Do you have an immense desire to become financially free?

Would you like a savings plan that will carry you through another recession? How about a retirement that will put you in a comfortable lifestyle? Nice. That’s not why we’re here today. Not that kind of prosperity on the menu.

“If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.” – John D. Rockefeller

We’d like to focus in on the real reason we wrote the book Doing Money God’s Way: Financially Free for a Purpose and continue to write a blog. What? You wrote a book on money and those aren’t even your top concerns. Not at all. You might want to stop reading now unless you’re still curious.

There’s something called soul prosperity.

Do you smell the fried chicken goodness when you drive by Chick-Fil-A? Stop dreaming of a chicken sandwich and waffle fries and listen for a minute. Put the car keys down. You’ve probably heard of the founder of Chick-Fil-A, Truett Cathy. Given the success of the restaurant chain, you undoubtedly would guess he was worth a lot of money when he passed, but aren’t most high performing business owners?

That’s not what really got him attention. He lived for more. Money and business were not the only things he managed well; he had a prosperous soul. It was his integrity and his heart to be a godly man with a purpose. It was who he invested in that mattered. His focus was so much more than making and saving money.

Truett Cathy spent countless hours investing in the lives of people.

Chasing after his God-given purpose is what he’s remembered for, not his money. His money was a tool. He had to steward it well to make the impact he did in others. In fact, his legacy continues to do so even after his passing.

There’s something called soul prosperity. In 3 John 2 we read a secret to this thought, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” Take care of your relationship with God more than you take care of your finances. Talk to Him about your finances. You’ll know God better by talking to Him about everything, even money. Money was never meant to be the goal. If getting all your financial ducks in order has become the main focus take a step back and recalibrate.

We can get so distracted by money that the Word can’t impact us as it should.

Jesus actually tells us to beware of the deceitfulness of chasing money and getting tangled up with earthly matters (Mark 4:19). It can actually harm our souls and our ability to receive from His Word.

Today our challenge is to take a step back and evaluate your relationship with God. Whether you’re just trying to get a budget off the ground, or you’re knee-deep in trying to get investments secured for retirement, press pause. Talk to God about where you’re at and where you’d like to be financially and in finding your purpose in this season. Listen to Him for a minute, and not just about money.

As much as we hope you’ll engage our blog and book to learn to steward your money well, that’s not our ultimate goal. Good financial stewardship will serve you well to make your life easier and less stressful. There’s no mistaking that. Keep the soul as it should be before everything else, with the only One who can give you soul prosperity.

“And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” – Mark 8:36