The goal of this part of our study on the kingdom is to become better stewards of what our King has entrusted to us. As we have also addressed the last couple of weeks, sometimes spiritual fruit can be hard to measure, but not impossible. However, before we cover how we might judge our spiritual investments in more depth, let's go back to the management of our resources in the natural—especially the money we are entrusted with.

If we do not proactively rule over our money, it will rule over us, dominating our time and energy to get it. We cannot serve God and mammon, so it is imperative that we make it our servant, instead of being its servant. One way we can measure how successful we are in this is by having money control less and less of our time and energy so that we have more to devote to the Lord, our families, our ministries, and recreation. Recreation means re-creation, and this is important too. Recreation will be part of a healthy spiritual life.

We might ask the question now, "If we get where we're going, where will we be?" If we do not change our direction, we will end up where we are headed. Is where we are headed where we want to go? Goals are good because they help us to focus our vision and set a course for our lives. Goals need to be flexible, because our goals can change some with maturity, but at least they get us moving. We may need to change our direction, but you can only change the course of an object if it is moving. Even if it later gets changed again, it is necessary.

Once we have a goal, we need to plan how we are going to get there or it is not likely that we will. To many Christians, planning is anathema because there has been so much teaching on how the natural mind is in conflict with the Spirit, which is true. However, we do not want to plan with our natural minds, but with our renewed minds. If we do not have renewed minds, but only think as the world does, what we are about to address will not make much sense.

I know many Christians who think if something is not spontaneous it cannot be the Holy Spirit. I know some who think like this who are used to doing some very spectacular things at times, which is the result of their instant obedience to the Lord and is a good thing. However, these also seem to miss far more than they hit the mark. If we are going to live like Jesus, we need to understand that He rarely, if ever, did anything spontaneously. Think about it. He only did what He saw the Father doing, and He seemed to always know far ahead of time what that was. It is even more spiritual to know in advance what we are called to do. This is why prophecy was a big part of the Lord's relationship to His people from the very beginning.

One of the most awesome revelations of the character of God is His plan. If we are going to be like Him, we will have to learn to plan well. Our plans do not, and in fact, should not be too rigid because we see in part and know in part, so we can be pretty sure we do not have the whole picture yet. This is why, along with our plan that we need to develop with the Lord, we should still keep flexible and able to respond to the Holy Spirit if He wants to direct us another way or move upon us spontaneously which He is certainly free to do. However, to think that moving spontaneously is the only way He moves is very basic immaturity.

Now let's consider some financial goals, understanding that we are dealing with "unrighteous mammon," but also knowing that He will not trust us with the true riches until we get this right. This is because the wisdom to lead and manage is basically the same regardless of who we are leading or what we are managing, so it is less costly for the Lord to use "unrighteous mammon" to teach us these things than to do it with the much greater riches of the kingdom. Even so, managing the things or the riches of this world is only a means to a much greater stewardship we are seeking to be trusted with.

Our financial goals can be stated in income, net worth, or things we want to attain. We might have a goal for our retirement account to be at a certain point at a certain age. Again, the Lord was not favorable on the only thing He said about retirement, but this could be a point at which you want to retire from your secular job to devote yourself full-time to the work of the ministry you are called to—and every Christian is called to a ministry. The rebuke He had for the one who wanted to retire was because this foolish man only wanted to live a life of leisure. We have eternity for that and it is not what we are here for.

Not to fulfill our ministry would be the worst failure we could have as a steward, so this does need to be a basic priority in our lives. In the world, we think of retirement as being able to rest from our labors and just have a good time. The Lord does want us to rest and have a good time, but it is actually while we are doing what we are called to do. In fact, He wants us to have it in a greater way than the world could ever provide it, and He makes it very clear how to get it in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

 A yoke speaks of work, so to be doing the work of the Lord is the way that we will find true rest for our souls. There is no shuffle-board or golf tournament that you could ever win as fulfilling as being used by the Lord to help others, to lead someone to Him, heal someone, or give them a word that changes their life. I love flying jets, playing golf, or being at the beach with my family, but there is just not anything that can compare to being used by the Lord. If you are able to spend the last years of your life engaged in His work, you will probably not only live a lot longer, you will certainly be happier and more at peace than anything else you can do.

There is a reason why the Lord did not call Abraham until he was nearly one hundred, and even Moses was not ready to be used until he was eighty. Remember the principle: Anything that happens too fast, or too easily, is usually insignificant. You were not put on this earth to be insignificant. If you are a great businessman or woman, you are not here just to provide resources for others to use in their mission, but you are much more valuable than any amount of money you have been able to make.

All that you contribute to the kingdom is just seed that the Lord wants to multiply back to you for the work you have been called to. He is in need of those who can handle great resources for the kingdom, to truly help the people in this world, and that is what you are being prepared for. There is no business you could have ever built in this world as fulfilling as what you are called to do.

So, setting a goal of having a certain amount in your retirement account at a certain age can be a good goal. For this, we need but a simple mathematical formula—how much do you need to contribute each year and what average rate of return do you need to get on it? We will address this in more detail later, but I just want to encourage you that this can be a noble goal.

Other goals might be the kind of home we want to raise our family in. How much it costs is a factor we will need to put into our basic budget. If we are not there now so that we can afford this, how do we get there, and how fast? Those who set these goals and plan for them are much more likely to get there.

Another goal might be for the education of our children. This is also a noble goal. However, as with all of these, we want to plan them with our Master, the Lord. We do not want to just be busy, but we want to be about our Father's business. The spouse and children that He has entrusted us with are His, and to provide for them well is certainly basic to being a good steward. But in all things our highest goal must be to be obedient.    

All of this considered, I am proposing that our number one financial goal is our own freedom to do the will of the Lord. This would include having no financial stress in our lives. There is a very simple strategy that will help us do this, which is found in Philippians 4:5: "Let your moderation be known unto all men." Set modest goals. Once you have met them and your income continues to increase, don't raise them, but increase your standard of giving instead of your standard of living. You might also increase your investments so that you can get to the place where you are completely free to serve the Lord sooner, or have even more resources for serving Him when the appointed time comes, but do not keep raising your personal consumption goals.

Next week we will get a little more practical in our planning and budgeting, but for now, even if your life has gotten seriously out of whack, and you are under great financial stress because you have not obeyed this basic wisdom, be at peace. Repentance can change everything. If you are able to read this, you can still fulfill your purpose for being on this earth, and you can also see every mistake that you made used and turned into good. That is the power of the cross—the price that was paid for your redemption from sin, which is our mistakes. Do not try to put your trust in yourself to fix them—put your trust in Him. He can fix anything!