Money is not the most important thing in life. Now, having said that so we’re all on the same page and -depending upon who you are and your disposition – I acknowledge that it may not even rank in your top ten priorities. As you read this article, your ranking of your priorities is between you and your God. Just call me “Bennett” ‘cause I ain’t in it. However, this column is about money and business within the Kingdom context and I will not shy away from the task. Many of the other things that you might classify as important - even more important than money - are much harder to attain without having at least some money available to you when you need it.

To grow and expand in life, we have to have a surplus - more than enough for our immediate needs for food, clothing and shelter. It takes money to provide for your family, to afford a better than perfunctory education, to have the money to give to charitable organizations and your place of worship. The electric company STILL doesn’t accept baked goods. I’ve tried!

My goal, then, is to help you and benefit the kingdom of God by bringing you into a place of abundance. There isn’t anything wrong with wanting more or having more. I would suggest to you that any person who doesn’t is broken. Not broke, but broken. God designed us to grow and excel. Mediocrity and stagnation are not parts of His orginal design for His creation and we can experience growth in our finances if we heed the structures He’s already put in place. As long as the Earth remains, seedtime and harvest will remain.

This is a collection of advice that I was looking for when I was younger, thin on experience and had not a clue as to how to manage my financial affairs as a Christian, entrepreneur, husband and father. If you are like me, and you're serious about taking your finances from nothing to something to many things, I believe here are seven practical paths to prospertity to which you should adhere:

• 1. Shift your PERSPECTIVE. Let go of worry, guilt and shame and all other unproductive emotions that limit your ability to move forward in God’s best. I heard a wise man ask a question before. He asked whether people who prosper have less worry or do they prosper because they worry less? Clearly it’s the latter, I believe. It’s been proven time and time again that the further into the future you can plan, the better decisions you make in the present. Here’s what should make you laugh, however. As a Beleiver you’ve been given a free pass to let go of God. God’s got your food, clothing and housing covered. All you have to do is plan how you’re going to be the best steward you can be!


• 2. PLACE a stake in the ground. The biggest difference between those who prosper and those who don’t is the first group DECIDES they are going to prosper. That’s it. No great mysterious first step. Then begin to practice gratitude to God and appreciation towards those who’ve been successful and from whom you can learn. It is hard to increase while despising what you do have. How can we expect the Lord to bless us when we aren't appreciative of what He's already done? How can we envy the successful and expect to join their ranks? Thoughts of anything less than thankfulness for our blessings and opportunities keep us out of position to receive more. Take stock of your benefits and not just of your deficits.


• 3. PLAN your way. Every dollar that comes into your life has to have an assignment. There’s a simple word for this. It’s called a budget. Don't allow any dollar to be idle. Know where every dollar is supposed to go and what work it's supposed to do for you before it shows up.


• Pray as much as you can. Prayer changes things. God can and will give you guidance on the right money moves to make if you ask Him for wisdom. He can and will also give you favor, which is better than having money.


• 4. POSITION yourself for increase. A man who is excellent in his work will stand before kings. Improve your skills so you can earn as much as you can. Be relentless about your goals and creative about how to achieve them. Give yourself a raise. Raise your value to people and dare to be compensated for it. There is no virtue in earning less than you are able and gifted to earn – to be as productive as you can be with your time, talents and treasures. How do you know that your bounty isn't designed to be a blessing to someone else? Doesn't the Bible say that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children?


• 5. The PRICE isn’t the price. Always, always, always ask for the money or for more money. Always, always, always ask to pay a lower price. The sooner this lesson is learned, the better. As an entrepreneur, sales professional or any other professional whose compensation is based on performance, we have to become accustomed to ASKING for what we want. If I don't ask, I don't get. Be importune. Read Luke 11. That's the model. I've been recently blessed to see this attitude in action. Ask! Ask! Ask! If you don't ask, you don't get, and you'll be surprised at how many good things will come into your life just because you opened your mouth to ask for them.
• Learn to negotiate as much as you can. Negotiate everything. The price isn't always the price. Ask for a discount. If you don't get a discount, ask for more at the same price. Here's the thing...you won't always get the answer that you want. However, my experience is that about half of the time, you'll get what you're asking for, and sometimes you'll get more. You've got nothing to lose, and you just might find that it doesn't take as much money to get ahead when you're not paying full price!


• 6. PRACTICE leverage. Leverage #1: Put money to work making more money. Leverage #2: Find ways to capitalize on the efforts of others. Look for business opportunities that allow you to make money while you sleep. It's very difficult (nearly impossible?) to become wealthy solely off the efforts of your own hourly output. Leverage #3: Systematize your work so that it doesn't take as much energy to accomplish the same outcomes. Leverage #4: Invest in tools that allow you to do more and do it more efficiently in less time. This is the very practical area that I believe separates middle class from upper class. Most of the wealthy people whom I have known have been masters at using OPM, OPE and OPT (other people's money, other people's energies and other people's time). This is also one area in which I believe I need to work on myself the most.


