Poverty the root of all evil.
Can anyone in Australia become wealthy?
Can anyone change their life through choices?
Absolutely, Australia is the land of opportunity it’s a place where
Capitalism has allowed anyone and everyone to become wealthy if they are
willing to learn how.
Before 1993 I lived a totally wasted lifestyle.
I lived a life of heavy drug and alcohol abuse from the age of 14 to 29
years of age.
I came from a dysfunctional family. My parents always fought over finances
and basically every other thing in their lives.
By the time I was 14 I was drinking alcohol by 16 I was using marijuana. I
had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do in life.
By the time I reached my 20’s I was a drug dealer who used and sold all
sorts of drugs. I had a string of criminal convictions.
As I ventured into the drug and alcohol lifestyle I had no idea who I was,
I looked for identity in the party scene.
I used Heroin, Amphetamines pills Marijuana and Alcohol.
I tried to stop this lifestyle, but found I was unable.
I eventually left my hometown of Melbourne to start afresh in Cairns
Queensland to escape what I had become, but the problem was, moving to
cairns did not change a thing.
Within a day in Cairns I met the exact same people only the names and faces
had changed. I was still using drugs and getting drunk, pretty soon I
trafficked drugs interstate from Cairns to Melbourne then brought drugs
back to cairns.
Eventually I ended up back in Melbourne with nowhere to live and no hope
for any future.
I hit for me, what I believed was the bottom of the barrel.
I ended up in a Church and discovered that God was 100% real and everything
changed.
But this book is not about my Christian Conversion as important as it is.
I want to get right to the topic, which is wealth.
I hope to encourage you through my wife and mine own journey towards
wealth.
My question is,
Do you see wealth as evil?
If you do, then hold on because I am about to hopefully undo everything
you have believed about wealth being evil.
I suggest to you the reader, that poverty is the root of all evil.
Why do we hear the term filthy rich?
Money is not the blame of anything, it’s actually neutral, it doesn’t
think.
Money in the hands of someone who has a good character, someone who has
wisdom to handle it correctly, someone who has enough that they can give to
charity and help others become successful too is true wealth. Money in the hands of a
character such as that is good.
That’s how wealth should be looked at.
But money in the hands of someone that oppresses others or through criminal
activity, then that is filthy rich.
We have all heard the well-known biblical scripture.
‘For the love of money is the root of all evil’
But this needs to be understood in its context.
You do realise, you do not have to be wealthy to love money, matter of fact
I see more people who are in poverty with a deep love of money.
Picture this, if someone confesses to love alcohol, they don’t put it on a
wall to observe the liquid fluid. They drink it in copious amounts.
Someone with a love for money can be wealthy, but you will find that to
hold onto their wealth they will have done a lot of unethical things to
accumulate this wealth.
This type of wealth is never permanent.
People who buy tattslotto tickets can have a love of money.
Majority of people who win tattslotto lose it because of their love of the
stuff that money can buy, just like the alcohol that is drank to excess
because of their love of alcohol.
The lover of money spends it with abandonment, not a care in the world
until ultimately they end up in massive debt, once all the money is spent.
If all the money in the world was divided equally to every family, within 6
months it would end up back in the hands of the people that originally had
it.
Why?
If you win tattslotto and you don’t know the first thing about managing and
handling money and saving you will end up back where you were in the first
place.
It’s a similar scenario as when I escaped to cairns from Melbourne to
change my life.
I only knew the drug and alcohol lifestyle, so hence it stands to reason, I
had no hope. I had no other role models to do anything differently.
If you move someone from a commission housing place where the tenant has filled it with rubbish and trash. It’s a certainty if there has been no change in the tenant’s way of living
the next house will be the same within a week of living in the new place.
This is the same with money if you are given a substantial amount of money
with no understanding it’s a certainty that they money and the person will
soon part ways.
People with no wisdom with money can waste money on material things that
end up one day at the local rubbish tip, instead of investing the money
into something like real estate.
A wealthy person more often than not is not a lover of money. A wealthy
person is often inconspicuous, they don’t flaunt their wealth, they may be
your neighbour and you didn’t know that they were quite wealthy.
