Being true to yourself means you are in a position to see your great need of God in your life, to want to follow His way, to refuse to compromise principle, for some personal gain. Jonathan Gallagher

Walking in God’s Favor: A thick bankroll is no help when life falls apart,
but a principled life can stand up to the worst. Proverbs 11:4 MSG

Put People Before Possessions

Many Christians in America have become so materialistic in their thinking. You have probably heard someone say, ” The one who dies with the most toys wins” or “The one with the gold makes the rules.”

The things in this world are temporal, but the things of God are eternal. We believe Jesus Christ is returning for a people – not possessions. So, what are you doing to build intimate relationships with those you love? How are you investing your financial resources to better your relationship with God and meaningful others?

Increasing Your Social Capital

When you develop intimate relationships, you do it one-to-one. Your attention is focused on one person. Their needs become your priority. Dr David and Teresa Ferguson, co-authors of Intimate Encounters says, “Intimate relationships takes time and communication.”

Ardella and I have the wonderful experience of celebrating a debt-free lifestyle.  For us the best part of living without a mortgage, a car payment, or consumer debt is the financial peace.   With no financial drama, we can focus our attention on developing meaningful relationships.

This includes sharing one’s feelings, putting others first, sympathetic listening, and caring for one another. Sharing your heart with family and having meaningful relationships with others is what life is truly about. Life is meant to be shared. Sharing the love of God with those we care about is a priority for the Level 4 Steward.

Sharing Your Life Journey

There is nothing like the power of your own life story. Everyone has a story to tell. How are you being blessed today? What challenges have you overcome in your life? Who  are you reaching out to help make it? Are you sharing your widsom with the next generation? Sharing your life experiences with others encourages them and gives them hope.

Tell others how you have overcome life’s struggles; how your faith brings stability in your life; how living by biblical principles gives you the wisdom to look around the corner to prepare for the storms of life.

You are invited to visit our Financial Peace University class www.firstsdachurch.com  Tuesday January 13th 6:30pm  as we share our personal story of  how prayer, faith and action delivered us from the bondage of debt.

Prayer of Blessing: Lord, teach us to put people before possessions.

Michael Vance is a senior account executive with Hundley Batts & Associates and the co-founder of stewardshipofwealth.com. Ardella Vance is a gifted educator and a Master Guide in the Pathfinders Club, a global organization empowered to teach life and leadership skills to young people. The Vance’s have been married well over 25 years and share their lives with four adult children and six grandchildren. They currently reside in Huntsville, Alabama and blog weekly from their financial workbook ” The Stewardship of Wealth“.