Category: Biblical Principles
Overcoming Financial Anxiety
July 7, 2017Financial anxiety is a feeling that many people experience. Whether someone has a large amount of resources or a small amount, it is common to experience some level of anxiety in one’s lifetime regarding money. So, how does one avoid experiencing this anxiety?
To begin, we have to look at the heart. In Proverbs 4:23 Solomon writes, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (NKJV). Some versions begin the verse with “Guard” instead of “Keep”. If we are not constantly guarding our heart, we can quickly fall into the temptations and patterns of this world. We need to transform our hearts to align with the Bible and God’s desires for our lives.
When we begin to worry, we are focusing the eyes of our heart on something other than God. I once heard it said that worry is a form of worship whose object of worship is the future. When we look to the future and begin to worry, we are often imagining the future without including God in the picture. When this happens, our worry increases and we may become paralyzed with fear.
So, how do we overcome this anxiety? One important step is to learn to give thanks in every situation. Whether you are worried about how to make your next mortgage payment or worried about your investment accounts losing value, you can be thankful. If you’re concerned about making your mortgage payment, give thanks that you have the opportunity to own a home. If you’re concerned about your investment accounts losing value, give thanks for the abundance that you have and that you have money saved.
In Philippians 4, Paul writes that he has learned to be content in every circumstance. Notice that Paul writes that he learned to be content. This wasn’t something that came naturally to him. He had to learn contentment. I believe that each of us also needs to learn to be content and it’s not something that comes naturally.
In closing, my challenge to you is to invite God to search your heart and expose the sources of anxiety in your life. As He brings these areas to light, find something to give thanks for and pray for His peace to fill your heart.
by Curtis Burkholder
Five Reasons to Have Money in a Savings Account
May 31, 2017One financial recommendation clients sometimes think is boring and unnecessary is to have money in a savings account. We normally recommend that a working family have between three to six months of their living expenses in a savings account. For a retired family, we recommend having up to one year of living expenses in a savings account. For a business or a nonprofit organization, we recommend they have at least one month of operating expenses in a savings account. With that in mind, here are five reasons why it makes sense to have money in a savings account:
1. For unexpected expenses
Whether you experience the loss of a job, unexpected healthcare costs, or an unexpected automobile repair, there always will be things that are unexpected financially. If these costs are more then we can cover with our normal income, having money saved is a great way to cover these expenses.
2. To avoid borrowing
You may need a vehicle, want to go Christmas shopping, or just have some things that you want to fix up around your home. If you don’t have money saved for these, you will need to borrow for these expenses. By borrowing money for these expenses, you will have to pay for them over a number of months or years; and usually you will pay interest on the money borrowed. This may mean that a simple Christmas shopping trip could cost you a lot more then what you planned.
3. To meet someone’s need by giving
Paul tells us in II Corinthians 9:8 that we should “have an abundance for every good deed”. If your neighbor loses his job, the local fire company is having a fund drive, or your church asks you to consider helping a missionary that is in need, you can always be ready to give with money that is in a savings account.
4. Be able to take financial risks
Knowing that you have a surplus set aside in a savings account, allows you to take on the risk of losing money when initially opening a business, buying a real estate investment, or purchasing the stock of a company. Even if these investments lose value or fail, you can know that you have some stability by having money set aside in a savings account that is not at risk of being lost.
5. God says that it’s wise to save
Proverbs 6:6-8 “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
The goal for money in a savings account is for it to be safe and available. That means the money is not at risk of being lost where it’s invested and you can get to it quickly if needed. With that in mind, here are a few places to consider saving money.
1. Your local bank savings or money market account
2. An online bank savings or money market account
3. A money market mutual fund
If you have questions on how much you should set aside in a savings account or where to invest it, please give our office a call. One of our advisors would be happy to talk with you.
by Ryan Kurtz
Contrasting the World’s View and the Bible’s View of Money
November 30, 2016What does the world say about money? It seems to suggest that money itself can offer us success, security, and significance. It seems to offer a promise that if we only have a little bit more, we’ll be happier. Is this true though? When we look around – or within – do we see money equating to these things? Even those in the United States considered to be in poverty have 85% more wealth than the rest of the world. And yet we are surrounded by fear, insecurity, and discontentment – far cries from success, security, and significance.
Why is this? We believe it’s because the world doesn’t understand money, or at the least is offering false promises about it.
If you’re reading this, you most likely agree that the Bible has a lot to say about money, and provides some clear answers and solutions regarding money management. A link to a video summarizing some of these principles is included below, and serves as a framework for how we advise clients in their own money management. Take three minutes and watch the video produced by the Ron Blue Institute and shared to us with their permission.
Do you know of a friend or family member who may benefit from watching this video? Feel free to pass this link to the video on to them as well.
