Saying "Money and Material Things Won't Matter When We Die" is a BIG Lie

Of course they matter, and they matter a lot! This early in the article I want to make that clear. Everything GOD gives us matters even after we die. All blessings matter, material or spiritual, during or after we die, because GOD designed life to require their use. 

Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash.

Saying money and material things won't matter when we die is like saying God's blessings have become useless just because we're dead. So before you feel super-spiritual and declare something like this, think 10 times first, because God will do to us as we profess with our lips. 

So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say. [Numbers 14.28]

Why It Matters

Be honest, realistic and practical. After we die we need to be placed in a presentable casket and given a decent burial. That spells money, lots of it. Before that, we may need to be hospitalized. Being rushed to the ER and taken to the ICU cost a lot, to say the least. And if you have kids, they need to move on and continue with life. It will be a good thing to leave them some money or property.

1. First, imagine if you're renting an apartment and your kids are still schooling and you suddenly die. They're going to be homeless and penniless after you're gone. The best scenario is having them live with relatives or friends, which to me is really worse. Thus, the money and material things you leave them will mean a lot.

2. Leave them money along with happy memories instead of being sad, broke and displaced. Among the first things your loved ones need is new environment even for a short time, a staycation somewhere quiet to unload stress and depression, think things over and find meaning again. These things help a lot to overcome grief but they cost something. If you leave money behind, your family can afford them and easily find relief.

3. They need to cope financially. If they don't, imagine what terrible misery that is. In case you aren't able to leave them anything (and sometimes God allows that for a purpose) there's still comfort in knowing God will never forsake them because he is faithful to answer your prayers--so it's doubly important to invest enough prayers for them while you're alive. Believe me it's a sure and worthy investment. 

But God is a practical God, aside from supernatural. If he gives us the ability to create wealth, we should consider providing for the material needs of our family, not just spiritual, now and when we're gone. It's smart to buy them investment-linked insurance policies if you can. 

Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

[1 Timothy 5.8]

4. Nothing is certain in life. How do you know everything will be smooth sailing now and in the future for your family just because you have a stable job or business? Or, just because you're spiritual and serving the Lord? Abraham and Isaac were wealthy and faithful to the Lord and yet Jacob fell slave to Laban. Everything was going well for Job, a rich and righteous man, and then tragedy struck without warning. 

Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life. [Ecclesiastes 7.14]

If both prosperity and hard times come from God, then it's more obvious how investment prayers are vital, not just prayer for grace and mercy so your family will cope when you're gone but for wealth creation now while you're alive and have something to set aside for your family's future. Why do you do this? Because God has already hinted how nothing is certain in life. He says this in Ecclesiastes so we can be wise and act now.

Stop being religious and pretend that money and material things mean nothing to you. They do, but your ego wants to show off and make you spiritually superior than others. 

5. Money is a good servant. Make money serve you. God designed it to keep your life convenient and free from the love of money. You love money if you don't make it your servant.

Through laziness, the rafters sag;
because of idle hands, the house leaks.

19 A feast is made for laughter,
wine makes life merry,
and money is the answer for everything. [Ecclesiastes 10]

The passage hints how lack of money is often (not always) due to laziness, so that the rafters sag and the roof leaks. But making money the answer (making it serve you) results to a happy and full life. Yup, God is practical, too. A lot about life will be smoother with money, with sagging rafters and leaking roofs easily fixed, so to say. That's God's design for money.

When is Money Bad?

Obviously, money and material things become bad when we see them in a carnal light. Primarily, if you let money control and deceive you, making you its slave, so that God's Word no longer have first, middle and last place in your life, then money becomes useless when we die--God will make sure of that.

...but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. [Mark 4.19]

Second, if you love money and wander away from true faith.

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. [1 Timothy 6.9-10]

Be sure of this: poverty is not God's will and it does not get you closer to God. Neither are riches and wealth. Doing God's will does. And belittling God's blessings, whether spiritual or material (saying they don't matter), won't do you any good, whether here or in heaven. 

How Easily Does Your Social Mindset See Potential?

Perceptive or myopic? This is how you find out.

One look and you instantly see if something has potential or not. You easily see value or profitability. You see through things, especially the prospects of something new being introduced in the market even if it hasn't been proven worth something yet. That's being perceptive. Are you perceptive or do you always need proofs first?

Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash.

On the other hand, myopic is when you're unable to see things until they're up-close, sometimes too close to do anything about them anymore--like dodge from harm or grab an opportunity when it first appears. You don't see good or bad a mile away so you need to get so close first, but then you find things out too late. Are you myopic? Then you're prone to being victimized.

Myopic Folks Never Take Risks

Myopic folks very seldom take risks and they think it's an advantage. And indeed many times it is. Caution often puts you in the right place. Myopics never put a foot in unless they're absolutely sure what's in store. To see is to believe. Sigurista. Their "faith" is based on what is seen. They fear stepping out in faith. 

But truth is, there's nothing sure in this world. If you can't take risks, you'd always be a step or two behind everything and everyone. You let daring people jump in first to test the waters and wait and see. It's a safe zone, but a bit too safe at times that you're always the last guy to know. And by then it's already too late.

Anyway, the last I looked in the bible, faith is seeing and being sure of the unseen. If you need to see proof first and call it faith, you're missing the whole point. Watch this:

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for (or "see" in our minds) and assurance about what we do not see. [Hebrews 11] 

Spiritual Potentials 

There is a right time to make sure about things or being a sigurista. Like, making sure a belief or idea is in God's Word before being sold out entirely to it. But having second thoughts about something already clear in Scriptures? Like, performing on-the-spot signs and wonders or doing exactly as Jesus did? A lot of believers still have reservations and cannot imagine the supernatural taking place, especially if it's them doing it. See how shortsighted? They need to see proofs or some theological basis or proven formula accepted by the mainstream. Moreover, they cannot see it's value today, thinking it optional. 

Yes, they believe miracles happened in bible times, but they fail to see their real potential today. They cannot step out in faith because they're short-sighted or unimaginative. Worse, they think it's something they can do without in ministry. Even if they know it's Scriptural, they want to see human theology endorsing it first (to them, human theology takes precedence over God's Word). Consequently, they fail to see the real value of God's Word today. They cannot believe heaven can happen NOW.

Another thing, they cannot see the potential of house churches, even if all the apostles did were house-church ministries. Jesus did his ministry in remote places, beside lakes or hills. He and his apostles never had religious buildings or facilities but they turned the world upside down. Church buildings were never a problem, never constructed. They never prayed for building funds. One look at house churches in the Book of Acts and you see their potential at once--and the uselessness of church buildings and nice altars. But most believers can't see this and can't imagine ministry without them. Their myopia confines them to the mindset of the world.

Investment Potentials

Business savvy folks easily see a profitable business, whether it's a new idea or yet to be proven to work. They don't need proofs or surefire formulas. If they get an insight of how it can work they invest pronto, then get to the nitty-gritty later. I know a lot of folks hate this, but when network marketing first came in the early 1990s, pioneer networkers caught the idea at once. It was still in raw form, with lots of room for improvement, but they bought the idea and invested. They made lots of mistakes, but eventually made lots of money. They know what works when they see one. 

Richard Branson, British billionaire, entrepreneur and business magnate, said:

If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you're not sure you can do it, say yes. Then learn how to do it later.

Yup, costly mistakes and failures are okay as long as you learn things and mature.

I blog and sell my own e-books. If I had listened to people who tried to dissuade me, I'd never have done anything about blogging and digital products and surely regret it. Don't place your future in the hands of those who fail to see the potential of your dreams. They pretend to look everywhere for the break they need, when fact is it's always been there sitting right under their noses. A lot of my fellow web content writers stuck with writing for somebody else and getting a fixed pay for it. They said it was safer. 

Everyone's Dumb at the Outset

In everything, all of us know nothing at first. Even with plain walking and running, initially we knew nothing about them and it was too risky to try when we were still toddlers. But even kids know it's stupid to stick to the crib, not trying to stand up and walk just because it's too risky. So they try and try no matter how many times they fall and bump their head. It's how life works--taking risks.

To perceptive folks, all things can be learned, and with knowledge the risk lessens. Danger can be avoided. Losses can be controlled. As long as you see the potential in something, you should take risks and go for it. Just now, I remember Jesus taking the risk of becoming man and suffering thus. He saw the potential of the Father's plan even if God becoming man hadn't been tried before. It was a new (and strange) idea. But Jesus jumped in and took the risk. He saw the potential.

