So we’re taking a break from our 10 day journey to save $10,000 to have a look at some interesting items from around the web.

If you missed the initial post on the 10 Money-Saving Tips to Help You Stash $10,000, I highly encourage you check that out and join us as we resume next week!

It’s been a fun ride so far and we’ve already freed up roughly $375 per month!! 

The basic premise is to try to save $10,000 over the course of this next year by implementing 10 Money-Saving Tips! 

For roughly 10 days, we’ll look at a different tip each day to help you stash some money.  Even if you don’t save the full $10,000 – any additional savings will be well worth it! 

These are the tips we’ve gone through so far: 

Tip #1: Cut Back on Going Out to Eat  

Tip #2: Evaluate Your Entertainment

Tip #3: Cut Your Cable

Tip #4: Turn Your Heat Down

Now on to the rest of the show! 

It’s another week in the books and it’s time for a quick tour.  This Week in Personal Finance takes a look at interesting articles, posts and news from the past week in the personal finance arena. 

So give these articles a click!

Don’t miss another post! Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

• Thinking about starting a blog to make a little side income?  Pete from Bible Money Matters is offering an ebook to help you do that!
• Enemy of Debt is hosting a “Manage Your Money” Challenge where each challenge will be different or will introduce you to a unique approach to managing money by using a variety of services and software.
• Kevin from Out of Your Rut takes an angle on retirement planning that doesn’t get talked about near enough – working toward a low-cost/debt-free lifestyle in retirement.
• My wife and I have been talking about starting a garden this spring because we love fresh food and we also love to save money. Frugal Dad offers a unique alternative to a monster garden in Square Foot Gardening.
• Jason Price, writing for Christian PF, posts about one of my favorite topics – Money and Happiness!
• Brip Blap offers some insights into raising kids without regrets. 

R2 Around the Web

These are some Blog Carnivals I participated in this past week:

• Carnival of Personal Finance #245 hosted by Budgets are Sexy.
• Festival of Frugality #218 hosted by Think Your Way to Wealth
• Carnival of Money Stories hosted by Personal Finance by the Book
• Best of Money Carnival #39 hosted by Canadian Personal Finance

Plutus Awards

Lastly, it was a great honor this week to be named as one of the top 5 finalists for the Plutus Awards – (think Oscars for the blog world!) in the category of Best Religious Finance Blog!! 

If you get a moment to vote, head on over to the Plutus Awards site and cast your vote for Redeeming Riches! 

Thanks for reading this week, have a great weekend!!

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of teaching a Young Marrieds class at my church about finances and faith.

The first week we walked through Luke 12:13-34 and discussed what it means to live missionally with our money, some pitfalls to living missionally with our money and then how to actually live missionally with our money.

This weekend I’ll post one of the pitfalls we discussed from that passage, which was worry.

Here’s Luke 12:22-31:

And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.

24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,  yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you,  O you of little faith!

29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead,  seek his  kingdom, and these things will be added to you

Worrying about food and clothing was more common in that day than it is for us in middle-class America.  I’ve never once got up in the morning and stressed out because I wasn’t sure there was food in my fridge!  Or freaked out because I didn’t think I’d have any clothes in my closet.

 In that day, in an agricultural society if there was a poor crop you were out of luck – this was your livelihood. 

When we’re hungry, we just go to the fridge, grab some food and we’re good to go – or we go to a restaurant and pay someone to make our food and bring it to us.

Don’t miss another post! Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

We have to understand that this was more common back in that day than it is for us. So what would this mean for us today? 

In today’s society – and especially coming through what many are calling the Great Recession, maybe we could say: “don’t be anxious about your job security, or meeting your monthly expenses because work is slow.”

• Don’t worry about how you’ll provide for your family.
• Don’t be anxious for that big promotion that you think will be the answer to your problems.
• Don’t worry about where your next paycheck is going to come from.
• Don’t worry about your comfort or security.

Why?  Verse 30 says it’s because the Father knows you need them – He knows you need a job and you need to provide for your family and if God provides for the filthy winged-rats (ravens) and He clothes the grass, how much more will He take care of you!?

Usually, the things we worry about reveal how badly we want those things OR it reveals how we think life will end if certain things don’t happen.

