How Much Should We Love?

One of the best ways we can love our close ones may be in the way we steward our resources.

We all know that loving others is crucial. Yet there are times when we struggle to even love ourselves.

The solution, as always, is to look to the Son of God.

Think back upon all you’ve discovered about Jesus through the gospels. He was the Miracle Man who served as a beacon of radical love and patience. It was Jesus who taught us to walk the second mile and to turn the other cheek.

Our world would be a different – infinitely worse – planet than it is today if God had not chosen to pierce the membrane separating Heaven and Earth to insert Himself into human history as Mary’s boychild in that Bethlehem manger.

Jesus Christ came in love. Throughout His three-year ministry He challenged the assumptions upon which human culture and civilisation were built. Through His beatitudes alone He taught us a better way to live and love.

And as the time for Jesus’ return to Heaven drew nigh, He went to the cross of Calvary as the ultimate expression of the Father’s love for our spiritually bankrupt world.

He accepted humiliation, torture, and death. Thankfully, Jesus Christ did not stay dead. He rose to life on the third day after His execution, and He lives on to provide those of us who follow Him the supernatural ability to continue walking that second mile and turning the other cheek.

You see, because Jesus first loved us, we are empowered to love others more than we ever could through mere resolve.

Jesus said we are the salt and light of this world. There isn’t a single country on the face of our sin-ravaged, soul-damaged Earth that can meet our ceaseless yearnings for an ideal home. No place on Earth is perfect, just as no person in the world – not since Jesus traversed the Judean countryside – is perfect.

So, regardless of where you live today and where you aspire to grow old in, as long as you wish to leave a legacy of love for your children, your church, your community, your country, and perhaps your continent, permit me to share with you some life advice filtered through the lens of Christian financial planning.

Think upon Jesus’ comforting words to a distraught Peter who had denied knowing his Messiah as Jesus was led away to be tried and executed. Peter later found himself face-to-face with his resurrected living Lord. The account is found in John 21:15-17.

There Jesus asked Peter the same question three times: “Peter, do you love me?”

Peter answered yes, every time. To which Jesus told him, in sequential order: “feed my lambs”, “take care of my sheep”, and “feed my sheep”.

A great way for us to tangibly exhibit our professed love for Jesus would be to also ‘feed and care for’ those who are important to Him.

So here are my suggestions:

1. Teach your children the difference between a cattle rancher and a dairy farmer.
2. Pay your tithes and also give with outrageous generosity while you are alive and able to do so.
3. Plan your estate well to continue giving after you’re gone.

1. Teach…

Each of us can only teach what we’ve learnt… through observation, experience, and instruction. We need to train ourselves to become more observant of all that happens around us and to seek out learning opportunities. According to financial guru Robert Kiyosaki we can learn a lot observing and comparing a cattle ranch and a dairy farm.

Kiyosaki uses them as metaphors to teach the fundamental difference between seeking one-time capital gains and cultivating long-term cash flow.

If you are able to teach your own children to not spend everything they are given or that they earn, to intentionally save and invest a portion of their money, and to focus on creating multiple streams of passive income, you will be teaching self-sufficient future capitalists the mechanics of money and genuine wealth creation.

In my proprietary Rajen Devadason Blueprint for Financial Freedom, which I teach in my free monthly online webinars (you may register for those at: https://learn.rajendevadason.com/), I elaborate on four types of passive income: interest from cash savings, dividends from EPF (for those in Malaysia) and income-focused stocks, cash distributions from unit trust funds, and rent from investment real estate.

2. Pay and give…

So, as you focus on teaching your children such useful lessons on money, also be sure to guide them away from the trap of amassing material wealth for selfish reasons. The apostle Paul was crystal clear in 1 Timothy 6:10a: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”

Teach your children the huge difference between misusing people because they love money (which is wrong) and using money because they love people (which is right).

The Bible teaches us that everything we have comes from God, so it would be wise for you to teach your kids about Malachi 3:10 and its potent promise:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

Note: We pay our tithes, but we give our offerings and pledges.

It is wise to teach our children to do both, and to then rest in the assurance God will provide for them. In the context of paying what is due to another, make sure you also teach by example and reiterate the importance of paying all taxes to the government. Jesus’ famous words in Matthew 20:21, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” are crystal clear. They provide no wiggle room for self-justifying tax evaders.

3. Plan…

If you plan your estate well, you should have an opportunity to leave resources that will help your family survive the ensuing years of your absence when you exit this life to join Jesus in Eternity.

Wise estate planning initiatives allow people to strike a balance between bequeathing certain assets for family members through a will, and other assets for, say, churches, Bible colleges and seminaries and bona fide charities to continue their good work through a trust. A great deal of good may be accomplished through careful thought and judicious planning.

In truth, with the COVID-19 pandemic raging around us, it is easy for us to sink into hopeless despair and to forget that we are loved by our Heavenly Father. But we are!

So, may I urge you to not to give in to such despair. Instead, proactively transform yourself into a beacon of love.

How? I’ve shown you three ways. Now ask yourself:

How much do I want to love my world?