PARKS BROWN

In 2014 a large global asset management company did an on-line survey among their US investors. The survey included 458 affluent investors with a minimum of $200,000 in investable assets not including their homes. The results were quite intriguing. The survey found these investors spent an average of one hour and twenty minutes each day thinking or worrying about money. That’s more than 9 hours each week.

The investors surveyed spent more than 20 full days a year worrying about money. Ten percent of those surveyed spent 2-3 hours each day thinking or worrying about money. That’s 30-45 days a year totally focused on money…all day. Are you kidding me? Some of us may relate to this and others may say “I’m glad I don’t have 200k to worry about.” Some of you don’t worry or think about money because you have a comfortable amount. A lot of folks don’t concern themselves with money because their money makes them feel safe and insulated. Which camp do you fall into?

Do YOU think more or less about a thing when you have more of it or less of it? How does the quantity of a thing correlate to the amount of mental time or worry YOU give it, and does this affect your ability to deal with it better or worse? Too many questions? Confused yet?

Barry Schwartz wrote a book in 2004, The Paradox of Choice. Mr. Schwartz argued that everyday decisions have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. Excessive choice can lead to confusion, depression and down right apathy. Mr. Schwartz notes our culture believes that when our options are many, there is less excuse for falling short of perfection. And, lets face it, from our churches to academia to athletics the world is preaching and rewarding excellence. The more choices and decisions you have to make with your money the more responsibility you have for dealing with it…and the potential consequences correspondingly increase.

A recent study in the Wall Street Journal showed where ten to twelve years ago you only had to make one investment decision to achieve a 6.5% rate of return. The article showed where that same rate of return in 2016 could only be achieved through a basket of investments. In simple terms, today you have to make 8-10 investment choices to achieve the same rate of return. This requires more proficiency, more experience, more counsel. More choices, more risk, more of a paradox.

The key question is not how much or how little money, or how many choices you have to make…the question is does money control your heart? Or better yet, does how you think about money reveal what’s in your heart? Bob Dylan said “ya gotta serve somebody.” Jesus put it best in Matthew 6:24. “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” So….What/who are you serving? And, how does this effect not only your world, but THE world.

In the land of quantifying our government’s responsibilities with money, the US has $19T(trillion) in debt. In the world there is $8T of negative yielding sovereign debt(54% of total). Central banks own more than $25T of financial assets(a sum larger than the GDP of the U.S. and Japan combined, up $12T since the Lehman debacle in 2008 that preceded the financial collapse). Considering these numbers are growing each day, do you believe the people behind governments and these numbers think and worry about these monies more or less than they did 8 years ago? Do they think about these things more today than 6 months ago? Considering the world has never seen negative interest rates and governments have never been owners of so many financial assets, what do they rely on to make their decisions?

The writer in Proverbs 3:5-7 tells us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” There is probably NOWHERE we exercise more of our own wisdom and understanding than with money. We have a tendency to use our own wisdom, the wisdom of financial advisors, consultants, friends, radio talk show hosts and whoever else BEFORE we pray and submit our minds and pocketbooks to the Holy Spirit. Worldly wisdom is not heavenly wisdom. If the Spirit leads you to godly counsel that’s great. But don’t trust your own understanding of how to go about the process without praying about it first. One more question, does that same advice apply to those making decisions with government debts and monies?

There’s a short story in the book of Luke where a landowner has to deal with more than he has had in the past. The guy relied on his past experience and wisdom before seeking heavenly guidance. It didn’t end so well for him. Check it out sometime (Luke 12:16-21). God wants to be first. God wants us to trust Him and not ourselves. He wants to be acknowledged first and foremost. We have a proclivity to seek His counsel after OUR protocol doesn’t work. The story in Luke reminds us time is not always on our side. Is time on your side today? How can you even know the answer to that question?

Our decisions have consequences and our choices help make those decisions. Today, make a choice on what will master your heart. Maybe you already have and don’t know it. Maybe you need to make a new choice. Today, make a choice to listen to Him and not yourself. Wake up and determine the condition of your heart. Draw a line in the sand TODAY. There are only two choices. Make sure it’s the best one for you and those you care about.

What is your most valuable asset? Don’t answer right away…if you will take the time, think about it for a minute.

Value is generally ascribed to scarcity. If it’s in short supply it becomes more valuable. Considering the fact that 100% of us end up on the other side of the dirt, 6 feet under, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to deduct time is valuable. Logically, it becomes more valuable the less of it we have. We know our days are numbered but we naively think they measure longer than today. Naive or foolish, we should not make assumptions on the time we have.

A dominant theme in the Bible revolves around time. GOD created the world and He will destroy it…IN Him there is no shifting shadow, no passing of time…He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. When sin entered the world, things began to grow old and die. There is only one man on record who rose from the dead to live and never die again; Jesus Christ. You and I were born into this world and we will leave it. Therefore our most fleeting, irreplaceable, valuable asset while we are here is time.

What do you do with the most valuable asset you have? For starters, you cherish it. You don’t take it for granted and you use it accordingly. How do YOU use your time? How do YOU spend it? How do YOU make the most of it? Maybe we should even back up…do you know how valuable it is?

1st Peter 4: 7-8 says… “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Peter should know about time. One minute he’s declaring faith and loyalty, then a few hours later he denies even knowing Jesus. And that love stuff, if it covers denial and betrayal it can cover much more.

It’s a good reminder. The end of all things IS near. Again, not a rocket scientist needed here. Even a kid knows when their grandparents aren’t around any more. People move away with jobs. Relationships end. Divorce. The kids grow up and move away. The money dries up. The end of ALL things is near. No kidding.