Ultimatley, worry reveals what we worship!  Look at verse 30 again:

“…All the nations of the world seek after these things!” 

Everyone is working for more money, more clothes, more status, more house, more,more, more.

But as Jesus repeatedly does throughout Scripture – He calls us to a different and radical standard.  He calls us to live differently than the world by setting our affections higher.

William Hendricksen puts it this way,

“What Jesus is saying is that believers must differ in their inner yearnings, must set their hearts on different things, must be controlled by different ideals, and must be motivated by a  different love.”

See, as Christians,  we are different in our yearnings and affections – we are different because of our worship. 

We don’t worry about our possessions or our job, or our next paycheck, or depleting our savings accounts, or our cars, or our homes,  or whatever it is that we worry about because as Christians we don’t worship that stuff!

We worship the great, triune God, the Sovereign Creator of ALL, the Great Provider, the Sustainer, the Lover of our soul,  the Giver of good things – We worship HIM!!

And we seek the kingdom of God – “and these things will be added to you”.

The irony is that when we worry about and strive for earthly treasure – we’re left empty.  But when we seek the kingdom of God – He makes sure you’re provided for. 

Trust in Him!

photo courtesy of Roberto Bouza

Well, investors will be getting a wake-up-call this morning from the Fed letting them know that easy money won’t be around forever!

Thirty minutes after the markets closed on Thursday, the Fed raised the rate it charges banks for emergency loans by a quarter percentage point to 0.75%.  This was a move that came as a bit of a surprise to most analysts.

It’ll be interesting to see how the markets respond to this today.

Well, it’s another week in the books and it’s time for a quick tour.  This Week in Personal Finance takes a look at interesting articles, posts and news from the past week in the personal finance arena. 

So give these articles a click!

• Fiscal Fizzle takes an interesting spin stating that there is no such thing as passive income.
• Want to go green?  Canadian Finance Blog offers up 10 tips for going green and saving money.
• Do you love free stuff on the web, but hate the spam that goes with it?  PT Money tells us how to find free stuff online without getting spammed!
• Want some motivation to cut back on dining out?  Check out MSN Money’s post about the real cost of dining out. Wow!
• Need a few updates to the wardrobe, but don’t want to bust your budget?  Take a look at Linda’s post over at Christian PF on how to update your wardrobe on a budget.
• This wasn’t from the past week, but it’s a really good article on a confusing topic from Evolution of Wealth - life insurance and discount bands.
• Would you pass the Rich Young Ruler test?  Great post from Lakita found at Bible Money Matters.
• Fred Schebesta from Credit Card Finder has done a couple really great guest posts on R2.  He also writes PF comics!  Check it out.  Some day I hope to make it as a comic book hero!

Don’t miss another post! Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

R2 Around the Web

I had two posts on Christian PF this week:

• Should You Convert to a Roth IRA in 2010?
• When Can You Withdraw Your Traditional IRA?

My post Finding Happiness: How You Can Own More by Owning Less was included in Canadian Finance Blog’s weekly round up.

Have a GREAT weekend everyone!!

Most people I know have an innate sense for helping others. We may argue over how much we should help each other or even what the the best way is to help others.

We may discuss the government’s role in helping others versus our local church. But, we often dismiss how our economy is set up to allow us to help others in almost everything we do.

The Three Easy Ways to Support Others

Charity - giving with nothing expected in return.
Buy a Good – buying something with high value for a low fee.
Sell a Good – selling something with a low cost at a high price.

How These Three Support Others

Charity

The first thing that comes to mind when supporting each other is charity. I define charity as any time I give something to someone else and expect nothing in return.  For example, you may want to give to the homeless through a local shelter, or you may want to donate to help Haiti earthquake victims. 

Even the great capitalist Andrew Carnegie supported charity, but he understood the importance of giving wisely.

“Those who would administer wisely must, indeed, be wise, for one of the serious obstacles to the improvement of our race is indiscriminate charity” – Andrew Carnegie

When giving money away you are investing in others and your community. Although you receive nothing directly in return, the act of charity may help someone survive another day or get past a road block that is keeping them from living out their God given potential.