Many of them drive second hand cars, they have an average house.
They have wealth, they may even have a property portfolio or shares.
Wealth that has been built over a long time through wise choices.
Yet they remain inconspicuous.
The truth is money can work for you or against you. It can make you
prosperous so you can help others or it can turn your life into a train
wreck if you don’t know how to use it.
What I hope to do through this short book is to help you see that wealth is good,
and poverty is the root of all evil.
Let’s take a look at fire for a moment. It can keep you warm and alive or
it can burn you to death. Fire doesn’t think for itself neither does money.
Water can save your life or it can drown you. Water doesn’t think for
itself, neither does money, you get my point.
Money is very important it’s right up there with oxygen.
Here is our story from rags to wealth
When I got out of the drug and alcohol scene back in 1993, often I have
people ask me, how come I did not go to a rehab? I have given this much
thought.
Because I did, do a rehab, but not how people expect.
I went to this church I found, every day, I drove the ministers of this
church nuts.
Asking them to pray for me I spent my time around Church people.
I became totally free from all of my addictions.
But I had no financial skills to change my lifestyle. Although I was drug
and alcohol free.
I had the financial mindset of money comes, spend it.
Although I gave a ten percent tithe to my church, other than that, nobody
taught me how to be a good steward. How to save money or invest. Truth be
told not many in our Church knew good money principals.
If the truth be told many Australian’s have been duped.
They have the love of money and no real understanding of how to handle
money.
In any given city in Australia many people are maxed out with credit card
debt. Living from pay cheque to pay cheque.
If you can afford a house mortgage you find that the banks idea of a house
loan is to pay it off for the rest of your lives.
The French word Mortgage means ‘unto death’.
The banks don’t like you getting out of debt because then they don’t own a
percentage of you anymore.
They want the borrower to be a slave to the lender.
The issue is not that Australia isn’t a wealthy country, because it is. The
problem is that schools don’t teach our children good money skills.
I make this statement with no apologies.
In Australia anybody can be wealthy if they so choose.
My wife and I are living proof.
It’s really not about earning a lot of money. It’s about learning to save
and growing in wisdom.
Did you know, someone who receives an unemployment benefit in Australia is
in the bracket of the richest 15% of people in the world?
When I became a Christian so much of my life had changed.
But my money skills were still lacking.
As soon as I received a wage it was spent on rubbish.
After a few years I found a well-paying job and yet still all this did was
teach me how to spend more money.
Back in those days about around the year of 2002 I decided to buy a house
with no deposit, it was a deal done through the first home owners grant.
The house was brand new in the western suburbs of Melbourne its value was
$149000. When I moved in, I still had no idea about money. I bought two air
conditioners straight away on credit for $5000. Then I used my credit card
to furnish the house.
I was suddenly in a lot of debt, because of unwise decisions.
Eventually, working in this good paying job for 6 years I realised I had
nothing to show for except more debt. My car was getting old and I realised
pretty soon I would have to take on more debt.
I refinanced twice in order to try to get out of debt and ended up with two
more credit cards.
It wasn’t long before I did something really stupid.
I left my job and sold my house and started a business called, ‘Peter’s
lawn and garden care’.
I had no concept about business or garden care or landscaping, I bought a
ride on lawn mower a slasher a lawn mower a whipper snipper edge trimmer
and trailer plus many tools.
The slasher was on credit.
I also put an advertisement in both local newspapers weekly which was paid
by my credit cards.
The business went tail up. I was maxed out on credit cards. Creditors were
ringing me and I was in trouble. I could barely pay my rent.
I was humbled; could it get any worse?
It did.
I now had no insurance for my car and I hit a car and pushed it into
another car.
I could not believe what was happening to me. I was now in so much debt
that I did not even have enough money for a mobile phone.
I remember during this time I found some casual work for a company called,
‘Chep’ stacking and cleaning plastic cartons.
I worked with this guy who had a one track mind and it was how to become
wealthy.
Whilst we were working he was totally focused on his goal this was to own a
coffee takeaway business in the industrial estate where we worked. Nothing
was going to stop him. A couple of years later I went into his coffee shop
to buy a coffee and as sure as his goal there he was.