We’re all on this stewardship journey together, no matter which step we’re at in our process. And it’s our honor to walk this path with each of you.
Click here to view the video.
The Team at Bare Wealth Advisors
Kingdom Giving
November 1, 2016by Ron Bare
What Does Biblical Generosity Look Like for the Average Wealthy American?
The above title applies to most everyone reading this blog – I know this is true because anyone that earns $30,000 per year is in the top 1% of the world’s wealthiest people. Just the fact that we were born in the United States and had the opportunity to be educated and have been given access to a job automatically puts us in this category. Many of us even fall into the top .3% of the world’s wealthiest (if you earn more than $60,000 per year).
1 Timothy 6: 17-18 says “Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.”
In the Old Testament, the Jewish law commanded a 10% tithe on the first fruits of all income as well as other tithes and offerings on top of the 10 percent. When added together these came to over 20% per year (Deut. 14:22-29). Many Christians today teach and believe in the 10% tithe as the primary objective when considering how much to give to the local church and Christian charities. While this may be a good principle to apply, when asking God to define generosity in your life, 10% should not be the end goal of our giving.
New Testament giving is similar to other parts of Jewish law in that Jesus raised the bar. Consider how Jesus taught on murder: “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgement” (Matt. 5:22). Or consider His words on adultery: “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). Still other teachings on divorce, oaths and revenge all in Matthew 5 raise the bar on the standards God has given us.
Giving in the New Testament always centers on generosity: giving with joy and abundance. The Jewish law has been fulfilled by Jesus and many of the principles still apply, only taken to a new, higher standard. After all, “For God so loved the world that he GAVE, his one and only son,” this is the ultimate price and gift that God gave us in the death of His Son. Therefore, Biblical generosity does not focus on a percent or an amount, but has a focus on generosity, being ready to share, and a willingness to give richly to those in need and fulfill the calling on our lives – which primarily is to fulfill the great commission.
Practically, what does this mean for us? It starts by answering the question, “Who owns the money I have?” Psalms 24:1 says “The earth is the Lords and everything in it.” If God owns all we have, then we must follow with another question: “What does God want me to do with His money?” Giving generously is a theme in the Bible and defining generosity is answered only in a relationship with God. Only He can lead you to the answer. This answer will lead you to a life of better contentment and understanding of the Biblical truth that “It is better to give than receive” – Jesus (Acts 20:35).
Finally, Paul also tells us in Corinthians that we should “excel in our grace of giving”. To excel in any area of life we must work at it, practice, or push ourselves to new areas – whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. To excel in giving these same principles apply: we must work at it and take steps of faith to stretch ourselves. Finally, the best part of all of this is that giving generously comes with great promises! Continuing from the above 1 Timothy passage, verse 19 says: “By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”
Preparing for Misfortune
September 30, 2016by Ryan Kurtz
Right in middle of the Bible, there is a book called Ecclesiastes written by one of the wisest and wealthiest men that ever lived. His name is Solomon. In Ecclesiastes 11:2 Solomon gives us a very useful verse that is sometimes overlooked. It says;
Divide your portion to seven, or even to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.
It is interesting to me that Solomon says that we do not know what misfortune will happen. You mean we can’t predict it or see it coming? Sometimes, we can’t. How many people saw the dot com bubble burst coming in the late 90’s or the financial meltdown coming in 2008? Those and a number of other times of “misfortune” are current examples of why Solomon tells us to divide our portion.
The word that is often used in the financial industry for divide is diversifying.
Let’s take a look at some of the places that people currently diversify their wealth. None of these investments are bad places to invest, but as Solomon warns us, too much of your assets into any of these may be putting you at increased risk when “misfortune” occurs on the earth.
- Money in the Bank – It is good to have some cash available. If your car breaks down or an unexpected expense arises, it is good to have money safe and available.
The risk to having too much cash is that you are constantly losing purchasing power to inflation. We estimate that each year there is around a 3% increase in expenses due to inflation. If you make 0.25% in a bank account, you are losing 2.75% of your money to inflation. Having too much in cash sometimes can be a bad thing.
Most financial advisors recommend having 3 to 6 months of living or operating expenses in cash. It is also advisable to have cash set aside for any purchases you may need to make in the next 3 years.
- Real estate – Real estate has been a great long term investment. Not only can you collect income from owning real estate that someone else is using, you can increase the value of investment by the property growing in value over time.
The risk to owning real estate is the potential of the real estate market contracting or collapsing. This has happened before and could happen sometime again. Another risk to real estate is lack of liquidity. If you need money and it is tied up in real estate, it could take several months or even years before you can sell it depending on the current state of the market.