Buy a Good

A less understood way of actually giving is buying a good. Every time you buy something from someone you are helping them out. They used their creative talents and abilities to manufacture a product or service for you at some cost and by paying them you are giving them in opportunity to buy something with more value in their eyes in exchange. You still have to be wise when buying something, though. If you buy something that you really don’t want then you are essentially giving away money as charity and should evaluate the decision from the perspective of a charity gift instead of a purchase.

Don’t miss another post! Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

Sell a Good

The flip side of buying a good is selling one. Just as a buyer helps a seller, the seller is also helping the buyer. When you work hard and create a good that has value to others you are supporting them by giving them an object of great value at a cost that is cheap to them. This is why they buy it. Again, though, you must be wise and only sell things that can be made at a cost lower than the selling price otherwise this is also a charity.

What This Means for You

Remember the joy you get every time you give to someone in need. Now that you know buying and selling also help others you can be happy every you reward a hard worker when making a purchase or provide value to someone when selling a good. Of course, never stop giving. Your investments to those in need will pay off now and forever, but be happy every time you make a wise buy or sell.

Verses to Consider

• Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 1 Timothy 6:18
• All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty. Proverbs 14:23

This has been a guest post by Ryan.  He is the creator of ObsessedAnalytic.com, a blog for young adults helping them Find Time, Save Money, and Have Fun

Life is funny isn’t it?  All through school we’re told to get good grades so that we can get into college.  Once we get into college we are told to get good grades so we can get a good job.

Once we get a good job, we work a ton of hours so that we can move up the ranks and get a better job, which usually requires more time and more pressure so that we can set ourselves up with the next promotion. 

We do all of this in hopes that once we reach a certain job status or certain level of income that it will provide us with happiness.  We want more money to accumulate more things, which just take up more time that we don’t have, which leads us to wonder at some point in life,

Is this all there is? 

A Merry Minimalist

Are promotions and hard work bad things?  Of course not!  But, many times, we have it all wrong.  I need to constantly remind myself of this, so maybe we all need a bit of reminder:

True wealth is not found in our promotions or our jobs or by helping a company turn a profit!  It is found in the quality of relationships and pursuing our passions! 

So maybe we need to take a step back and simplify.  We just might find that minimizing our pursuit of stuff may just lead to a greater quality of life.

Simplifying lifestyles leads to owning fewer “things”, but let’s take a look at how owning fewer trinkets can lead us to owning more:

Own more time

You’ll free up time to do things you enjoy.  Maybe it’s spending time with family and friends.  Maybe it’s sitting down and reading a good book.  Maybe it’s a home project you’ve wanted to get done.

It’s amazing how quickly our “I’d like to do” list gets piled up. 

For example, we say, “Oh, I’d like to take the kids to the museum, or I’d like to take my wife out on a nice date, or I’d like to spend more time volunteering at a non-profit organization” and then those things never happen because we’re too busy.

Maybe it’s time to take a step back and look at how much time we spend building our own little earthly kingdom rather than investing into others.

Don’t miss another post!  Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

Own more money

The whole premise to the Millionaire Next Door, the popular book by Thomas Stanley and William Danko is that based on their research they found the majority of those who lived in upscale neighborhoods and had high incomes were not weathy – they just lived high on the hog.

When we kill ourselves to move up the ladder so we can make it into the next upscale community and keep pace with the next income bracket, a funny thing happens.  Our net worth typically doesn’t increase. 

Those who realize the foolishness of keeping up with the Joneses and are satisfied with what they have tend to see an increase in net worth because they save money rather than blow it!

Own more happiness

Remember the song “Cats in the Cradle“?  It’s a sad song about a dad who never played with his son because he was always so busy.  The tables turned on the dad down the road when his son told him he didn’t have time to visit with his father because he was too busy himself.

You could be the best employee at your job, moving quickly up the ranks, but if your spouse and kids can’t stand you because you are never home or never involved with them, what good is it?

Simplifying our lifestyle or decluttering your life from “stuff” will free up more time for you to invest into and enjoy things that will bring greater returns – like quality of relationships.

Share your thoughts!

Lately I’ve been reflecting on giving and our heart motivation behind it. 

