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True
material Wealth is simply having more than you need today (Matthew 6).
True wealth is having an intimate relationship with God. The best riches are
having loving relationships with other people.
Although riches and wealth are as
described above, that does not mean that we should be foolish in our financial
matters or lifestyle choices. It is wise to save and prepare for the
future—God’s Word has a lot to say about that: read Proverbs and Ecclesiastes!
As I wrote in Multiple Streams of Income:
“All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly
furnished unto all good works.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17 KJV
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All Scripture is profitable. We
are to apply the Scriptures to our lives in every fashion—thoroughly weaving
them into every aspect of our lives. Every aspect of our lives can be guided by
Scripture, because God’s Word deals with EVERYTHING; and if not directly, then
indirectly through principles. This all-inclusiveness is not a bad thing nor is
it burdensome as some teach, but actually equips us to be thoroughly furnished
to do good works and live a true life of freedom.
The principle that I want to share with
you is a very simple but very important principle: the principle of multiple
streams of income found in Ecclesiastes 11:1-6.
Cast
thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a
portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be
upon the earth. If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves
upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that observeth
the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. As
thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones
do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not
the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the
evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper,
either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.
Ecclesiastes
11:1-6 KJV
What does this passage mean?
Cast thy bread upon the waters….
Give. Give out of your substance
(income, possession, livelihood, yourself) to others. After many days,
Scripture is clear that God will bring back blessing to you. Now I am not
saying give to get, but you can be sure that Jesus words are true that says
that he who gives will have it come back pressed down, shaken together and
running over into one’s lap (Luke 6:38)!
For thou shalt find it after many days.
It takes time to reap what you sow. God may not bless you financially with
large returns and material wealth, but He promises to provide for your needs if
you seek Him first and foremost (Matthew 6). Many times, I believe that God
gives us blessings that have nothing to do with getting back the time, money,
or resources that we have invested (generously, yea sacrificially given) to His
Kingdom in like currency. Instead, I have seen the Lord in my own life
primarily blessing me with close, godly friends and mentors, wisdom and favor
in finding great deals and even free, valuable resources. God has made all my
labor bring forth profit in either financial, wisdom, understanding,
relationships, or experiences (Prov 14:23)!
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight;
for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth.
Invest or divide your portion (your income,
your substance, your livelihood) to seven or eight different “portions.” Or as
I will say in this booklet, streams. Instead of lumping all your income into
one river that you earn from and give from, earn income from several sources
(streams) and give to several sources (streams).
An income stream/giving stream does not
have to be monetary. For example to generate some income, do you have a garden
which produces produce and decreases your food bill? What about solar power?
Investments? Business endeavors (even an Ebay business that you use to clear
out your attic and basement)? For giving, can you recycle your shoes for the
ShoeMan? What about investing time in discipling a spiritually immature
Christian to maturity in Christ? Providing a hot meal for a weary traveler or a
cold cup of water to the young man who cuts your grass?
You do not know what evil (difficulty,
disaster, unplanned events) will come upon the earth. Therefore give and earn
in several different ways. If you only have one stream of earned income from a
9 to 5 job; then if you lose that job, you lose all your income. But if you
have a little bit of money coming from Ebay sales, some food and resources coming
from a little bit of land and a garden; then you are not in as bad of shape if
you lose that 9 to 5 job because of mass layoffs. The same applies with giving.
You may not be able to give financially in the future like you can now because
of hardship that will come in the future, but you can still invest in ways that
are not monetary. In fact, you may be able to give more in a time of difficulty
even though you can give very little money.
Now I am not teaching mere
independence from all others with this multiple streams concept—although the
Lord does not want us dependent on others for our basic needs when we are
perfectly able of providing for ourselves through diligent labor (1
Thessalonians 4:12)—I am referring to structuring your life with wisdom. It is
wise to have multiple streams and to give to others. We only have one life to
life, and Jesus wants us to use it touching others lives.