Bottomline

Hence, all of life is a risk. There's no such thing as a sure thing. No safe zone. Everything is a "gamble," for lack of a better term (although I don't like gambling). An investment book I'm reading says, gambling rests solely on guessing, bluffing and luck. But investment, he adds, though a bit like gambling, is based on information, analysis and science. 

Getting a Financial Mindset for 2022: Empowering Your Small Savings

Inflation rate is expected to hit 3.5 % in 2022, says UOB or United Oversees Bank, some 0.2 percent higher than what the Central Bank expected, according to The Business Times. Interest rates in the country, on the other hand, is seen to hit 2.5 % in 2022, according to Trading Economics.

Photo by Visual Stories || Micheile on Unsplash.

This means your money in the bank will gain 2.5 % interest but lose 3.5 % to inflation. You're left with -1 % profit (with emphasis on the negative sign). Your money's buying power declines. "Me utang ka pa!" That's what happens if you simply entrust your money to the banks. You lose a lot. That's not to mention some hidden charges.

So what my financial mentor (Mentor X 😄) tells me is to put my savings in a business (preferably online) or invest it. Trade it. One of my trading investments gives me 35 % VNT a month (VNT is a Filipino NF coin). That beats a 3.5 or 4 percent inflation so easily even if one VNT converts to just one peso. And this is true whether I trade for the long or short term. I keep small amounts of my money in banks only for short terms. 

Trading? Oh yeah! Even with my small savings, I can now trade in currencies. Thank GOD for this development. The middle class can now engage in trading, even the poor. But it's very risky, especially when I tend to be bullish sometimes, but I'm generally moderate. Sometimes conservative. Anyway, I trade using my extra cash, not my spending or budget money. It's cash I can afford to risk. But it's a calculated risk because I try to note market movements. 

Jesus shared a parable on investments where the king told his servants to "put your money to work." The idea is to make money work to gain profits. It wasn't about getting a job and earning salaries, or being employed to work for money. It was about investment where you make money do the work. The first servant got 100 percent increase in profits, having his 10 mina gain 10 more (a mina was about 3 months wages).

Losses are part of investments, but better if you avoid losses. That comes with skill after years of experience. For now, you should take losses in stride when they happen, not being emotional. Many people still do not understand this. Business is about taking risks--you win, you lose. And be ready and mature when you lose. Poor minds look for something or someone to blame. If you're like this and feel you cannot change, just keep your money in your bank and suffer inflation rates.

Learn to control your emotions. How? By learning how to develop a powerful personality. Click the image below for more!

Scams are a given. You try your best to educate yourself financially to avoid scams, but it's not a guarantee. I still fall to scams now and then, and it's okay. It's part of taking risks. The learning you get is invaluable. Getting smart with anything involves risks and mistakes big-time. Mistakes are still better than putting your money in the bank where you lose money without realizing it--and can't do anything about it.

So, are you ready to invest? Are you mature and daring enough to take risks and commit mistakes? And are you ready to wisen up and be smart with investments? Then start looking for good investments.

Rich Jesus, Poor Jesus

Though really rich, Jesus emptied himself and gave up all he had. He may have appeared poor in men's eyes but he never had money issues and knew in his heart that he possessed all things. 

Rich but poor. Clearly, that's the life Jesus chose to live on earth. It must be an important thing, otherwise HE wouldn't have done it. Everything Jesus did and showed in the Gospel has meaning and relevance to us. And Him being our sole Model, it should tell us something about how we should live life. Because He is the Life. Being followers, we must also be rich yet poor--and though poor, we're rich. Here it is.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. [2 Corinthians 8].

Photo by Keenan Beasley on Unsplash. 

God's will is our riches. He wants us to be rich. The passage context is on giving to the needy and how it actually leads to material prosperity (especially in 2 Corinthians 9.11) so we can give more. Get this Kingdom principle--God makes us rich, not so we can become millionaires with great wealth and possessions and keep them and showoff, but so we can lose them by giving more. Being rich ought to be balanced with this principle below, which is Jesus' challenge to all disciples.

