I had a hunch that God would teach me about money and wealth on the Race.
Like any kid, I grew up unaware that money was a big deal.
Like any teenager, I quickly learned that it was.
And as the young adult that I am, I am trying to form values and beliefs for various facets of life, one of which being money.
I love my mom and my dad, and they did an excellent job raising me and my siblings. I could speak volumes about their character and integrity, but since I have brought us to the topic of wealth, I will tell you that God for whatever reason decided that we should have enough, and very often, more than enough. I was brought up by thanking The Lord for the food which He provided before we ate dinner, I was brought up in a generous household, a hospitable household, and my parents often provided not only for me and my siblings but for others as well.
I went to a private school, among other kids of well-off families, and was aware that those kids who had richer parents often tried to hide that fact, and this made me think that if being wealthy was something to hide, that it was bad.
And so I grew up wanting to be like everyone else, but also wanting to stand out – that indecisive place teenagers find themselves in. Here I decided that I want to be real and authentic and if money creates a barrier with people, that I don’t want to be wealthy.
This was confirmed when I went to university and the other students would inquire about which high school I attended. When the public school kids learned I went to a private school, there were scoffs, and I swear sometimes a literal backing away, whatever it was, I felt that barrier, and I hated that.
So, I’ve never craved excess amounts of money, because it places this weird “better-than” thing heavy upon me, and I’ve known all along this was a false mantel, and I’m an honest person. So you can imagine the discomfort.
Therefore wealth and the pursuit of it was then deemed “bad” in my mind.
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Adventures In Missions encourages each Racer to participate in fundraising even if someone has the money to do the Race with their own finances. And I learned why: fundraising begins the Race before you get on your first plane. It makes you aware of your dependence on God’s provision, it takes you out of your comfort zone, it allows relationships to occur, personal support and friendship to be fostered, conversations to be had that otherwise may not have, and it for sure taught me about the generosity of people. I was incredibly overwhelmed by my supporters, people gave money to help fund my Race because they believed that this would be good for me, and good for the Kingdom. When people donated, it confirmed that I had heard God correctly. The donations varied in amounts but I can tell you that from the smallest donation to the largest, I knew it came out of a place of love and encouragement, and the generosity even where finances were tight, was one of the most practical experiences I’ve had regarding love. Other people’s money in my Race account also added weight, in a good way, when I left my country. Good thing the airline only weighs our packs, because I departed feeling the weight of others’ prayers and hopes for the world in my heart, I felt their generosity open up doors for me to be able to go out into the world, and I felt like I had a community at home cheering me on, because they were invested in me. It was an incredible realization, one that I still feel.
Rewind to an evening with friends prior to the Race. One particular friend was there, a friend who’s heart I trust to be good, pure, selfless, and honouring to The Lord. I respect him for this goodness in him and also for his insane focus in life. We were discussing future plans of education and work options when he said that he is in pursuit of wealth in his life. My immediate thoughts were “that’s so wrong, that’s so selfish, how could he say that, how could he want that!?” His comment really got my attention.
A few weeks later, my family is out with family friends, two people of which are very well-off. I was a little intimidated meeting them, because, well, wouldn’t they think they were “better-than” me, and I would be be-littled? That night, I learned that people are people, I forgot about their income, fell in love with their love for life, and I was able to talk with them like friends, and then they offered to help fund me on my Race even though I had not mentioned it.
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Here’s some of what I’ve encountered on the Race:
In Malaysia, I met a man who operates an orphanage. He, as the need would suggest, needs to pray and ask The Lord to provide for the financial needs of the orphanage. But he wears a gold necklace and a gold ring. He told us a story about wealth. His orphanage was being inspected by the government, which he welcomes at any time of day, and the inspector asks him about his lavish jewelry. His response was (paraphrased): “Before I opened this orphanage, I was an engineer, and I purchased these two pieces of jewelry then, and I have not sold them because I am not poor. Jesus is my provider, and He says that He will always provide for my needs (Matthew 6:25-31), so I will never be poor. God blessed me then tangibly with money, and God blesses me now even more so because my family and I have taken on many others’ children to raise. Why should I hide how The Lord provides?”
In Ireland, we encountered 24/7 generosity. It wasn’t just the money, the people were generous with their time, with their prayers, with their investment into our lives as people. In one of our many conversations, a concept was shared. It was new to me, and I want to offer it to you as something to think about. This particular man was asked by friends about his consistent and unrestrained generosity, specifically about putting money aside for his daughter’s education. He told them he had it taken care of. They wanted to clarify that he had money in the bank. He said, “So to speak. I invest into the Kingdom of God on a daily basis by helping people, and so when the time comes when my daughter goes to University, there will be provision for us, just like we were able to help provide for others.”
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When I was younger, I was not wiser, but I’ll give myself the credit of trying to be. So I won’t be embarrassed by my old way of thinking. Now that I have learned and gained these experiences, I understand that wealth isn’t bad. It’s about doing what God asks of you with what He gives you to do it with. It’s about the condition of your heart, and what or who you treasure in it.
So if I have little or if I have lots, I will seek to do what The Lord asks of me, and THAT is perhaps the secret to security.
