Welcome to the January 22nd edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
The Story of My Week
I was part of a training on money.
My goal for joining is pretty simple.
I realize that one of the responsibilities I have to God's kingdom is to be a provider of finance.
This means I need to understand better how to be better equipped to handle money.
How to make it better, keep better and allocate it better.
I got something different during the training.
I realized that there is a stronghold that had planted itself in my view of money.
It's this - I can do well with any level of money I get per time.
It's a good mindset in itself as it shows contentment.
I discovered it also came with a bit of baggage.
Because of it, I tend not to want to ask for more or try to get more because I think I can do with whatever I have.
It's OK if everything is just about me.
God's kingdom is also at stake.
So, I take down this stronghold with something bigger "But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth" Deu 8:18.
If God has given the power, i.e. a collection of 5 talents, I would not be completely faithful if I bring back 2 or 4. I need to bring back at least 5.
Now my vision for money will require that I ask myself more often - "where has God given me the power to produce wealth that I am not?"
The goal is simple.
Make God proud of the life I lived.
Even with Money.
Things I Learnt
1- Faith of Fathers in Children: A close friend of mine who works at a Christian faith-based organization has been having it rough since last year.
Due to his previous training as an accountant, he was able to introduce controls to prevent cash leakages.
The only problem is that the guys who were part of the leakages in the past did not like that.
So, they reported him to head office.
As typical of these types of organizations, a panel was set up to investigate.
No issues with that. The only problem is that my friend was placed on suspension without salary pending the outcome of the investigation.
I wonder how they expect him to sustain his family.
During the week, he told me the panel found him not culpable.
He has not yet been recalled.
It still has to go through the bureaucracy in the system.
As we spoke, I could see that his faith had not been shaken by the whole events of the past months. It's been difficult.
His kids are still in school thanks to the generosity of the school and there are a couple of other things that they have had to let go along the way.
I was concerned about the kids.
How is their faith holding up in all these?
Surprisingly, their faith has been quite resilient.
They have become even more grateful for the simple things. Eating a special meal is an opportunity for them to show appreciation to God.
I was impressed.
A faith like theirs tried so early and shining will do wonders for God.
Jesus, help me to build deep faith in my children.
Let the faith of the Fathers be found in their Children.
Faith to God.
Holding to what is right.
No matter the odds.
Whatever it takes.
2 - Teach Before Demanding: I faced a difficult decision at work this week. At a point, I had to call my wife to ask her thoughts on the decision.
After making a choice and communicating it to my team, I still felt something was missing.
I didn't think it was the right choice but I didn't think we should make the other choice.
It was a challenging situation.
The matter came up on Friday.
Saturday morning, as I got up to pray, I did a bit of contemplating.
That's when I saw where the issue was.
I was demanding something from my team which I had not trained them on how I want things to run.
Now, this is my next focus.
God gives the wisdom to know how to act and behave.
To show us how to lead and serve people better.
Postscript
May the Lord bless and keep you. May the Lord grant you peace. May His face shine upon you. May you stand in His grace. Even if the world lives as shadows, may you stand in the light of Jesus challenging the darkness. Amen
Tata,
Tola - The Everyday Disciple
I help Christians like you who want to live intentional lives incorporate their faith into everyday life so they can make Christ focused decisions in all areas of life and truly live to make an impact and make God happy.
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