• 7. Make PLAN A your only plan. Most people don’t need a Plan B; they need to fully dedicate themselves to Plan A! Further, how can it be that God’s plan for your life has an alternative? He hasn’t changed His mind. Once you tap into His plan for you, neither should you. Diligence is what most of our plans require, not alternatives.
• Be diligent. To quote my Pastor, Thaddeus Eastland, diligence is best defined as "thinking it through, then getting after it and then staying after it." Work as hard as you can. Respond to customers and opportunities quickly. The best ones don't wait for you. Diligence isn't just about working hard, however. It's about rising early and looking for every possible opportunity to achieve a goal – uncovering every rock. The Bible says that "the hand of the diligent makes rich" in Proverbs 10:4. This is just one of the many encouragements in the Bible towards diligence in all that we do.
• They say money never sleeps. It does. But it gets up early. This is closely related to the concept of diligence. A word study on diligence uncovers that it carries with it the idea of getting out of bed and getting started early. Personally, I know that my most productive days and "seasons" have been when I've been most intentional about rising and getting to work before everyone else. When I get up late, I often feel like the whole day is close to being wasted. Get up early and get after it. You will be rewarded!


• 8. PROTECT what you already have. Solomon said a wise man always knows the condition of his flocks. In modern terms, that means we should buy insurance and manage communications with any of our creditors well. There’s nothing wrong with asking for favor.
• Always keep cash on hand. A lot of opportunities are missed for lack of means to move quickly. Zig Ziglar made it a habit to leave home with at least $100 in his pocket every day. Who knows? Sometimes you'll come across an opportunity to be a blessing to someone. I have a friend who carries $5000 with him everywhere he goes, every day. You’ll always be ready for minor emergencies that can drain the life from your emotions and finances.
• Don't allow banks to take your money through fees. Never pay banking and financing charges. Pay bills early and get a discount. I hate giving people money for nothing with a passion! Keep your credit cards but stop running up the balances so you can stop paying so much money for the convenience of them. If you plan ahead and save, you don't need them much anyway. Debit cards work fine for most purposes with some planning.


• 9. PAY God first. Pay yourself second. I believe in tithing. There are countless books and opinions on the topic, but I believe it to be a spiritual principle that predates the "Law" and is supported and encouraged by the Lord Jesus Christ, as well. The concept of the tithe is to recognize that everything is the Lords, and so we honor Him by bringing Him back 10% of all of the increase with which He blesses us. I am a proud tither. I appreciate the chance to honor the Lord with my obedience in tithing. I can recall too many times wherein I didn't have any income on which to tithe. It seems to me like an insult to the Lord to refuse to bring back what is His after He has been so kind to me.
• As regards to paying yourself second. I believe in saving. I can't allow myself to spend everything that I take in, or I'll never advance. Save as much as you can. Protect your backside with insurance and prepare for rainy days with savings. W. Clement Stone once said, "If you cannot save money, then the seeds of greatness are not in you." There is a lot of truth in this statement for saving demonstrates the ability to control our emotions and our circumstances – to appreciate the bounty, but not forget the lean times.
• Simplify and delay gratification. Do you really need it? Do you really need it now? If you don't have it, you may not need it. This is related to the concept of saving. It's not that we should plan to live lives "without" but that many of the things we want, can be saved for and purchased later, cheaper and sometimes not at all after we've reflected on them a bit.

If you have a tendency towards becoming money-hungry, it is not my desire to encourage your love for money so that you walk away from God. However, I am heartsick over the false dichotomy with which a lot of Believers operate so that they are afraid to prosper. Many are afraid to prosper because they believe it is somehow holier to be impoverished. So they live well below their privilege and fail to use basic financial wisdom in stewardship.

There's also the other extreme within Christendom whereby everything is about prosperity. I want you to live with financial balance according to the guidance of Proverbs 30:8-9 whereby you are not so overtaken with poverty that you disgrace the name of the Lord. Neither do I want you to be so overtaken by riches, that you feel like you don't need Him.

Finally, there is no cosmic conspiracy to impoverish or marginalize you. The deck is not stacked against you. In fact, if anything, God has designed a conspiracy to PROSPER you and given you the keys to the locks. Financial prosperity, therefore, is all about paying attention to all of the laws of God that He has already put in place. The law of sowing and reaping is an example. You sow; you reap. You sow more; you reap more. The word of God is full of other clues. There’s over 2000 of passages dealing with money and/or finance on some level.

In other words, it ain’t always that deep. The Lord has set the practical path in front of us. We only have to follow it. I hope that I've written something that helps you find greater financial wisdom and prosperity with proper spiritual perspective.