I was listening to the radio a few weeks ago, and the radio host was reading comments from his Tweeter page and stumbled across an interesting rant and the host decided to address the rant on the air. Apparently, a self-proclaimed hard working average citizen has taken offense to the actions of a particular wealthy individual.

As it was reported, this certain wealthy individual, on a night out on the town, to celebrate a friend’s birthday, spent about $90,000 on drinks for his entourage which also included a $10,000 tip! That’s right! $100,000 was spent on bottle service in one night!

This type of irresponsible spending was appalling to the average hard working citizen so he decided to vent. He ranted about how he had to work multiple jobs to the make a third of that amount and can barely pay his way through school and provide for himself. How dare the rich entertainer have the gall to frivolously spend so much money while he has to steward every penny just to make ends meet! The rich individual, in his eyes, obviously was being a poor steward and was just plain and simply wasteful!

The conversation intrigued me because I know the radio host is, what I consider, really conservative when it comes to fiscal issues so I wondered how the host was going to respond. His response and reasoning was enlightening. The radio host started by bringing to light an interesting fact that was omitted by the ranter. The host pointed out that the entertainer that spent $100,000 in one night made $42,000,000 last year! Now that’s a lot of money! The radio host proceeded to explain how knowing that piece of information changes the dynamic of the situation. How is someone making $42,000,000 in a year who spent $100,000 in one night any different any than someone who makes $42,000 a year spending $100 in a night?! The only difference is the scaling of the numbers; but the proportion is exactly the same!

I have heard this same argument in other situations. I recall the story of a man worth $2 billion dollars being ridiculed and labeled as wasteful for driving a $400,000 car. But to him, a car of that statue represents only a small portion of his net worth and is not really extravagant. This is equivalent to someone who is worth $50,000 driving a $1,000 car! How much do you make in a year? How much is your car worth?

The point to be made here is it is about stewardship. Those that have more to steward (rich people) can enjoy luxuries others cannot because they have more to manage and it does not make them poor stewards or bad people. They are simply enjoying the fruits of their labors. Biblically speaking, Solomon was the richest man to every walk the earth and he enjoyed luxuries no one ever did before. Does that mean he was a bad steward? Did God make a mistake when He promised to give Solomon his great wealth for exhibiting a pure heart of a steward when he asked for wisdom to govern God’s people (2 Chronicles 1:11-12)?

How much is too much? It depends. We each have to ask ourselves that question, but we are not called to answer that question about anyone else. We all have boundaries to live within; some people’s boundaries are a lot that others. It always has been that way and it always will be (Matt. 26:11). It would behoove us to celebrate the success of others and stay off the judgement seat! Your time, energy, and words are better spent focused on your situation rather than criticizing the stewardship of others. So be careful and don’t judge, less you also will be judged (Matt 7:1-3). God Bless.

Well, 2017 is over and here we are at the start of 2018! That was fast! Life seems to move faster these days and partly because of the abundance of information we are exposed to on a daily basis. We live in a time where we can, in the blink of an eye, immediately find some seemly relevant article, posting, or even blog on anything we want. But there are pros and cons to the speed of this dispensation we live in that has been called the Information Age. On the positive side, data research and sharing that used to take days to complete can be done in seconds! Long gone are the days of libraries and the Dewey decimal system being the primary use of research. And if you don’t know what the Dewey decimal system is, you just made my point! Times have changed, and information is moving at the speed of light. With data being shared so fast, complex problems can be solved much faster because many more minds can collaborate more quickly. On the negative side, if we are not careful, we can become susceptible to information overload. Information overload happens when a person or group of people is exposed to too much data.

With information given so freely and easy to access, there is never a dearth of opinions on how one should handle your money; everyone has an opinion! And with information coming at us so fast and with such anonymity, it can be extremely difficult to rightly decipher good advice from bad advice. Trying to get the best financial advice can be nerve wrecking. It can be so overwhelming that some of us tend to believe what we hear most often or we tend to give extra credence to people we admire or trust regardless of their financial credentials. But what if the person (or people) we are taking our financial direction from is lost themselves? We literally become the blind following the blind. And we know how where they end up; falling in a ditch.

When it comes to financial advice, first start with the Word of God! Ask yourself, “What does God say about this?” If the advice is unethical, immoral, or if it can really hurt you financially if things go wrong, then stay away! You have to protect yourself and your financial progress. Sacrificing your integrity is never a worthwhile short-cut. Secondly, consider the source of this advice. How financially successful is the source of this information? Are they were you want to be? Are they following the advice themselves, and if so, is it working for them? How are they going to prosper if you take their advice? Watch out for wolves that speak the language a sheep wants to hear! Oh, and in case you are wondering, the authors of this article have paid off over $100,000 in consumer debt and we are totally debt free! Thirdly, ask yourself, “Is it too good to be true?” Everyone likes to get what they want in a hurry, but the bible warns against quick riches (Proverbs 13:11). Jim Rohn once said, “Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” And finally, get at least one other opinion from someone you trust to give you good financial advice (so your shopping friend or your favorite cousin or aunt might not be the best choice for advice). A second opinion might provide a fresh prospective, some insight, or more information that will help you make the best decision. Remember, safety is found in the multitude of counselors (Proverbs 11:14).

I know everyone that gives financial advice does not have malicious intent, but good intentions from good people does NOT mean you are getting good advice! Some people just don’t know any better, and they don’t know they don’t know better, so charge it to their head and not their heart. But it is up to you to be discerning and regulate their influence in your financial life. Poor financial decisions can seriously slow down your progress and can take years to recover from. So choose wisely who you allow to speak into your financial future. God Bless.