When
the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then
shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be
gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep
from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me
meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked,
and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came
unto me. 37 Then
shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and
fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When
saw we thee a stranger, and took thee
in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39
Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And
the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it
unto me. 41 Then
shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into
everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For
I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no
drink: 43 I
was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and
in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked,
or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then
shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these,
ye did it not to me. 46 And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life
eternal. Matt 25:31-46 (KJV)
If the clouds be full of rain, they empty
themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the
north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that
observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not
reap.
If you keep trying to wait for a sunny day
to start applying yourself to the truth and principles of this passage, then
you aren’t going to benefit when the rain and blessing of the Lord comes. I do
believe the Lord will bless when we follow His Word, but that blessing may not
be instantaneous. It can be hard to get started developing multiple streams of
income and giving. You will have to get creative, probably seek some counsel, pray, and
definitely search the Scriptures on how develop these. I cannot offer
you a one size fits all answer, your streams will be unique to you. Mine will
be unique to me. The point is, don’t look at the condition of the sky or the
wind before you start to sow. Get started today! Take your first step by praying,
meditating on this Ecclesiastes passage, searching the Scriptures (especially
the Proverbs and Genesis) on different types of income streams, brainstorming
and planning a time to talk to your spouse (if you have one), your parents or a
mentor/wise and godly friend.
As thou knowest not what is the way of the
spirit, nor how bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so
thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether both
shall be alike good.
God’s Word and Ways do not always make
sense to us because we are finite and He is perfect and omniscient (Isaiah 55);
therefore, we must take heed that we do not know many things such as how the
bones of a child develop in the womb or which endeavor that we have in our
income stream portfolio will increase. But we can rest assured that our
Sovereign God knows which will prosper. Our part is to faithfully and
obediently follow the wise plan that we believe is Scripturally sound and that
the Lord has directed us to. As we hold our plans with an open hand, God will
direct OUR STEPS (Psalms 37, Proverbs 3, 10, & 16).
How
can we apply these verses today?
George Washington, and many of our other
Founders, practiced the Ecclesiastes 11:1-6 principle. I heard on a webinar in
college how Washington had 7-10 “businesses” on his farm (Mount Vernon Estate).
These “businesses” where steams of income utilizing the land such as place to
sell produce from the garden and some other small “trade” businesses that
Washington’s slaves were skilled at.
In American today, far too many families
are relying on one or two incomes alone. Nothing is wrong with the father of a
household being the Breadwinner, in fact that is very Biblical (1 Timothy 5:8)
and historical, but if a Father only has one stream of income, then he is
unwisely opening himself up to destruction. If he were to lose his job and
could never get it back, how would his family survive? The answer is not
welfare. Instead, it is developing multiple “streams” of income. Streams do not
mean rivers. I am not saying bring home 7 or 8 full-time jobs of income. What
I am saying, is to create little streamlets or even businesses, where you bring
in $25 or $50 or $400 or $800 dollars a month. If you lose your main
stream of income, then you will hopefully not be destroyed, and can simply turn
around and invest a portion of your new found time in developing more streamlets
and enlarging the profitable streams into creeks or even rivers. This is not as
difficult as it may sound. You do not need a PhD or have to be exceptionally
brilliant. During my time in college, I began to try to apply this principle
and let me show you how the Lord blessed me with a more stable and wisely based
income by having multiple streams. Now, I was by no means fabulously wealthy,
but was in a wiser position than most people my age. And some of the work I
only did once and kept getting paid for it (that is one of the best types of
income streams)……
It is wise to have a means of providing for
one’s family outside of a corporate job. My grandfather grew up growing a lot
of his own food and has continued to do so for most of his life. In Scripture,
we see a similar pattern: Abraham was wealthy and had thousands of sheep,
goats, and camels. Job was the same way. Jacob and Jesse the father of King
David were known for their herds of sheep. We would do well to follow the
Scriptural pattern of material wealth asset building by having reproducing
animals and plants. Most animals and
plants reproduce much faster and thus increase one’s assets much faster than
the monetary investment vehicles of today.
Mediums (mechanisms through which we can move
toward this vision of multiplying income streams according to the Ecclesiastes
passage aforementioned) we will look at:
·
Gold/Silver
·
Animals
·
Crops/Plants
·
Land
·
Businesses/Enterprises
·
Reproducing Assets
