The DNA of Wise Financial Decisions With Sharon
FaithFi: Faith & Finance | May 15, 2023
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Show Notes
God owns everything and we’re merely stewards of the resources he gives us. But that doesn’t mean our role is passive. The role of a successful steward is active and requires a lot of smart decisions. How do we do that? We’ll talk with Sharon Epps about the DNA of wise financial decision-making.
Sharon Epps is the President of Kingdom Advisors.
- THE “DNA” OF FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKING
- DNA are instructions God has given cells to use to build the body, like the code to a video game or blueprints for a house. Like DNA, sound financial decisions consist of building blocks. In fact, there are three key building blocks that need to align to result in wise biblical financial actions.
- Think about a triangle. Let’s start at the base — the foundation.
- THE FOUNDATION
- We’ll call the base “motivation” for making good decisions with money. Motivation is the fuel that gives us the energy to carry through with wise financial decisions even when they seem hard. And actually, there are three motivations:
- 1. POSITION:Our position - we are managers, He is the owner (Psalm 24:1, I Cor 4:2) God owns it all!
- Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; I Cor. 4: 2 Moreover, it is required of stewards that a man be found faithful
- 2. PURPOSE: Our purpose - to be generous (2 Cor 9:11)
- You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God
- 3. PERSPECTIVE: Our perspective - eternity (Matt 6:19-21)
- Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
- To deny earthly pleasures now, we need to believe that the eternal treasures at God’s right hand are more satisfying than anything else.
- That gives us the foundation of the triangle. So what’s next?
- WIRING
- The 2nd side of the triangle is our wiring. God made each of us with a unique temperament that impacts how we behave with money. Temperament is part of our personality but personality is also shaped by family of origin, life experiences, and other factors.
- Most often we marry someone with a different temperament from us. Larry Burkett used to say that if both of you were the same, one of you would be unnecessary!Some of us make decisions quickly.Others take more time and need to do a lot of research.
- Some of us tend to over save; while others would give away everything we have. Some of us make analytical decisions and others rely on instinct or “gut”. You get the picture. When we understand our wiring in light of the other two sides of the triangle, we are more equipped to make and implement wise financial decisions.
- The 3rd side of the triangle is the skills that we bring to the decision-making process.
- SKILLS
- We might understand the motivation or the why; we might know how our wiring impacts our decisions, but if we haven’t been trained in financial transactions, we will not be able to implement wise financial decisions.
On this program, Rob also answers listener questions:
- Are there any signs that point to a potential decline of the U.S. economy long term?
- Should you combine 401k accounts?
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
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