Owning real estate should be done with resources that you can keep invested for the long term. Avoid excessive amounts of debt when buying real estate and, if possible, don’t buy it all in the same location.
- Stocks – Owning stocks has been a great investment for future growth. The risk to owning too much of one company is the potential to lose a lot of your money quickly. A company could lose ½ of its value or more over short periods of time.
Buying stocks is often best done within mutual funds. This way you can invest into stocks while not owning too much of any one company.
- Mutual Funds – A great and relatively inexpensive way to invest is in a mutual fund. A mutual fund is where a number of investors pool their money together and pay someone to manage it for them. You can use mutual funds to invest in different assets like stocks or bonds with someone else doing the work of looking for good investments for you.
A risk to owning a mutual fund is the potential loss of value of the investments that it is invested in and therefore, a loss to the investor. Most mutual funds are not good short term investments for this reason.
- Business – One of the places people often invest their wealth is into a business that they run or manage. Most people like investing into their business because it is what they understand and they can see firsthand how their money is being used. Sometimes they are forced to invest into their business because investing into the business may be what keeps the business going.
When possible, it is advisable to take money out of the business to invest in other businesses or real estate. Since an income or salary often will come from a business they own or operate, it may make sense to make it a priority not to have all of your assets invested here.
So, what is the best investment to prepare for misfortune? The best investment you can make may be to put some time and resources into putting together your own financial plan. A financial plan will tell you which investment or combination of investments is best for you. All of the investments listed are good ones. A good financial plan will tell you how much you should invest into each so you are prepared when misfortune does occur on the earth.
If you need help putting together a financial plan for yourself, you are welcome to contact the Bare Wealth Advisor office to set up a meeting with one of our advisors. We would be happy to help you.
What a Team-Based Approach Looks Like
September 1, 2016by Jeremy Walter
As a company, we as advisors work together as one team. Some clients realize this, others may not – and even though there is a lead advisor responsible for each relationship we have, the whole team is working together behind the scenes as a team to provide that level of service.
This is relatively unique in our industry, and I wanted to call attention to it because I feel it delivers a lot of value to each advisor and ultimately to the client we’re serving.
Practically, this means each one of us has to lay our pride and any selfishness aside and not be a lone ranger. We don’t have separated books of business. We formally meet every Monday as a team to discuss each planning case and review each meeting we have coming up, as well as informally during the week as other topics come up. When clients call in, multiple team members are familiar with the case and can answer questions even if the lead advisor isn’t available.
Why do we do this? For a number of reasons. Chief of which, we believe that there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors (Prov. 15:22). Combined, the advisory team has 55 years of industry experience (20, 10, 10, 7, 8). That’s significant. Additionally, we each have different perspectives and specialties within the planning realm – all framed by what we believe the Bible has to say about general money principles. It also is a great way of learning from each other, and as we continue to bring new team members on they are able to see how we operate and learn new technical or biblical skills within the advice we give to clients.
This makes for a significantly better client experience – from both the prompt service of multiple team members and multiple perspectives mentioned above, as well as a confidence that we are placing their interests before the individual interest of a singular advisor and holding each other as an advisory team to that.
Speaking from a personal perspective – I regularly rely on Ron’s holistic planning perspective, Curtis’ technical planning skills, Ryan’s insurance experience, and Jim’s expertise in Medicare planning and annuities. Without each of these team members, I’m less effective as an advisor. With them, I’m equipped to better serve and advise each client relationship I’m personally leading.
So next time you’re chatting with one of our advisors, know that a lot of the conversation you’re being a part of was influenced by more than the person sitting in front of you. We feel this is better for the business and, again, ultimately a better client experience.
15 Year Anniversary
August 3, 2016by Ron Bare
May 12th of 2001 – 15 years this past May, I was led by God to take a step of faith and follow a calling of which I only knew the next step. That next step was to leave a large financial services organization and start a new company, then known as Bare Financial Services. Although I always knew I wanted to be part of an independent company, this transition would require leaving behind a strong start to a career and for the most part would be a new beginning. My wife was expecting our second child and as you would expect the importance of providing for my growing family caused me to consider the risk in such a step.
Now looking back these past years, I am amazed to see how God has worked to help me build a trusted team of advisors and staff to serve a growing and wonderful community through what is now known as Bare Wealth Advisors. Our mission “To help our clients intentionally align wealth with their God-given purpose” was not the initial vision behind the new company – however, over time this is clearly the calling that God wanted to show me in taking that first step back in 2001.
One thing I have seen and learned often over these past 15 years is that when Biblical truth is the basis for financial decision making, you are building upon a firm foundation. This foundation is essential when life brings us things we don’t always see coming. Whether this be a sudden economic downturn (2008), unexpected job loss, or even a financial windfall, one thing that has emerged is that a financial plan built upon Biblical truth is unshakeable. It can help us navigate through both good and difficult times. Sometimes we need to go through hard times so we are more prepared to handle abundant times more faithfully.
