I am the Author of four biblical financial books, editor of two books written by Karen Parlor, my wife, and author of hundreds of MoneyWalk articles. Our eBooks are available on Amazon and Google Books. Articles and videos can be found at Facebook, Linkedin, Google Blogger, Pinterest, Tumblr, Twitter, WordPress, and YouTube. When we started on the path to bettering our finances in 1992, we had debt of $135,000 and a negative $35,000 net worth. We tithed and gave abundantly while working our way out of financial bondage. By the LORD’s grace we have been constructively debt-free since 1998 and are now multi-millionaires via budgeting, giving, saving, debt-free living, and no-load low-expense stock index mutual fund investing. We were career public servants working for state government and a state university. In 2018 (our mid-fifties) we retired, yet continue to engage entrepreneurial and ministry endeavors like teaching people how to manage money entrusted to them. We believe sharing the good news with people, giving to spread the gospel, and following biblical financial principles open huge doors of prosperity that help us and others fulfill God-given purpose.
The first thing you need to know is the LORD Jesus Christ wants you healthy, wealthy, and wise including financial prosperity that helps you, in a greater way, evangelize, make disciples, and serve others. Deuteronomy 8:18 contains a promise that is available for Christians just like it was for Old Testament believers. It is clear that the ability is not in and of yourself, rather it is the LORD who gives you power to get wealth, so you can establish His covenant in the earth. This means sharing the gospel with everyone and taking dominion over the earth in ways He designed. In Christ you can take authority over finances. According to the way He designed the parameters of our world and possibilities in it, the greatest dominion will only be possible when you use the power He gave you to get wealth He has for you in Heaven and bring it down for fruitfulness on earth that glorifies Him and is a blessing to others in ways that lead them to Him and make their lives better.
His promises throughout the bible have to do with you being the joy set before Him for which He died to save and give eternal life before the foundation of the world was laid. Also, they have to do with the unmerited favor He gave you by which you can be free via grace through faith in Him by choosing to accept His gift of salvation and eternal life. This cannot be earned by good works or any ability you could muster. In addition, they have to do with the fact that true faith in Him will move you to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do everything Father God purposed for you in Christ to help evangelize and make disciples of as many other people as possible while you remain upon this earth. Therefore, He desires that you follow His instruction to increase money and resources in your life in ways that glorify Him while walking out this adventure of leading your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and many others to Him via your example of intimacy with Him and using the various giftings, abilities, and skills He imparts to you in service to them.
We accepted Jesus Christ as Savior & LORD on June 29, 1992 and realized we needed to look to Him and the bible for inspiration to find our purpose and to find out if He had anything to say about our financial predicament that could help us know if we needed to change the way we were managing money He entrusts to us. Via praying and listening to Him we followed the instruction to tithe and give an offering as a catalyst to working our way out of financial bondage.
We have been able to condense our twenty-seven years of learning and experience into ELEVEN BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES and SEVEN STEPS TO FINANCIAL FREEDOM & WEALTH, which immensely help everyone who chooses to use them because they are based upon biblical guidance. Moving forward would not be eternally worthwhile or of earthly good to us without employing other disciplines the LORD instructs us to follow for our betterment. These disciplines are (1) Worshipping throughout each day via thanksgiving, praise, and prayer, (2) Studying the bible, both new and old testaments to know and understand the whole counsel of the LORD and thereby to walk in wisdom in everything we say and do, (3) Fellowshipping and serving with other believers (via a local Church) who engage the first two disciplines on a regular basis and who desire to be Christ-like for the remainder of their lives on earth, (4) Declaring what the LORD said in the bible as truth no matter what the surrounding culture says is politically correct, (5) Letting faith move us to action by engaging our part in the Great Commandment & Commission given to us and every believer whose lives are hidden in Jesus Christ. These disciplines in combination with the eleven principles and focused seven-step plan will take you to The Wealthy Place.
Anything less (even if you accumulate all the money in the world) is meaningless because it profits no one to gain the world, yet lose his / her soul in the process. The LORD’s will should always be the number one priority of your life, from which all other priorities flow. To Him, your worth is not based on the amount of assets you accumulate on earth. He loves you just as you are but wants to provide more for you to be a blessing to other people and to help fund the gospel throughout the earth. Earthly income and assets have no bearing on your worth or His love, yet (when His will is your priority) higher income allows you to give, save, and spend more in ways that glorify Him.