The “5F Program” to Grow Our Financial Well-being
BY DR. DON CALHOUN, ADVISOR TO CCPV & CFA, CALHOUN@STANFORDALUMNI.ORG
Holding cash and riches mean little if we aren’t using them to advance and flourish God’s purposes.
Does anyone remember the “4H Club?” The program was planned to help youth reach their full potential, and it was named after the 1st letter “H” that’s used 4 times in their motto “Head, Heart, Hands & Health.” From that, I thought of a “5F Program” for our Christian Walk to grow our long-term Happiness and bring us true Rewards:
Be FAITHFUL, both in knowing Jesus as your Savior… and in your Relationships and Commitments;
Manage FINANCES to “LIVE within your Means… but OWE No Consumer Debt,” so you can GIVE, SAVE and GROW funds needed to serve your 4 Missions from Scripture as God’s worthy Steward;
Be FREQUENT in serving your Family, Church, Community and growing your Legacy of Love;
Find Contentment and seek FRIENDSHIPS, not Possessions, to share wonderful experiences with;
Live FOREVER a Life of Faith, Prayers, Studies, Friends and Stewardship that make a difference.
Let the “5Fs” remind you of Scripture’s key lessons to “adjust your attitude” and “take the needed actions” to better manage what God has entrusted to you as His Steward. And, use the warnings of Scripture to avoid many distractions that often keep us from growing our Faith, Friendships & Savings.
God’s Scripture is rich in helping us grow our Financial Well-being (FWb) as His Steward and in using “wealth” to serve our Family (1 Tim. 5:8), our Church (2 Corin. 9:7), our Community (Matt. 25:35 & 40) and build our Legacy (Prov. 13:22 & Psalms 145:4), but we must keep wealth from being a “harmful desire.” We should use our financial Stewardship to follow and serve our Lord and Savior thru our loving obedience to His word and thru our loving response to His grace. If you want more counsel from Scripture on financial attitudes and actions, a Bible Concordance and our 5 Financial Well-being classes can help with that.
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Eccl. 5:10 – “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied.”
Luke 12:15 – “The deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things choke the word.”
Hebrews 13:5 – "… be content with what you have, for he has said, I will never forsake you."
1 Tim. 6:9 – “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and many foolish & harmful desires.”
1 Tim. 6:10 – “A love of money is the root of all kinds of evil… some have drifted from the faith.”
1 Timothy 6:18 – “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share… so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
Deut. 8:18 – “Remember the Lord your God… it is He who gives you an ability to produce wealth.”
Psalm 34:10 – "Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.”
Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”
Proverbs 3:9 – “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.”
Proverbs 13:16 – “A wise man thinks ahead; a fool doesn’t, and he even brags about it.”
Proverbs 13:20 – “He who walks with the wise grows wise.”
1 Corinthians 16:2 – “On the first day of every week, set aside money in line with your income.”
1 Peter 4:10 – “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.”
Romans 13:8 – “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.”
Proverbs 10:4 – “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
Proverbs 13:11 – “Wealth from hard work grows over time.” (So…Save, Invest and Re-invest!)
James 1:2-4 – “Count it all joy my brothers, when you meet trials of many kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness… that you may be perfect and complete.”
James 1:5 – “If any of you lack wisdom… ask God, who gives generously without finding fault.”
1 John 2:17 – “The world & its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
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