| Growing up, I was a pretty
good baseball player. I was a four-tool player (five tool players
are the most sought after). I could throw, hit for average, run fast,
and field well. The only tool I didn't possess was hitting for power
(this was probably a result of weighing 130 pounds as a high school Junior).
As a boy, it was my dream to play in the big leagues. But,
it wasn't meant to be. By the time I was 16, I had thrown too many
pitches and ruined my right arm.
I used to wonder if I could
have played professionally. Now, in my 30's I realize I probably
wouldn't have played professionally even if I hadn't been injured.
I don't believe I would have had the discipline to train enough to become
a professional player. I certainly tried hard, but that was where
I maxed out.
In light of that, I've been
thinking about something for a while now, and I don't believe it's an original
thought. I've noticed how people often tell me how the "try"
to do better with their finances, yet can never seem to get it together.
Their "injury" can be a variety of things (medical bills; debt; lack of
education; etc. Then, there are others who understand that
it's not just about trying. It's about training. In youth athletics,
the important thing is to "do your best" or to "try hard."
That works when you're playing for fun, but when you are playing for keeps,
you must train.
The Apostle Paul wrote this
in 1 Corinthians 9:24 - 27:
24 Remember that in a race
everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in
such a way that you will win. 25 All athletes practice strict self-control.
They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal
prize. 26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I
am not like a boxer who misses his punches. 27 I discipline my body like
an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after
preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
I love how Paul uses athletics
to make his point. Athletics were familiar to Paul's audience. Corinth
was the site of the Isthmian Games, second only to the Olympics in distinction
in Ancient Greece. Paul himself may have been in Corinth during the
games of A.D. 51 and, according to New Testament scholar Gordon Fee,
may have even made tents for the visitors and contestants needing accommodations.
In this verse, Paul is speaking specifically about spiritual training,
however, I think this is easily applicable to our finances since how we
handle money is often a great indicator of what we value.
Paul couldn't imagine a competitor
striving for the crown simply by "trying." More often than
not, financial struggles are not a result of a failure to try.
Financial struggles are a result of a failure to train. However,
if you want to make it to the highest level, you have to train. Olympic
athletes train for many years to become the best.
Respecting the distinction
between training and merely trying is the key to transforming your finances.
People often look for the easy way to financial freedom. People often
think that doing the necessary things to get their finances in order (keeping
a budget, spending less than they make, being generous, and saving
money) is too hard. They think this is doing things the hard way.
In reality, the "hard way" is failing to train themselves in the area of
finances.
So how do you train yourself
in the area of finances? You read about money. You attend seminars
on how to handle money. You take a finance course at a local
college. The more you learn about money, the easier it is to manage.
Remember, if you don't control your money, it will control you. But
training goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge. Training includes
dedicating your finances to God and asking Him what He would have you do.
Training is not about finding
a quick fix for your finances. It's also not about a get-rich-quick
scheme that requires no effort or risk. I would call that simply
"trying" and since we don't want to simply "try" we need to do things that
require serious effort. What I'm talking about here is a long-term
modification to your behavior. You will develop a different
way to view money. You will set financial goals with more emphasis
on debt elimination and savings as opposed to buying more things.
Blaine Harris, in his book
The Four Laws of Debt Free Prosperity writes this: "The sad truth is those
who spurn money, and resist learning how to use it, often end up spending
more time worrying about it than those who took the time early on to master
the principles involved in acquiring, keeping and managing money.
The people who understand money spend it on assets that generate wealth.
Those who don't understand money, spend it on things that consume
wealth, and thus the rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
All too often, I meet people
who continue to get poorer and it's not for a lack of trying. It's
for a lack of training. |