So what do you do with that most valuable of assets. Christ taught “Be on guard! Be alert!” “WATCH!” So are you watching? Are you alert to whats going on around you or have you been lulled to sleep? Are you just cruising through time treating it like it’s a replenishable asset, or like it’s the most valuable one you have. Are you loving like there’s no tomorrow…there might not be.

Most assets we can quantify, but not time. Since we know it’s valuable and we don’t know how much we have it’s good to listen to those who hung out with the only guy to have an inexhaustible supply of it. Jesus didn’t know when time ran out, He said only the Father knew. But He imparted a little wisdom through His servant Paul in this second letter to Timothy 3: 1-5.

“But mark this. There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of Godliness but denying it’s power.”

When you and I make a list, we tend to put the most glaring, the most obvious things at the top of the list. The first words and the last are usually where we try to make our point. I don’t know if Paul worked in the same fashion, but it is interesting to note. Lovers of themselves, lovers of money. Sound like anybody in your world. Does this sound like our leaders? Are these people we follow or people we should avoid. Does this sound like us on any given day?

Oh yeah, I left out Paul’s last words in the 5th verse. He said, “Have nothing to do with them.” He didn’t say talk against them or trash them to your friends and in social media. His advice was to use your time wisely. His advice was don’t waste your time.

So the question on the floor is regarding your most valuable asset. How did you spend it today? What did you do with it today? How did you use it today? Did you spend it loving on people or hating on them? Did you sow seeds of love or seeds of animosity? Did you waste it with acts and words that spread dissension or ones that brought people together?

Be intentional with things of value. Time is valuable and you don’t know how much of it you have. Use it wisely.

It wasn’t until the beginning of the 6th season of Game of Thrones that I decided to capitulate and join the throng of followers of the popular HBO series. It only took one episode before I joined the rank of fans of the show. Yes, there are parts of the show where you need to turn the channel but let me highlight a key takeaway for your consideration.

In the show, there is a military order that guards the northern wall of the 7 Kingdoms from the dangers and threats beyond the perimeter. This order is known as the Night’s Watch. The dangers the Watch defend against are known by everyone and their history tells of death and destruction from the threats beyond the wall. Never-the-less, since the people have lived in peace and prosperity for many years they disregard the danger, they ignore the threat and even doubt the need for protection. Summertime represents this peace and prosperity. Winter represents the danger and threat they have not had to deal with for many years.

As the show progresses there is a familiar saying that becomes a rallying call to the danger and death from beyond the wall that some have encountered first hand. Everyone in the land understands the words, but few KNOW and have SEEN what lies behind the admonition, “Winter is coming.” May I propose to you that in the world of money, currencies and finances, winter IS coming.

We live in a world that is at war with and for money. Those are the words of the Pope of the Catholic Church. Currency wars are the subject of multiple bestselling books and describe the actions many nations take on a daily basis. A currency war describes the readjustment by sovereign nations to effect trade and the value of their currencies. The value of a currency determines how much you can buy from people in countries with different currencies. Think of the fluctuation in the value of your dollar when you travel abroad.

China is issuing a new currency instrument next month known as the SDR. The SDR has been around for more than 45 years but is just now becoming a common, accepted world currency and instrument for companies and countries to use and issue. This new currency represents a basket of other currencies and will be used to alleviate the debts of IMF member nations and relieve their balance sheets. Some may say this is just a natural evolution of money, but keep your eyes and ears open to the real changes and evolution.

When central banks. central planners, the IMF, the BIS, the Federal Reserve and other bodies that issue and control the flow of currencies experiment with policies to effect inflation, growth or the lack of it, KNOW that change is in the air. Digital currencies, new currencies and the talk of World Currencies replacing the current supply of dollars, euros and renminbi are the red flags to take notice. When 30% of global government debt carries a negative yield, and interest rates are at historic lows, pay attention to what those on the wall are warning.

We are witnessing the greatest experiment in monetary policy in the history of the world. It is impossible for anyone to predict the outcome. Centralizing currencies and bringing money into one storehouse and clearing organization is being touted as planning to defeat deflation and the lack of growth in world economies. Today it is deflation, tomorrow it will be inflation. One thing is constant, the actions we see are for control of money.

Jesus taught money was a master that vied for control of the heart. He taught that what you do with money reveals your heart. If we are witnessing an experiment to manipulate and control money, what does this tell us is at the heart of this issue? If controlling money can direct and control economies and people make up an economy, what does it tell us about those plans? What does it tell us about our future?

Regardless of whether you see it or not. Regardless of whether you believe it or not….Winter IS coming.

A husband for 32 years, a father for 24, a financial advisor for 30, a Christ follower for 45, a speaker and a writer but who am I ? I am a coach, student, teacher, servant and soldier of Jesus Christ. Don’t let that scare some of you away or turn you off.

I am convicted to be more intentional with my time and talents everyday. At 55, I have seen there is a beginning and an end to all things, and I am just now learning to embrace and love that fact.

I believe in encouraging and challenging all people, believers and non-believers…I KNOW time is fleeting and we should make the most of EVERY opportunity…I believe we should focus on what unites us and not what divides us…I believe we live in a world at war between good and evil, and Christ won that war over 2000 years ago…I believe we are spiritual beings temporarily living in a physical body…I believe since Christ won the war, it is incumbent upon us to stand firm in that victory…I believe Jesus is making all things new and His Holy Spirit is alive and well.

My passion is to speak up and identify the truth…and to expose that which is not, all in a spirit of love. My heart is for discipleship. We are all disciples of something, the question is what ?