Health and Wealth

Many a times when we hear of “health” and “wealth” many of our minds zoom in to physical health and money. However, health and wealth, as we will learn in this teaching, goes beyond just physical health and money and God wants us to be healthily wealthy in all dimensions of life. Consider this text that I received in my spirit as we were in the prayer session:

Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.” Isaiah 48:17 NKJV

God wants to teach you how to profit in all dimensions of life, and lead you in the way that you should go. For this to happen you have to let go of the controls of your life and trust Him with every area of your life. That said, let’s now talk about the 6 dimensions that God wants us to be healthily wealthy in, in life.

Dimensions of health and wealth you must cultivate:

To make it easy to remember them, I will use the acronym S.P.I.C.E.S. Your life must be spiced up in a healthily wealthy way.

Make sure you rate yourself on each of the components/dimensions, on a scale of 100. 

Spiritual: Are you healthy and wealthy spiritually? Are you growing closer to God? Are you investing in yourself spiritually? Are you reading God's Word more than you were at the beginning of this year? Are you meditating more? Are you praying more?

Physical: Are you eating well? Have you been working out? Are you managing your stress well? Are you fit? Are you healthy and wealthy physically? How are you doing in this area compared to last year or the beginning of this year?

Intellectual: Do not be ignorant. Now that we are born again, beyond the Bible we should have knowledge that can change the world. You can’t change a system you don't understand e.g. the Bible says that Daniel and the other 4 Hebrews had knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom (Dan. 1:17,20). How many books have you read this year? What courses and trainings have you gone to? How much have you invested in yourself in the things God has asked you to do in the secular world? You can never dominate what you do not understand. Write down 5 things that you are interested in and you haven't worked on. This can become your area(s) of excellence.

Commercial: This component concerns your finances. How is your bank account doing? Have you been faithful in giving offerings and paying tithes? Are you saving? How are your expenses, compared to your income? Are you spending more than you earn? Do you have a budget? Are you an impulse buyer? If yes, what plan do you have to discipline yourself in this area?

Emotionally: How are you doing emotionally? How is your anger management, self-control, patience? Look at the things in Galatians 5:22-23 and see which areas you need to work on, to get your emotional life in balance. As believers we were called to bear fruit. Fruit must be seen, not talked about or discerned. Galatians 5:22-23, which talks of the fruit of the Spirit, describes to us the perfect emotional balance. In which area do you need to improve to get the emotional balance?

Social: How is your health socially? How is your social network? How many conflicts have you had this year, and how many have you resolved successfully? How many people in real life can call you friend (not in Facebook)? Do you have meaningful friendships and good interactions?

Assess yourself honestly. Don't think of yourself too highly:

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Romans 12:3 NKJV

We need to work towards holistic health, be healthy and wealthy in all areas.

That said, let us now zoom in on the area that affects us most and where many of us as youth have questions in: finances.

As believers, money is a resource and tool God gives us to help us accomplish His purpose. However there are many wrong attitudes about money which when not dealt with might cause us to have an unhealthy relationship with money. 

Wrong attitudes about money

1. Money is the root of all evil. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Tim. 6:10). Money in itself is the root of all evil.
2. Money does not grow on trees. This many of us were told when growing up, meaning that you cannot get money easily. Money grows everywhere. You can find money everywhere (in farming, mining, business etc.)
3. Rich people are greedy and corrupt. Nobody can earn enough money without being corrupt and proud. Not all rich people are greedy and corrupt. Poor people can also be greedy and corrupt.
4. Money solves all problems in life. Not every problem in life is a money problem. God solves all problems in this life.
5. Money is a sign of success. There are things quantified as success but doesn't have anything to do with money, e.g. a healthy family, good friends, health, healthy emotionally.
6. You stay on your lane. You can stay on any lane that God chooses for you, as you can walk on any lane.

Having dealt with the most wrong common attitudes about money, here are some facts about wealth.

Facts about wealth

• Wealth goes beyond money.
• Without God you cannot be wealthy. "And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." Deuteronomy 8:18 NKJV
• Wealth has to do with mental attitude. If you see yourself as poor, you will never move past the poverty bracket, and vice versa.
• Early to bed and early to rise brings wealth.
• Wealth is a blessing from God. Blessing - when the supernatural is working for you. Curse - when the supernatural is working against you. When blessed you may not be wealthy by the world's standards, but you're living a quality of life that even billionaires can envy, e.g. having healthy family. Money can not keep a wife at home, or a child from the hospital. Desire to live a quality life, not a quantity life.

As far as money is concerned many people, even believers, have what I call a wrong money blueprint. 

