Are you rich?

The world's way to attaining wealth:

- Start saving and investing at an early age.
- Invest in equities and bonds, with the mix being determined by risk profile, time horizon and liquidity.
- Stay invested for the long term. It's time in, not timing of, the market.
- Take up life and medical insurance to guard against unexpected contingencies, especially if one has dependants.
- Diversify your asset holdings.
- Opt for tax-deferred schemes.
- Hire a financial adviser.
- Plan for your retirement the minute you start working.
- Buy a house you can afford to pay off comfortably.
- Stretch the home mortgage over the long term if you are confident of getting returns from your investments that are higher than the mortgage interest rate.
- Live within your means.
- Be disciplined and keep a monthly budget of your spending and expenses.
- Save at least 10% of your salary.
- Bring your lunch/dinner to work.
- Save all of your bonus and channel the money to investments.
- Treat yourself once in a while so you won't feel too deprived and succumb to a spending binge.
- If you're married, spend on one person's salary and put the second salary to work in investments.
- Prepare a will and plan for the distribution of your assets after you die.


The above examples are, in my opinion, some of the most prudent ways of ensuring that one retires comfortably and is financially secure. And indeed as Christians, we are called to be good stewards of the resources God has blessed us with, and we will have to give an account of ourselves on Judgment Day.

These days, it seems to me increasingly the spirit of "mammon" or materialism is slowly but surely invading even the area of stewardship of God's money.

Whenever I meet up with people nowadays, our conversations increasingly are being dominated by talk of personal financial planning, investments, stocks, home mortgages, retirement planning, asset allocation, wealth creation, increasing of income streams etc. Very little is mentioned of tithing, offerings, charity, alms and aid for the poor.

I have to admit also that the words "my money", "my income", "my cash", "my savings", "my assets", "my investments" and "my stocks" and so forth also flow quite easily out of my mouth during such conversations.

Given the fact that I came into this world naked, and shall depart from this world naked, I need to constantly remind myself that all that I have is from God, and that I am only taking care of His resources for Him during my brief stay on earth. And that it is all His and never mine in the first place.

Most certainly, prosperity and blessings are promised by God for every aspect of our lives if we abide in Him, but the Bible is very very clear on the type of treasures that we're to build on this earth.


God's way to attaining wealth:

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Matthew 6:19-21


"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."
- Matthew 6:24


"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
- Matthew 6:31-34


"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.
Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share,
Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."
- 1 Timothy 6:17-19