I’ve had the great opportunity to teach a money class the last couple weeks to a Young Marrieds group at church and It’s been a great experienc for me, because I’ve had to spend some time digging in to Scripture to get me prepared to talk about money and theology.

In general, most people know we should give, but what is our motivation behind our giving – in other words, why give?

Here’s a look at a few reasons to the question of:

Why Do People Give Their Money?

We’ll talke a look at a few not-so-good reasons and then a couple really good reasons.

To Earn God’s Favor

One group might settle in on this side of the room.  These folks think that by giving money to the church or giving money to a homeless person that somehow God will smile on them and be pleased. 

On the flip side, they may also think that if they don’t give, then God will be mad at them!  So, to appease a cranky and crotchety old god they need to just give!

To Get a Blessing

They give because they want to get an abundance.  This seems to be prevalent.  I recently received a direct message on Twitter from someone talking about God’s abundance being poured out on me!

I think there is some confusion in this camp and hopefully I can clear it up:

We don’t give to GET a blessing – we give to BE a blessing!

To Get Rid of Guilt

Others give because they want to rid themselves of guilt.  Maybe they feel guilty for being “blessed” while others suffer in need; or they feel guilty because they think that in order to be a “good person” they need to give.  The thought of not being a “good person” kills them.

Don’t miss another post!  Get Redeeming Riches delivered straight to your inbox!

To Garner the Praise of Men

Some of us like to give because we want others to know and think that we are very generous!  Remember the pharisees in the New Testament that would throw their coins in to the offering to make a loud clang so everyone could hear?  That’s some of us.  We give to get noticed or to “be somebody”.

To Get a Good Feeling

There is a good feeling we all get when we give.  We feel like we were part of something bigger or that we made a difference in someone’s life when we give. 

Those are great feelings!  I love feeling that way after I give, but is it our sole motivation in giving?  Is it just to make us feel good?

To Get a Tax Deduction

As a finance guy, I love tax deductions!  Who doesn’t – am I right?  But, there are plenty of folks out there who only give because they can write it off on their taxes. 

Are you one of the one scrambling on December 31st to find a charity and donate money so you can write that off?

To Glean Meaning or Purpose from Life

Oh, meaning and purpose – everyone’s quest in life.  Some say there is none – other’s know exactly why we are here.  Those trying to find meaning and purpose, trying to be a part of something beyond themselves may give just to feel like they are accomplishing a mission.

Again, nothing wrong with finding meaning – but are we grasping at finding purpose through our giving or do we find our purpose in Christ himself?

What Should Our Motivation Be?

Notice that each of those motivations above are self-focused – We get something in return.  It really becomes all about us! 

So why should we give?

Because We Want to Help

I think many of us have a really sincere desire to help people.  That’s great!  We should desire to come alongside others, meet needs and to defend social justice because we value others and truly want to help them!

For some reason, it seems like in America we’ve lost a sense of “being a neighbor” to others.  On the block I grew up on there was always someone watching out for us, conversations between neighbors going on and a willingness to go and help each other.

I think we need (myself included) to get back to being a good neighbor.

Because Jesus Demonstrated It Best

Take a look at 2 Corinthians 8:9:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Jesus had everything in heaven – He was rich.  Yet He gave all that up to come to a lowly stable, to be the son of a poor Jewish couple – why?  So that we who embrace Him as Savior might become rich (all the glorious riches and benefits of spending eternity with God in heaven!)

He did it for you!  He gave up everything, to the point of a scandalous and shamed death on a Roman cross so we might have life!

even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Matthew 20:28

Let’s reorient ourselves back to the great Gospel and realize that because Christ gave up everything for us we are freed to go and serve others for His sake!

It’s been a great week!  My first post as a writer went up on Christian PF (see link below).  I’m excited about the opportunity to write for a great site like that.

The markets have been a little crazy this week and there still a lot of talk about our national debt.  The best thing we can do is focus on changes to our own personal situation. 

Anyways, This Week in Personal Finance takes a look at interesting articles, posts and news from the past week in the personal finance arena. 

So give these articles a click!

