December 11, 2008



What does wealth mean to you? Often, people have very different answers when I pose that question.

Is wealth only financial to you? Or is it also spiritual? Perhaps its also social, physical, and mental.

Which is the least important area?

In my mind, even though what we do at Kingdom Calling is “financial,” financial wealth is the least important compared to the other 4 areas of wealth I just mentioned. Think about it. If I were to offer you ten million dollars, but tell you that it would cost you being severely physically disabled the rest of your life, you probably wouldn’t take the money. Your physical health is obviously more important than financial health. Same is true for you mental and social wealth; and of course your spiritual wealth, although that one can often feel like the hardest wealth to attain(that's what we're here for).

While financial wealth is the least important of the wealths, I think you’d agree that if our financial area is working well, then our finances can enhance the other 4 areas.

That being said, there is a better path to financial wealth, and that's the path that aligned with your own calling.

So I think of there being 4 P's to healthy prosperity, and they should be thought of in order:

1) Perspective
2) Purpose
3) Plan
4) Products

Perspective - This is the way that you see the world. Each of us sees the world through our own filter and therefore sees a world that is totally unique from the world that others experience.

But it is possible to shift the way that we experience the world. It can happen through education and training, or it can happen from some positive or negative outside stimulus. For example, my wife and I were in a fire last year. Once we got home, we began to notice that she has a new fear of fire that was never there before. Its a new perspective that brings new realities.

A more global example is the change that happens in people who have been born again in the Spirit of Christ. As we are changed by Him and able to hear the promptings of His Spirit we begin to see the world in very different ways than the ways than we did before we received Him.

This is a matter of perspective, and it affects how we steward our financial resources. People tend to see the world as one with limits, or as one with no limits. A limited view of the world leads us to making decisions based on a belief in scarcity. That there is only so much to go around. This directly contradicts the Word, but it is the most common paradigm held by people.

An unlimited view of the world is one where you see possibilities everywhere. You are open to whatever God might have for you. You are without the constraints of fear and society. This is the first step towards freedom, and living a life in line with your calling. However, an unlimited perspective can lead to other problems if we just stopped there.

Purpose - This is the why of your life. The reasons to you do what you do.

Why achieve? Why grow? Why change? Your purpose unlocks your power. It is your reason. It gives you clarity.

If we have an unlimited perspective, but are not clear on your purpose, you'll act schizophrenic. You'll jump at every opportunity, and still never accomplishing anything because you’re running in circles.

That's where God comes in. He has given your life a unique purpose. The decisions that are right for me, might be totally wrong for you. All decisions in life must be put into the context of whether or not they bring you closer to Christ and where He is specifically calling you. When you do so, everything you do falls into line and into focus.

So there are perspective and purpose. Tune in to Part 2 for the two other P's integral for real prosperity: Plan and Products.