Getting your heart in a place to give is key to your happiness and financial success. Before getting out of debt, focusing on investing, or paying for the kids’ college. your objective should be to develop the right attitude or mindset. Are you grateful for what you have?
Hebrews 13:5 – Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.
Being content or happy with what you have is tough in our society that is focused on social status and stuff. You’re bombarded with manipulative advertising and reminders by those around you that you ‘need’ that new car, clothes, TV, or smartphone. You can’t fully rely on self-discipline to keep from over-spending and purchasing on credit. You have to prepare your heart to be okay with where you are.
It’s alright to prosper God’s way and his way is to have a heart of gratitude and a drive to help others or freely give. Without a healthy mindset towards possessions you won’t enjoy them anyways. You’ll always be looking for the next thing to fill a need that can only be met by God. There may be a temporary happiness but you’ll need an eternal perspective for true fulfillment in life. A short time after the purchase, I bet that you’ll actually be less happy then you were before buying the thing that you needed so badly. We all have needs and there are times when we have true needs.
Before you make a considerable purchase, even it’s $50, try praying about it over the course of a day and see how you feel. You’ll see that desire subside or develop a better understanding of why you think that you need to make the purchase. If you’re feeling pressured then simply walk away so that you can get a clear head.
You can’t simply change your mind and decide that you’re going to be grateful all of the sudden. You have to start somewhere. Here are three steps to help you to have an attitude of gratitude. Practice these mindfully and you’ll begin to see fruit, not necessarily the kind that you eat, in your life.
3 Steps to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude
- Pray; Try to pray daily about your understanding of possessions and your needs.
- Focus; Think about the needs of others instead of things for yourself.
- Give; The action of giving and seeing the gratefulness of others will give you a great feeling, and begin to change you.
Nobody is perfect of course, including myself. Given human nature and everything that is thrown at us, we will always have to fight to do the right thing or at least be cognizant of our decisions around money. I’m not saying that we should have a poverty mindset because that’s not what God wants. He wants to see that you can be obedient and loving so that he can reward you in his time.