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. [Luke 12] 

Thus, we are rich but poor. Though Jesus is rich, he opted to "look" poor to make us rich, so we in turn may imitate him and become rich yet poor. But we are rich 😏. So get rid of that poverty mentality if you're a true believer of Jesus, along with the idea that it's bad to be rich or make big money. But you must remain poor in spirit especially when you have become materially rich. Paul did warn Timothy about the desire to get rich:

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

But this doesn't mean God wants us to be squatters or among the indigent or beggars. Jesus never begged. The context is on contentment. "It's enough to have food and clothing. Godliness with contentment is great gain," Paul said. If you take the whole picture (the entire bible idea about riches, connecting other relevant passages) you'd see that God wants us to be rich, not to get greedy about it and lose contentment (neither get rich for selfish ends), but to give everything up for the work of ministry. First and foremost, giving to the needy. This is the reason for getting rich.

All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along. [Galatians 2.10]

Reality is, ministry involves big money. This is why in the Acts church, believers were selling their goods (products) and properties and laying the money at the apostles feet. Imagine selling properties! Our concept of "properties" today is 200 to 500 sqm. But back then, properties were in acres or hectares. Nobody talked about square meters. They sold big properties--entire vast lands--and donated the sales to the apostles who distributed them to "anyone who had need." Church money didn't go to any building project. They didn't keep it for themselves to build mansions and buy cars or rent posh condo units. The church was rich but not one individual became a millionaire because of it. See? Because they gave up everything.

Rich but poor. But they were rich. Yet they were poor. But actually, they were rich.

Another purpose for getting rich is evangelism. And it's not about costly programs or setting up concerts where we rent the venue, decorate the stage, use expensive instruments and sound systems, pay the preachers or guest speakers, pay for tarpaulin streamers or banners or hire vehicles. It's for blessing people, even financially. Below, Paul didn't say that being rich was bad but a tool for evangelism.

17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. [1 Timothy 6]

And Jesus himself said:

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves (meaning, to evangelize), so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.[Luke 16.9]

The church should stop soliciting or sending out letters for begging. Or asking for donations from non-Christians. It should be in business as the Acts church was, selling their "goods and properties." It should also stop using tithes for projects or missions or evangelism expenses or paying for offices they rent. Or even paying for the electric and water bill of their church building. Or buying properties for the denomination. All these should be sold and the money given to the poor. "Sell your possessions and give to the poor."

Tithes, according to the bible, is used mainly to support the priests (ministers) in the temple. Period. And giving to orphans, widows and foreigners (in our day, perhaps the homeless).

Even Malachi says tithes and offerings should be given back to God "so there may be meat in my house." You see the purpose? Meat or food in his house. Who ate the food? Was it God? Nope. His servants, the priests, did. Nothing was used to build or repair the temple. They had a separate fund for that, called temple tax.

If You Suddenly Lose Your Job

A Nonjoiner way of making and managing money. Remember, part of being a nonjoiner is being free from other people's control. That means financial freedom where you decide how you make money, how much and what for. 

Thank GOD there's no pandemic on the Net, no lockdowns and neither is there any economic crisis there. Last year (or in 2020 to 2021) while so many brick and mortar companies were closing down, a lot of businesses online were enjoying unprecedented success and making a killing. I believe God provided Cyberspace for this, among other things, to get us past the severest Covid period and the concomitant lockdowns. Or, if you suddenly lose your job and are shocked to be jobless just like that.

 Photo above by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash.

And I'm not talking about small traditional businesses selling their merchandise on Facebook, or the no selling no income stuff. I'm taking about the kind that can run on full automation online, and fully legit at that, too. Online businesses that sell by themselves 24/7 while their owners are on vacation or relaxing at home and a bit lazy to do business but want to make money nonetheless (or locked indoors during pandemics, emergencies or simply out of money for transportation fares). And believe it or not, you can be in this business, too, in case you lost your job or about to lose it--or your pension has weakened buying power. Now you can end all those financial woes and be in charge of your profitability--and your life.

All you need is a desktop, laptop or smart phone and wifi connection. And yes, a healthy FB account.