Money blueprint

Assess your money blueprint.

• Your money blueprint is what was modeled to you when you were being raised up. It is usually influenced by family or origin. It's influenced by what you sowed growing up and what you were taught, as well as how you saw money growing up. This determines how you handle money now that you are a grown up, and how you manage it. For example, some saw money as a scarce resource and this was emphasised by their guardians or parents, and for this reason they are very stingy with money. Others on the other hand saw money as an always available commodity and so they are spendthrifts, blowing money as soon as they get it.
• Your experience or incidences in life determine your money blueprint, and consequently how you handle or manage money.

Basic financial principles

Even if you learn about finances, if you have the wrong attitudes about money you will still be broke.

• Accounting. Learn how to keep good records. This helps you learn about where money came from and where it went to. Know what you own, what you owe, what you earn, where it goes. For example if you bought a car on a loan you don't own that car, you owe it.
• Budgeting. This helps you in telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. It's planning for your spending. Set financial goals in spending, giving and savings. Whatever your yearn for should increase your earnings.
• Saving. Someone said that ants will stop visiting when we've learnt enough about saving (see Prov. 6:6-11, which tells us to go and study the ant and learn how they save for the summer). We don't save because of competition (comparing ourselves with others and wanting what they have, therefore sometimes even living above our means) and greed (born out of covetousness, see Prov. 21:20)
• Tithing. This is returning 10% back to God. We tithe because: i) It's an attitude of gratitude ii) It's a sign of faith and trust in God that will take care of our needs iii) Showing God is our priority in life.

Personally I'm convinced we should give 10% to God, save 10% and live off the rest (80%). If you cannot live on 80% of what you're making it means you are living above your means, which may mean cutting down on some expenses.

• Contentment. Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. Ecclesiastes 6:9 NKJV Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6 NKJV. Contentment is an indication of gratefulness. When the eyes are wandering you can never be contented. Contentment means you're telling God you're okay where you are at the moment, trusting Him with where you're going. Don't be too busy looking for more that you miss out on enjoying what you have.

How do you cultivate financial discipline?

1. Review how you’re spending on your activities, hobbies, expenditures. Review your spendings in the past 3 months. How much money do you spend on food, airtime, hobbies etc.? Is this healthy?
2. Always learn to keep records of your expenditures, if possible receipts.
3. Create a budget and stick to it. When you budget you can make more money, as you know what you need and can work towards it.
4. Go shopping with a goal in mind. This will keep you from impulse buying, which messes with your budget and causes you to live above your means.
5. Run from sales and discounts temptations. They're strategies to suck in impulse buyers
6. If you're an impulse buyer, learn to leave your debit or credit card at home, and carry just enough money.
7. Avoid eating in hotels too frequently.
8. Do it yourself. If you can do it yourself do it e.g. doing laundry, mending clothes.
9. Learn to put money aside for a financial goal.

Because of time let's briefly talk about physical health, then we will be done and can pick from there next time, as God avails opportunity.

Physical Health

Do an assessment to see how you’ve been eating. Set goals and work with effort towards them. Until you learn to inflict pain on yourself telling yourself "NO" often there's a level of discipline you may never achieve. Assess where your weight is coming from, and where it is going. Set a plan for losing weight or staying healthy that you can maintain for the rest of your life.

How to gain or lose weight in a healthy way:

• Going back to expenditure, assess your expenditure. By having just enough food that your body needs you will not find yourself spending more than what you earn, in many instances.
• Carry lunch, instead of eating out in hotels. This gives you more room to choose what to eat and only invest in healthy eating.
• Set a target and goal, and discipline yourself towards it. Many just want to gain or lose weight but have no plan for doing it. Set a plan and stick to it, a plan with achievable targets and goals. Aim at being fit, not just losing or gaining weight. Many people are slender or lean but are not fit.
• Self-discipline. Learn to tell yourself "NO". Fasting can help here, in disciplining the flesh (see also 1 Cor. 9:27).
• Do something you are sure you can do for the rest of your life (detox or exercise). Don't just start something with no plan of maintaining it. Choose and stick to a diet or exercise plan wisely.

   Mrs. Perpetual Wanyugi

Teaching on Health and Wealth during the Transformers' Mini-Summit held on 8th October 2016, at Teaching Transformation Ministry. 

Mrs. Perpetual is a friend of TTM, and the Director of Programmes at Balm in Gilead. Balm in Gilead is an outreach initiative that targets women, young people and teens through mentoring, relationship and counseling. TTM is located along the Thika-Ruai Flyover Junction (at the Thika Rd./ Bypass intersection), Next to Eastgate Restaurant.