Financial Education Planning – Our Way or God’s Way?
Lately, I’ve been exposed to financial education about how we can better manage our financial resources. First, I got the chance to learn from my Christian community, CFC-FFL Singapore on one our Covenant Recollection on Financial Stewardship with Carlos Cammayo as the speaker. I want to start sharing these very powerful passage from the bible (mine is New International Version) Luke 21: 1-4 The Widow’s Offering (more popularly known as The Story of Widow’s Mite) 1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts in the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. (Greek two lepta) 3 “I tell you the truth,” he said,” this poor widow has put in more that all the others. 4 All these people give their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” The lesson is about the enduring value of faith. Her modest gift of two mites represented all that she had compared to the pretentious contributions of the wealthy. I must admit that for me this is a hard act to follow or perhaps my faith is that small compared to her.
There are 3 basic ways we can make use of our finances in the Lord:
1. Almsgiving – giving money or goods to the needy and poor both in and out of one’s community. Such is an outright grant. Proverbs 19:17 – He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.
2. Resource sharing – means sharing our material resources to meet the specific needs of our brothers and sisters. An example given was a brother who voluntarily share his car for fetching a guest or a couple who make use of their home for teaching and gathering purposes.
3. Tithing -giving ten percent (10%) of an individual’s income after taxes from whatever legal source, i.e. wages, rents, bonus, commissions, business, retirement pay, etc.
- It is a priority over everything else we need to spend on.
- It is given to the immediate body of Christ of which one is a part, and where one draws support for one’s Christian life. For us, this is our community (CFC FFL) and our parish.
a) Scriptural basis: Malachi 3:7-10 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty. ”But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. ”But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ ”In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
So we are robbing God if we do not tithe yet everything is own by God. We owe God whatever we presently have and what we will have in the future. Psalms 24:1 says1 the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
b.) Tithing is an essential part of our life as a growing Christian. How we respond to tithing can be a measure of our spiritual growth, i.e. a measure of our conversion to being self-less. It conditions our heart and mind to be generous, to think in the mindset of abundance and not on the scarcity mentality. Be a happy giver or a go-giver.
c.) The proper perspective – tithing is God’s way of giving us the privilege of being His co-workers. We give tithe to support God’s work to develop/train leaders, the resource to create a new heaven for new disciples. Focus not so much on the 10% we give, but on the 90% we keep for ourselves.
Lastly, within those times I had an opportunity to connect with another set of friends to play Robert Kiyosaki’s Cashflow 101 board game. The first objective is to be able to get out of the rat race by exceeding your total expenses with your passive income (cashflow you get from your investments in real estate, stocks/dividends, and other business). There was a time where I landed on the charity spot whereby you have an option to give 10% of your total income in exchange for the use of 2 dices instead of one. You will have this option on each of your next 3 turns. I managed to roll a higher total of number and this prompted me to get 2 pay checks in just a single turn. So my point is that even with just a game, the rewards of giving in this case 10% charity enabled me to get my pay check two times. I was actually the first one to get out of the rat race because of the other strategies that I had done with my investments.
For our reflection, 1. Do you understand that everything belongs to God and you are just a steward? 2. How do you see yourself in terms of the measures of spiritual growth?
CFC FFL Singapore – Sharing God’s Love to Us
First of all I am writing this topic to share the wonders of God's love to me and to share His love to all of us. Ever since I came here to Singapore and started a commitment to my never ending personal development blog, the next best thing that came to my life was God's community. CFC FFL Singapore (Couples For Christ – Foundation for Family and Life) is a community of God's love and a commitment to my spiritual growth. I remember writing a Family Mission Statement based from one of our household gatherings which was a challenge for me and for other brothers and sisters in Christ as well. What really touched me was when my wife told me about my 7 year old son, Jed's sharing about family mission statement in school. Her teacher really appreciated and thanked us for our son's sharing. She wished that if only every family will practice the same kind of teachings, our country will be a better place to live in. Wow! that brought tears to my eyes. It was never my plan to join any religious program or organization having attended different religious groups from the past. I attended my first seminar during the second half of 2008 when my friend invited me and told me that dinner was free. Without hesitation I attended the seminar with the food in my mind and did it again and again for the next series of seminars or talks. Yes I was indeed nourished by the food served to us. But it was from the talks and sharing of personal experiences that gave me the nourishment of my spirit. It is truly a blessing to belong to a community of God’s servants considering that my family is not with me here in Singapore. When you're alone working in a foreign country, any temptations are possible. CFC FFL community is a place where you can share your personal problems, inspirational stories, love, gratitude, fun and the smiles the can melt a heart. Indeed a family that you can count on whatever prayer requests you need, whether for a good health, a good career, or just a better relationship. Here, I was able to communicate my personal challenges in life, my experiences in personal development and also learned from others more challenging experiences. When I listened to other people's experiences, I realized that my personal challenges are small compared to their life experiences. I heard about a wife leaving a successful business in the Philippines despite family and friends continuous discouragement of living a new life to be with her husband and family. Others shared their success and blessings from their career through continuous hard work, persistence and prayers. Truly with God nothing is impossible. It is through our abilities to believe, to desire and unwavering faith that we can achieve what we want in life. I highly encouraged those who are away from their loved ones or for those who simply need peace at home with their family to seek us to share God's love. I'm not limiting your choices to our group, there are also wonderful communities that will suit to your culture, religion, beliefs, or faith. What is important is you develop a personal and spiritual relationship with God and the people that you can connect with your life experiences. I assure and guarantee you that the time you spend with God and the relationship you develop with your community is truly worthy of your time. To you, I offer you my short prayer of gratitude for visiting my site. I wish and pray for you all the good things that you deserved in life. To share the blessings that you deserved to our fellow.To learn from the bad things to become a better person. Please share God's Love to Us, Amen!
I have added this related topic Servants for Family and Life since someone from Philippines searched about - how to trust an ofw husband working in singapore. I hope, in my little way I was able to give you some ideas.
PS . Here's a teaching by Fr. Francis Gustillo about CFC FFL and Symbols of St. John. Also, please checkout How To Pray Effectively!. God Bless!
My Happy Birthday Wish for 2010
First of all, I would like to thank God for adding another exciting year into my life. I am very thankful for the person that I become and the person I will become. I am thankful for my family, my wife Helen and my son Justin Daniel for the unquestionable love they have shared with me. They are the reason for my pursuit of continuous personal development. If I work hard on my self-improvement I become a better husband and a father to them. Next, I would like to thank God for the friends that I have met physically and virtually. I learned a lot from other people’s inspiration in life spiritually, emotionally,financially, physically. I thank the mentors for giving me the business skills of inspiration and what I can become as a person.
My wish for my birthday is for God to continue to develop my character of a potential person that I will become. To continue the hunger for knowledge, wisdom and skills of the person that I want to be, that is to make a little difference to my neighbors, friends. To become a better husband to my wife, Helen and a better father to my son, Justin Daniel.
This year I wish (i preferred the terms – will make it happen) to put the learned skills in internet marketing into action. To continue to learn and improve the skills together with like minded individuals through mastermind groups. I want to start my own projects like BayanihanOnline (still under construction) that I just started with the intention of being a service and inspiration to the many.