Traditional Businesses Online

A lot of traditional businesses ventured online and made it. Like those selling goods by posting items on their FB walls and urging friends to PM them for details (what I call FB Wall Sari-Sari Store or FB SSS). That's still pretty much traditional because you still sell to people by displaying products and talking to buyers yourself, replying to their queries, delivering the items and collecting the money. Everything is still done manually by you. But it's good because you sell not just to your immediate locale but to the whole country, even the whole world via e-Commerce and dropshipping. And you use COD door-to-door delivery services. This setup is great if you're suddenly jobless.

Another is selling while going live on FB (what I call FB Live Selling). This became a hit, with some of its proprietors making big money by the hundred thousands. But it's a lot of hard work. You do a lot of live sales talks and demos (as against merely posting on your wall with FB Sari-Sari Store), listing the orders, collecting payment and delivering the goods. 

The big disadvantage with both Sari-Sari and Live Selling is, no work no income. You have to do this daily. Auto-replies and many-chat features help a lot to ease selling, but eventually it's the same old story. You have to personally attend to a lot of queries at the end of the day and do some things manually. Customers can easily go to another seller once they become unsatisfied with your presentation and it's like losing a job again.

FB Account Deleted!

Worst scenario is if FB suddenly decides to suspend your  FB account or deletes it altogether, which has happened a lot of times to many FB sellers. Business was doing great but one morning when they woke up, their account was no longer there. They tried to appeal to FB, to no avail. All those patrons and "suki" from FB gone, just like that. Then they're back to square one, starting again from scratch. You see how painful that is?

Less-Work Online Businesses

There's also the less-work business or, Simplified Online Business. If you're a nonjoiner, you'll opt for this. They're on semi or almost auto-responder, like selling digital products (selling webinars, coaching, e-books, e-reports, the like). You let the selling system do its work, from targeting your audience, presenting the product, selling per se and following up, to delivery and collection. And all you do is check how much money has been added to your Paypal or bank account. See? Less work.

With coaching or webinars, some people prefer to have everything video recorded. Some prefer doing it themselves live. Whatever you choose, there's less (or near zero) work involved. How much money do you need to start this business? It depends. A digital business can start with P3,000 (though you can start with P500), which is relatively cheap because you produce your own digital products for free and create your own (free or paid) websites. Some started with P10k. 

No-Brainer Online Businesses

If digital products sound too complicated to you, there's another one. I call it Membership E-Marketing. Marketing products is through the membership, something like a cooperative, or a system like what SNR, Landers and the like are doing, but everything is online via a website platform. Sounds complicated but it's really easy. The marketing system does almost everything for you. You are also trained how to use FB marketing tools to get people's attention and make them pursue you for inquiries about the business, rather than you going after prospects and pestering them with hard-selling. Imagine hundreds of people messaging you, eager to know about your business!

I believe the key to any online business is the FB ad. If you create ads for your business on Facebook, you're business success is 90 percent done. But be careful not to violate FB advertising policies. Check them out.

They Promise Us Riches. But Here's the Real Story

Caspar Camille Rubin @casparrubin

Of course they'd claim they're not making any promises, but their voice tone strongly suggests they are. They offer us a business model which made them millions, and if we just follow their formula to the letter, we'd make big money too. So that's also their escape route--if we don't make money, it's because we failed to follow the formula--even if we had correctly.

So you pay for this ridiculously costly webinar, e-book or instructional video and follow everything that is said there. The ad about it was spectacular and it promised you financial freedom. Sometimes even millions of cash plus a mansion and posh car aside from a luxury world tour. No more working for a boss--or better, you can "fire your boss" and make money residually all your life. Who wouldn't buy something like that?

One material like this cost something like P15,000. It can go as high as P20K. Absurd. Why price something this high? You want to make money, not lose it. Much less, an exorbitant amount like that. And they say they want to help you. It's priced high like that because the formula isn't cheap. If you're serious about making big money with a business, price should not be an issue. You should be willing to pay the price--and a lot more baloney talks like that, just to get your money.

Here's the funnier thing. Some of them say they don't need your money because they're already rich. They're making millions. So why should you feel like the guy just wants to take your money? "You can keep your P15K, I don't need it," he says. If you don't want the product, don't buy. But it's going to cost you your future, or something like that. You miss the chance to make millions with their surefire formula. And many are already making big money with it, in fact!