• NPR takes a look at the decade ahead in jobs - this is an interesting graphic that shows what they project to be the best and worst employement areas.
• The question of giving and tithing is an oft-debated one in Christians circles.  Questions of how much and to whom stir up lots of answers.  Craig from Money Help for Christians looks at a healthy view of Christian giving and tithing.  This is a great, in-depth post on the subject.
• Paul from Fiscal Geek takes a look at 10 Ways to Invest $100 - he covers just about anything you can think of to get you started.
• Miranda at Personal Dividends writes about  6 Things You Should Know About the 2010 Roth Conversion.  This was a very solid post.  For more on Roth Conversions, check out my guest post over at Wise Bread.
• This post from Linsey at Wise Bread was right up my alley – saving money on office supplies! 
• Matt from Debt Free Adventure shares some pretty common ways people get into debt and how to dig out!

Don’t miss out on another post!!  Get Redeeming Riches delivered to your inbox!

R2 on the Web

I’ve recently been “hired on” as a writer over at Christian PF – one of the leading Christian personal finance blogs out there! 

This was a great honor to be asked by Bob Lotich to contribute articles on a regular basis. You can check out my first on called Blueprint to Building Your Financial House!

Also, Tipd.com is a financial news website where users vote up their favorite articles.  My article 6 Ways to Find Free Money received enough votes to be the #1 article on Tipd’s Greatest Hits!  Thank you to everyone who voted for it!

That article was also included at Fiscal Geek’s Perma Friday Round Up and Canadian Finance Blog’s Friday’s Links post.

4 Money Lessons from a Fool was included in One Money Design’s Friday Round Up.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

What are the two words that people love most?  Oftentimes it’s  free and money!

Who doesn’t want to get free money? 

What’s amazing is the number of people who I run into on a regular basis who continue to leave money  on the table!

If you woke up this morning, got your cup of coffee and went to the front porch to get your paper and instead found a nice, crisp $100 bill – would you pick it up?

Of course you would!  You wouldn’t pick up your paper and say, “Oh a $100 bill” and turn and walk into your house, and yet thousands of people are doing just that.

One of the best feelings in the world is putting on a pair of pants or a jacket and reaching in the pocket only to pull out a crumpled $10 bill that you forgot about!  I love that! 

So, let’s find some free money: 

Company Match

The number of companies that are matching employees 401k contributions has gone down since the start of the Great Recession, but there are still plenty of employers that are matching.

It amazes me the sheer number of people I run into who are unsure of what their company matches or even if they are contributing enough to maximize the full matching potential of the employer.

If the company says, “we’ll match dollar for dollar up to five percent” and you’re only putting in three percent, that is just plain silly!

Review your company’s plan to determine if there are some matching opportunities that you’ve left on the table.

Rebates

How many of you bought a product with a nice little rebate only to forget to send in the form along with proof of purchase and receipt!? 

According to the National Consumers League, “only 2-3% of all those who buy a product with a rebate ever end up receiving the funds.”

Rebates are easy to forget, but worth remembering.  Every little bit counts towards getting free money!

Missing Money

So technically this doesn’t have to do with finding free money, but it does have to do with finding your own missing goods.

MissingMoney.com is a national database established by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA).

MissingMoney.com enables owners to perform comprehensive searches for lost assets required by law to be turned over to the states. 

Just go to the site, type in your name and state and see if there is any unclaimed property waiting to be returned to its rightful owner. 

My coworker actually told me about this site after he found some goods on here that he was missing.

Not Joing a Rewards Program

I know there is hot debate over credit cards rewards programs.  I won’t get into that here. 

But, what I do know is that there are plenty of grocery stores, gas stations and the like that offer free ”rewards programs” or loyalty discounts if you sign up.

One example is the Speedy Rewards from Speedway Gas Stations.  This is not a credit card.  It is simply a loyalty rewards program where you can accrue points to spend on free items.

We have a lot of Speedway’s near us and yet my wife and I still haven’t signed up for their rewards program!  We have friends who tell us how great this program is, so we need to get signed up and start swiping at the pump!

Leaving Money in a Checking Account

This is basic, yet it’s amazing to me how many people leave large chunks of money in their checking accounts earning ZERO!