This man was motivated nothing was going to stop him.
In order to find wealth we have to be focused this is the only way.
Everyone wants to be wealthy but unless you want your character shaped to
sustain wealth it will not happen.
Why do so many Christians take on the belief that wealth is evil?
The answer to that is because our left wing politicians have been
brainwashing our Australian society through media and our school systems.
With its false utopia of a Socialist society where we become a welfare
state and put our trust and hope in the government to look after us.
Yet the bible does not support that anywhere.
Take a look at the book of Isaiah 31:1
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, and rely on horses, who trust
in chariots because they are many, and in horsemen because they are very
strong.
But do not look to the Holy one of Israel, Nor seek the Lord. (NKJV)
Clearly here is a warning not to trust in the governments of this world for your welfare.
Granted this is Old Testament but the principle is still the same. Some of
God’s people in Isaiah’s day were trusting in government because of the
great wealth instead of God’s supply.
In the New Testament nowhere will you find Jesus or his disciples trusting
in the Roman government, they knew Rome wanted to destroy Christianity and
seize power through everyone being peasants. Nothing has changed today with
our socialist left wing politics.
Many of us need to do a serious prayerful biblical study of wealth.
Take a look at Abraham’s life, here was a man who found favour in God’s
eyes.
Genesis 13:2 (NKJV)
Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Isaac was the same very wealthy
Genesis 26:13-15 (NKJV)
13 The man(Isaac) began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very
prosperous; 14 for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds
and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. 15 Now the
Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had
dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth.
The only ones that were not happy with Isaac becoming wealthy were the
Philistines, the enemies of God.
Even though enemies may abound, God’s blessing shines on His people right
in the midst of persecutions.
Proverbs 10:22
The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
How misconstrued and taken out of context this next passage of scripture is
about Jesus counselling of the rich young ruler.
Mark 10:17-30
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler
17 Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him,
and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life?”
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One,
that is, God. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do
not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’
‘Honour your father and your mother.’ ”
20 And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept
from my youth.”
21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you
lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you
will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”
(Stop right there! You will have treasure in heaven, and come take up the
cross and follow me? What could that mean? Does it mean heaven when we die?
When you take up the cross, you crucify your own flesh and put to death its
earthly passions, then you walk in resurrection power, heavenly power.
We were co crucified with Christ Galatians 2:20.
Co buried with Christ Colossians 2:20
We were resurrected with Christ Romans 6:4
buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. Colossians 2:12.
What Jesus was telling this rich young ruler was, stop trusting in your
riches give it all up crucify the flesh and receive your heavenly reward.
This rich young ruler failed to understand that if he put his faith in
Christ instead of the law he would have had an abundance of heavenly
riches. If he only sought first the kingdom of God and everything else all
these things would have been added. The truth is God wants his people
wealthy, let’s keep on looking at this passage of scripture because if we
follow on, we realise that the disciples ask Jesus a question about wealth,
they did exactly what the rich young ruler refused to do and Jesus
responds clearly. Let’s continue reading the passage.)
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great
possessions.
With God All Things Are Possible
23 Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for
those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples
were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them,
“Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the
kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
(When you have a love of something else and you have placed it on a
pedestal above Christ of course it’s impossible to take up your cross and
deny yourself, this was Jesus whole point)
26 And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can
be saved?” (Why are they asking about who then can be saved? The whole point was about money? Or was it? Let’s read on.)
27 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not
with God; for with God all things are possible.”
( Mark 10:27 with God all things are possible, with men trying to trust in
their old life it’s impossible, you must be born again, born from heaven,
letting go of your trust in wealth, being able to do whatever God says with
heavenly finances)
28 Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed
You.”
(Notice Peter is saying that he did what the rich young ruler failed to do.
But look how Jesus responds.)
29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one
who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or
children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a
hundredfold now in this time (now In this time, did we hear that? Jesus
said now in this time!)—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and
children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
(In the age to come eternal life, not heaven the born-again believer is
already co resurrected with Christ living from heaven in Him and He, Jesus
is in us living His life out through us. Through him we receive heavenly
finances prosperity now)
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) says
18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you
power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to
your fathers, as it is this day.
