“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”  Rom 12:3

An interesting thing happened on Sunday evening.  I was having dinner with some friends when one of them, a gentleman I didn’t know well, asked me what my book is about.  As I shared about Consider the Ant and personal finance, this gentleman gave me an opportunity to face my greatest fear in writing the book…

Here is the question he asked me, “So how much money do you have?”  Wow!  There it was, bold, direct, and to the point.  I’ve had a fear that people would ‘see’ through my expertise and call me on the carpet around my level of financial success.  In fact, the fear was so big in my life that I nearly didn’t publish the book, that is until I understood my role in the mess.

Here’s how I responded, “I’ve got a few thousand dollars.”  Again, the cynicism came at me very directly when he responded, “Oh, so you’re one of those guys who writes a book on personal finance and that’s how you make your money?” (with a grin)

To which, I calmly stated, “No, I’m one of those guys who was driving around looking at every bridge in town wondering if it was a warm and safe place for my family at night.  I lost everything a few years ago in the economic downturn.  Now I teach people how to avoid the pain my family and I went through.  I learned a lot of lessons that can help a lot of people if they’re willing to learn from someone who has been where they are currently.  I teach from weakness to strength, not from strength to strength.”

An amazing thing happened in that moment.  His face twisted a bit.  He apologized.  Then he opened up completely about his finances and the mistakes he felt he is making with his money.  Wow!  All of that in less than 2 minutes!

The real question is, “What was I afraid of?”  Was it judgment of others?  Maybe I might lose a level of perceived respect as an authority?

The truth of the matter is that true Financial Peace sometimes comes at a very high cost.  Being honest and real with the road you travel is one of the greatest gifts you can ever ask for when it comes to peace.

Can you imagine how much energy you waste every day trying to play a part of someone who has it together, not wanting anyone to know that you’re really struggling to keep things together?  How much is your false image costing you?

The 2^nd part of the story is that I immediately felt the freedom and peace from any shame I had associated with my financial failure.  I no longer had any guilt of trying to ‘pull one over’ on this guy.  In that moment freedom happened for both of us.  Trust happened immediately.

How many solutions to problems can you create from a position of peace and freedom vs. a place of financial fear, stress, and guilt?  Both Financial Peace & Financial Freedom happen in the same space of honest & have nothing to do with the money itself!

What if you could go from a position of Weakness to a position of Strength?  What if you could be the blessing rather than ask for one?  What if you could reach Financial Peace Today?   What if the amount of money you have has nothing to do with whether you are at peace or free around the subject of money?

I’m here to tell you it is completely possible if you believe!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  Php 4:6-7

So the question is this.  What kind of Steward do you want to become?  Take an assesment of where you are today and the actions you took to get where you are.  Then, let’s determine the steps you need to take to become a faithful steward of God’s household.

God Bless you!