So these guys showcase a list of success stories. "I actually made hundreds of thousands in just 5 days!" one would say. "I can't believe it! Three million in just a month!" says another. But how many didn't make any money? If there were a thousand buyers, how many were successful as against those who just lost their money? Probably 50? A hundred? What happened to the 900? Here's what they say--the 900 didn't actually do the formula. They didn't believe. You have to believe.

But who'd buy something like P15K or P20K and just junk it? Nobody. You'd do it the best you could. But still, nothing. Oh yeah, it happens. It's not that people who bought the product never tried or they're just too dumb to follow instructions correctly. And both the buyers and the sellers can't figure out why. The seller goes, "It can't be. It's a sure formula. It made me millions!" The buyer says, "Am I a jinx, that everybody's making millions and I'm not?"

Nope. Some 900 of you are jinxes and only about 100 are not. And the promise-makers highlight that 100 and make it look like they have, indeed, a surefire, unquestionable business success formula. And how many did the promise-maker make? More millions. There he is making more millions, but he's not satisfied with that. He'd think of another product to make you "a real success this time"--in fact, more successful than those who had already made millions. Sound familiar?

He had designed a business model "especially for you" so you'd really make money this time. Well, something went wrong along the way the first time--you probably lost your way around the formula--you're not to blame (it's not your fault)--but fret not because now he has something up his sleeves that will really help you make it big. The guy has put into this new formula "everything I know about online business" and being so, it's not cheap.

Some other gurus would sell it for P50K, but he's not even going to sell it to you half that price. That makes you excited, for sure. He's not going to sell it for P35K or even P30K. You know how much he's going to sell it? ONLY P24,500, and the price is made especially for you! So you buy it, hoping this time it'd really work. And the guy would assure you that yup this time it will work out right. But after buying and trying, you get the same story--except this time you're really broke with a big debt--because you borrowed that P24,500 and the previous P20K as well.

Again, the guy tells you the shortcoming is from you because his second formula was a surefire hit. You probably didn't  do it as you should or you got lost again somewhere in the formula--"but it's not your fault."

So, you're fed up. You wonder why you're such a jinx, a luckless guy born a loser, not realizing there's 900 of you feeling thus, or probably more. Because truth is, only 100 (or less) made money of it. Yeah it can make money, but not everyone will. This is what these promise-makers cannot realize. They think because something worked for 100 or even 400 people, it's a surefire formula. The same is true with network marketing. Always, only a small number of uplines way up the system actually make millions and the rest below are milking cows.

So, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) did something about making "surefire" promises about products. You can't make absurd claims like success business formulas anymore because to the FTC that's a scam or a fraud. And you also cannot use success testimonies to claim your business formula will work for everyone. And you may not sound as surefire, too, with your ads. You can only say what's truth--that your business model is, well, a business model people may try. We should have an FTC in the Philippines, too.

Truth About Making Money

Now, here's the truth about making money, online or otherwise. Nothing is surefire. There's no guarantee. So you shouldn't sound like what you're offering is sure to make people money, especially lots of money. Success for a hundred people--or even 1,000 of them--doesn't mean it's a success formula for everyone. You still have to tone down your ads and claims and not make a lot of fuss or hype about it.

Here's deeper truth. God alone decides what works for you and who gets how much. IT'S GOD ALONE. Promise-makers think it's their formula. It is not. Often, success makes you myopic and narrows down your insights into things You think you've become great and have figured out everything just because you made millions. The same thing with ministry--many pastors think they've figured everything out just because they have mega churches.

6 For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7 But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. [Psalm 75]

It's not in systems, strategies, programs, techniques, hard work, models or formulas. These things help a lot, to be sure, but they don't decide end results. So don't sell them too costly. Only God decides victory or defeat. This is why some make it big, others make just enough, and the rest don't. No one can claim authorship of success. It's stupid. Be thankful that God decided success for you, all by his grace and mercy. For sure God has a good plan even with defeat. Don't think it's about you or how you do things. Don't let arrogance get into your system and imprison you in a self-congratulatory disposition, thinking you succeeded because you're smart or hardworking.

Thus, I think business materials and formulas should sell at P300 or P500 a piece. Or P1,000 at most. Because they can never promise buyers anything. They can be of some help at best. Other than that, no more. I bought a wonderful book on making money on the internet by a real expert, titled "Get Rich Click" (by Marc Ostrofsky) and it cost only P300. That's what I'm saying.

