd, so we shall not want for anything that we need (Psalm 23).
So don’t look for the “quick-fix” solutions to any area of your life, especially money. This will only lead you down a path of dissatisfaction. Look to the Lord and be satisfied. I will leave you with this thought. If you are presently dissatisfied with your circumstances, finances, relationships, etc., and if we are supposed to draw our contentment from the Lords presence…then what does that say about your appreciation and understanding of the Lord? The God of the ages, the King of Kings, the one who knows every bird of the air and beast of the field, the one who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the God of angel armies is with us…what more could we desire?
This is how my wife and I approach our finances and is what I teach clients during coaching sessions. Interested in taking the next step towards coaching? Connect with me via email (coachingwithconnor1@gmail.com), through social media, or through my website (themoneymentoring.com).
Thank you for trusting me with your attention!