Even if you moved some of the money to a savings account that only earned 1/2% you’d be better off!  Every thousand dollars earning a half percent gets you $5!  No, it’s not great, but who wouldn’t take $5?

There are plenty of High Yield Savings accounts out there that can help earn an extra 1 or 2% as well.  You’re leaving free money on the table

Not Deducting Charitable Contributions

Maybe this is more common for Christians who think they shouldn’t deduct their charitable contributions because they are seeking a “heavenly reward” rather than an “earthly one”.

I think this is a silly argument.  Remember the parable of the talents?  The master was not pleased with the servant who just buried his talent and earned nothing.  He said, “you should’ve at least put it in the bank and earned some interest”.

Now, I’m not saying the context applies here, but the principle does.  Take advantage of opportunities to grow the money or receive free money that the IRS allows!

Why not get that money back on your taxes and give THAT away too!?

Other Ways to Find Free Money

What are some of the ways you’ve found free money?

Don’t miss out on future posts!  Sign up for Redeeming Riches to be delivered straight to your inbox via email!

We finally got our internet hooked up at our house this week!  It’ll be good to get back to a regular posting schedule next week.

I’m excited for this weekend because I get to teach a class to a Young Marrieds group at church on Money.  I’ll try to post some of the content from that class in the next few weeks!

Anyways, This Week in Personal Finance takes a look at interesting articles, posts and news from the past week in the personal finance arena. 

So give these articles a click!

• Kevin at Out of Your Rut shares his experience and gives us the do’s and don’t of finding Social Media friends and followers.
• Here’s a cool story with a great point!  Being the  most driven person isn’t always the best route as you’ll find out from Brip Blap
• You might want to think twice before you order that bucket of popcorn at the theatre or a glass of pinot grigio at dinner.  Here’s CNNs look at America’s Biggest Ripoffs!
• I’ve been wanting to put this in a round up, but just kept putting it off – Eric from Living 2 Excess gives some tips for overcoming procrastination.
• Coveting is something that isn’t talked about much in Personal Finance circles, but Pete over at Bible Money Matters gives us some tips on how not to covet.

Have a great weekend!!

Confession time!

I’m not as generous as I should or could be!

Here’s another thing: I like to receive more than I like to give.

Why?  Well, because it’s inherent and I’m selfish.

I know what you’re thinking -

“Wait a minute – but you write about generosity and giving and doing good things with your money”

That’s true.  And I believe strongly in everything I write.

But, there’s a disconnect.  Part of me loves to hold on to my stuff, hoard it and use it for me.

It’s like I’m addicted to my own selfish desires.

I don’t want to be selfish, but I find myself slipping into selfish mode so easily.

How?  Well, it shows in various ways including marriage, other relationships, my money, my time etc.  And if we were all brutally honest – we’d probably come to the same conclusion. 

I always tell people that I never realized how selfish I was until I got married and had to start putting my wife’s needs above my own.  After that I never realized how much selfishness there still was in my heart until I had kids and I had to put their needs above my own.

In terms of money, I like to hold on to my money for comfort and security.  I like to put my trust in my savings accounts rather than God himself.  I like to view the money I have as mine rather than God’s.  I don’t like to think of myself as a steward, I like to think of myself as owner.

But here’s the thing – I want to be totally unselfish, completely generous and not care an ounce about my status or my wealth, but it’s hard not to – especially in this culture.

But – as one of my favorite songs says:

To give unselfishly, to love the least of these
Jesus I’m learning how to live with open hands
All of these treasures that I hold will never satisfy my soul
Jesus I lay it at your throne with open hands

How to overcome your self

So how do we overcome our selfish desires for money, fame, status, power or even the praise of men?

Well the first thing we need to realize is the fact that we are selfish and come to terms with that fact.

The second thing we need to realize is that it’s a process and there is a big learning curve.  It takes time. 

The third thing is to recognize how GREAT our heavenly treasure and that our earthly treasures pale in comparison. 

The treasure of Christ far outweighs our earthly goods.  But so often we have blinders on.  Ask God to help you see the greatness of Christ displayed in the gospel.

I’m learning, baby-step by baby-step – but the process is a good one.

Agree or disagree?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on whether this is a struggle for you or if you think I’m off my rocker!