100 Million Pesos is Garbage Compared to This

Pexels

I laughed so hard when they asked me why I "waste" time on things that didn't make me money. My personal blog, for instance, where I talk about my dreams and analyze them as I do, editing, re-arranging and adjusting things to fit in everything. Yup, you see things better and put them in their proper places if you always talk and write about them. This why I blog and manage different blogs. Try it.

Like Nonjoiner. Just because I haven't made anything from this, they think it's a waste of time. Well, anyway, this is a very new blog, probably just 2 to 3 months old. "Why not just focus on your blogs that make you money? Time is gold!" they said. Exactly, time is gold, that's why I find time to "waste" time. I love wasting time. And I really don't get it when they use that word--"wasting" when it comes to my use of time. Anything that doesn't make you money is a waste to them. See that value system?

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With materialism and greediness growing at a very alarming and scary rate (it's incredible how they weigh people and things these days--a life costs only P5k to riding-in-tandem hired killers), you need to be careful what dictates value to you. And it's astounding how the money value system is adopted even by nice folks you thought were godly or spiritual. What you do or have is nothing if it doesn't add anything to your bank account.

Or if you don't have a car. 😄

What dictates value to you---and you allow it to---shows your true person. Your inner man. Money is important--the bible says it's the answer for everything (everything in this material world)---but it's too much to allow it to decide our priorities and perspectives. Instead, we should see it this way--money is the answer for everything so we should use it for everything.

Get the drift?

The clue is "use." We should use it as a tool and make it serve us, not the other way around. Better, we should make it serve others around us, not allow it to establish their value as human beings. It's tragic to see people (or what they do) as a mere "waste" because they have no money. I often see moneyed people treat as garbage those who make little money. They think you're poor because you're stupid not to figure out ways to enrich yourself--or because you're lazy. As if being poor was mortal sin.

If so, how did Lazarus end up in Abraham's bosom and the rich man in hell? 

Well, yeah, there are many people who are poor because they're lazy. But that's beside the point. I see many hardworking employees end up broke or getting meager SSS pension after retirement. This is what most folks see. But what a nonjoiner sees is how happy these folks were doing a menial task for years. Yeah, they didn't get rich, but they've been happy. And that's what matters.

Another unfortunate reality is a boss that finds no value in you if you don't make him money. It's better to be fired from work for incompetence than be treated as garbage because you don't make money for the boss. See what I mean? Just fire me than keep me as a dirt rag.

You have trapped yourself into a corner once you think anything that does not make money is a waste of time. God created humans and the universe even if they don't make him any money. We should get a clue from that. There are more important things in life than making money. There's the ineffable joy of just watching things operate as you designed them to--like how a paper plane you made glides smoothly in the air and your kids take so much delight in it. 

Or watching how wonderful a woman your wife is or watching your kids grow up. These things do not amount to cash, but they're definitely NOT a waste of time. Seeing how my blog article fits together concisely and simply, with the right words conveying my thoughts and person, is a big accomplishment even if they don't make me a cent. Well, I hope they would someday. But so what if they wouldn't?

The sense of fulfillment. No amount of money can equal that. My dad wrote volumes and volumes of diaries year after year even if they didn't make him money. But he felt accomplished and content seeing them neatly bound and lined up in his glass-covered shelves for posterity to enjoy. My wife puts lots of artistic effort cooking her best recipes for our kids even if she doesn't get paid anything, but actually gets more than compensated with our "Wow! That tastes delicious!" remark.

Sometimes even churches don't get this. They measure success in terms of church assets, income and money in the bank. To them, these things speak volumes and they alone tell the real story behind a ministry. But how about what the pastor and his wife think and feel? How they see things? Nope, these things are total wastes of time if you base success on them, they say. The world has become so materially mean. No cash no glory.

The result?

Too many broken lives and marriages and families. Deadly illnesses triggered by stress. Cases of depression at an alarming, incredible record high. And a worldwide pharma industry exploding with huge profits due to increasing sales in maintenance medicines. All because they think appreciating life is a waste of time just because it doesn't make money. But life is a gift from God and we must take time to watch and appreciate it intentionally.