What Truly Matters, Part 3

For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and Money every Sunday. Here's why.

Today we have another excerpt from chapter 4 of Money, Purpose, Joy: The Proven Path to Uncommon Financial Success. This is the last post in this series. Enjoy.

Don’t Be a Bystander in the Passion Game 

Some people cry while watching love stories. I cried while watching Walk the Line, the story of Johnny Cash. A number of scenes stirred my heart, but especially the concert Cash performed at Fulsom Prison toward the end of the movie. Just before going on stage, he saw something that reminded him of his brother, who died in an accident when he was very young. That memory kindled something in Cash—perhaps a mix of grief, anger, and maybe even a haunting question about whether he could have done something to prevent his brother’s death. It all poured out on stage. His performance was that of a man living life to the full, unable to hold anything back. The energy he brought to that performance overwhelmed me.

As the credits rolled and the lights came up, I felt embarrassed that my eyes were glistening with tears. But mostly, I was glad to be that moved. Something in me longed to live with the passion I saw before me.

A few weeks later I read this comment about Johnny Cash from the musician Don McLean: “One of the things I loved about him was he was a little frightening when you first heard him.”  Isn’t that great? Isn’t that exactly what it’s like when we see someone bringing all that they have to whatever they’re doing?

Performers don’t have the exclusive rights to passion. If you work at something you believe in, something that makes a difference in the world, something that’s an expression of who you are and what you were put here to do, won’t you do it with passion? Isn’t life far too short to settle for anything less?

Letting Contribution Lead

What contribution do you long to make with your life? When it’s all said and done, what difference will you want to have made? Maybe the off-road adventure you long to pursue is that vocational dream that comes to mind every time life gets quiet enough for you to notice, the one you keep trying to hush because of your financial obligations. What if you began using your money in a way that could make your dream job come true? What if you had enough savings to quit your current job or reduce your hours or go back to school in order to pursue the work you really want to do? Your employer might even pay for your schooling. The vast majority of large employers offer some type of educational assistance, yet fewer than 10 percent of eligible employees take advantage of such programs.  Does your employer offer tuition reimbursement? If so, why aren’t you taking advantage of it?

So what if saving money to pursue the work you were meant to do means vacationing a bit closer to home or wearing last year’s clothes another year? If those sacrifices enabled you to pursue more meaningful work, wouldn’t they be worth it? The ads promise that the seaside resort and this year’s fashions will make your life so much more exciting, but the truth is, doing what it takes to pursue more meaningful work will be the route to a far more satisfying adventure.

It’s all too easy to use money in a way that moves you further away from your longing to make a difference—further and further away from home. It’s all too easy to take on financial obligations that rob you of the flexibility to accept a job for less pay, even if that’s the one that resonates with your heart. So as you contemplate each of your many financial choices, ask yourself how your choices are likely to impact your ability to pursue the work you were meant to do. (If you are married, be sure to do this in partnership with your spouse.)

For example:

• How would remodeling the kitchen—along with the monthly payments on the home equity loan you plan to use to pay for it—impact your ability to pursue the work you long to do? Might it just chain you to your cubicle for the next five years?

• Would taking a promotion that’s been offered to you be the wisest choice or could the extra hours required by the job kill any chance of going back to school or of doing the volunteer work you want to do?

• Do you really need two cars, or would the ability to build a sabbatical fund make the inconveniences of living with just one worth the effort?

To be sure, these are not easy choices. It is not inherently wrong to opt for the new kitchen, the promotion, or the dual-car household. But if those choices diminish your ability to live a life of meaning and joy, are they really worth it? It’s important to at least consider such questions.

Our Greatest True Desire

As we have seen, two elements of what truly matters in life are having meaningful relationships and making a meaningful contribution. Both are part of our design; they’re part of who we are. When we make financial choices that strengthen our relationships and help us make a difference with our lives, we’re on the path toward home.

But within each of us is a third longing. In fact, it is the most important one, for when we understand this true desire, we see once and for all that we were never meant to settle for life as Consumers; we were meant to be so much more.

What to Remember

1. Two of our most important true desires are the desire for meaningful relationships and the desire to make a meaningful contribution with our lives.

2. Successful, joyful money management involves making financial choices that support these desires.

3. Such choices look different for different people, but we can stay on track by asking ourselves questions such as: Will buying a home with more space enhance our family relationships or could it hurt them if we stretch our finances too far in buying the home?

What to Do

1. Who are the most important people in your life? Take the time right now to write them down on a piece of paper or in your guidebook, but try to include no more than five. To make it easier, group some together. For example, if you have kids, don’t list each one separately; just write down “my children.” Do the same with your parents and other important groups of people in your life.

2. What contributions do you long to make with your life? Are there causes you’d like to support either with your volunteer time or with your money? What did you once long to do that you have given up on because there are bills to pay? Would you like to switch from full-time work to part-time work so you can spend more time with your children? Capture some of your thoughts on paper. Don’t worry about “how” just yet. We’ll get to that later. For now, just focus on “what.”

3. Now take a look at the list of financial goals you wrote down earlier. How might the pursuit and accomplishment of each goal impact your most valued relationships and your ability to make the difference with your life that you want to make? See if you can identify at least one way that the pursuit and accomplishment of each goal could be helpful and at least one way that it might be a hindrance. Write your answers on a piece of paper or in the guidebook. Are there any changes you’d like to make to your goals list?

What the Word Says

Love others as much as you love yourself. –Matthew 22:39 (CEV)

We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. –Ephesians 2:10

Comments

[Shaun Connell]

It's so true. Sometimes spending money on the needless luxuries wastes so much money we could be spending on something worth-while. I've given up Starbucks and soft-drinks for about a year, and will continue to add the money I would have spent into a "fun" savings account. I plan on taking a cruise with the money in another year or two. :)