We need only look at the book of Job, to see that God’s intended plan for
him was great wealth, before and after Job’s great trial.
Look at King Solomon he was given a choice great wealth or wisdom, King
Solomon asked for wisdom. God also gave him great wealth.
If your heart is not prepared for the Inheritance that God wants to give
you, then you need to wait until the appointed time, otherwise it will turn
you into a train wreck as we see with the prodigal son in Luke 18. This
prodigal demanded his inheritance from his father early without an
understanding of the responsibility that comes with wealth.
The prodigal spent all the money on wild living. But when the lesson was learnt the
Father, when he saw the prodigal son afar off he ran to him, kissed him put a coat on him
and welcomed him home.
Proverbs 13:22 (NKJV)
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
(To his children’s children? That’s wealth right there)
But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
( the wealth of the sinner? Some possibilities, the one who has a love of
money and all it can buy, so the money ends up in the hands of a wise steward)
We need to look at money with some clear perspective.
Let’s look at Bill Gates, here is a man who donates money to various
charities, this man donates more of His wealth than some countries do.
His plan is to completely eradicate polio from our planet.
His other plan is to see a computer in every house on the globe with
internet access.
This man’s wealth has created employment globally in ways we cannot even
begin to imagine. Bill gates wealth has created opportunities for all sorts of industries, his wealth has helped others start businesses all over the globe, all sorts of businesses are created out of one man’s wealth, through Bill gates wealth some many other people right across the globe are able to rise up out of poverty.
Bottom line money and being wealthy is healthy.
Yet the left wing political socialist’s call him filthy rich.
Imagine if Christians could have that kind of wealth?
If we would only change our old unbiblical mindsets that the media and
socialists have bombarded us with and believe that God wants to give us great wealth.
Most Hospitals and schools in the years gone by were built by Christians.
Now the government has tried to take on this role and failed miserably.
I always remember the story of the shoe shine man in United States who was
a shoeshine man at a big airport.
Every businessman went to this shoeshine man to have their shoes shined,
apart from doing a great job they loved the conversation, one day a
businessman asked him why do you do this, you could do something else and make a lot of money.
The shoeshine man then told him that he has a whole line of shoeshine
stores he had a franchise that he formed in The United States. This shoe
shine man was a very wealthy man, the reason being is because this was a
passion that he loved nothing could stop him he was doing what he loved,
because of that he became very wealthy.
The truth is God wants you to prosper not only that He wants you to enjoy
your wealth.
It’s my belief and desire to live from a passive
income instead of trusting in a weekly pay cheque or the government. I also believe this is God’s will for us. Jeremiah 10:29
I know the plans for you says the Lord plans to prosper you to give you a hope and a future.
One of the strange things I have observed is where some well-known Rock
musician comes to Australia and sings about how he or she loves drugs
alcohol and sex, and spews all of this vomit out to our children, takes a heap
of money at the ticket box makes a fortune and everyone loves and accepts
them.
Then you get big Christian organisations that give incredible amounts of
money to charity, and the media comes out swinging attacking the Christian
organisation because of the wealth of the church. Things are back to front
here.
My wife and I have an investment property and we are debt free, no mortgage
and money in the bank.
But it wasn’t always like this.
We were wise in how we saved our money instead of having a love of money
and wasting it, we saved it.
We are ministers/pastors but we did not become pastors until our early
50’s, but one thing shocks me with some people, they have this mindset that
pastors are not allowed to be wealthy?
Where did this teaching come from?
It’s unbiblical and keeps people hoodwinked and blind to the truth of the
gospel.
It’s my personal conviction based on the bible and my relationship with
Jesus that He wants us wealthy so as to transform society around us.
Hopefully what I have spoken here will whet your appetite to study for
yourself to see what scripture really says about wealth.
But first you must come without any already established belief systems,
otherwise you will read through your own bias of what someone has already
taught you and you will be reading through your already established
strongholds of your mind.
Be blessed as you look for God given ways to build your finances and bless others out of the overflow.
Peter Sweeney.
Peter Sweeney's Thoughts from the Spirit 