According to God’s word, wealth is a tool that God provides. In 1 Timothy, God tells us to be careful to not trust in wealth which is unreliable, but put our trust in God who is completely trustworthy. We should be generous and ready to share with those in need – while finding balance to provide for our families and enjoy the blessings God has given us. Wow, did you get this! – if we put our trust in God and focus on others who are in need, we are more free to enjoy what God has given us! Perhaps this is the secret Paul talks about in Philippians when he talks about learning to be content.
From my experience, many of us either spend too much time worrying about what could happen or feel guilty for having more than we need. What we should be doing is being focused on growing our trust in God and being ready to share with others. This takes the focus off ourselves and frees us to truly live the abundant life Jesus mentioned in John 10:10.
Working alongside each of our clients and learning and applying these principles is what makes it a true honor to serve this community over the past 15 years. It is my hope we will be able to continue to serve the community for many, many more years to come! Thank you so much for your trust in Bare Wealth Advisors and we will continue to work hard for you the next 15 as well. We care about you, as well as the money entrusted to you, and our team looks forward to speaking with you soon!
5 Ways to Build a Strong Financial Foundation
May 5, 2016by Ryan Kurtz
5 Ways to Build a Strong Financial Foundation
If we think back over any time in history, we can think of different economic storms that have come. From The Great Depression to the World War’s to the more recent memories of the economic difficulties of 2008, many of us now wonder, when will the next “storm” hit?
We hear people talking about Social Security not having enough to continue and the federal government approaching $20,000,000,000,000 of debt. We wonder, what can I do to protect myself? We can’t predict when or if future economic storms will come, but here are 5 things a business, government agency, or family can do to have a strong financial foundation no matter what the future holds.
- Have a plan for your spending – Make sure you know where your money is going each month/year with a spending plan. With this in place, you can see if you are spending less than you earn. Having margin at the end of the month is the foundation to any good financial plan.
- Keep emergency savings – Most financial advisors recommend having 3-6 months of living expenses for a family or operating expenses for a business set aside for unexpected expenses. This can help tame down the feelings of panic that come on us when a car for a family or piece of machinery for a business breaks down and we have additional unexpected expenses.
- Avoid and eliminate debt – During times of economic downturns having no debt at all is the best place to be financially. If you can, try to avoid borrowing when possible and if you have debt, make sure you have a plan to eliminate it.
- Set long term goals – If you do not have clearly defined long term goals it is very easy to get sidetracked when difficult times come your way. Author and motivational speaker Zig Ziggler has said, “If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time”.
- Be continuously generous – There are many ways to be generous. It could be with our time or with our resources. Being committed to being generous no matter what the economic environment is around us may not seem to help our financial bottom line, but often can give fuel to our soul during difficult times.
These are all practical things that can be done to help you sleep well at night knowing that your financial house is on a solid foundation. What I didn’t tell you is that each one of these is a financial principle straight out of the Bible, God’s Word. We believe that standing on the Word of God during good and bad financial times is the best way to build strong financial house that can weather the storms that come our way. We can rest knowing that we have done everything that we can practically and leave the rest in God’s hands. After all, everything we have is His.
Psalms 24:1 – The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
Here is the list again with the corresponding verses.
- Have a plan for your spending.
Proverbs 27:23 – Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds
- Keep some emergency savings.
Proverbs 21:20 – Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
- Avoid and eliminate debt.
Proverbs 22:7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
- Set long term goals.
Luke 14:28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?
- Be Continuously Generous.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Paying Taxes with Thanksgiving
March 2, 2016Paying Taxes with Thanksgiving
by Jeremy Walter
“A sign of good stewardship is paying taxes with thanksgiving.” – Ron Blue.
We may have just lost most of our readers one line into this article, but bear with us – while we do believe this is an extremely difficult concept to embrace, we also believe it’s a Biblical truth. We’ll examine specific Bible passages shortly, but first off, we’ll lay out a couple of straight-forward contextual points regarding taxes.
First, there are a lot of taxes that we pay as citizens of the United States: income, sales, estate, inheritance, gift, property, Social Security, and capital gains are all a solid start to the list. So when we mention taxes, we’re thinking about more than just the marginal income tax we all pay.
Secondly, there is a fundamental and systematic difference between tax evasion and tax reduction. Tax reduction is a legitimate financial goal. Tax evasion isn’t just illegal; it’s immoral and would violate Biblical commands.
And lastly, we want to point out the direct correlation between income and incomes taxes due. Ron Blue used to counsel clients that if they truly would like to reduce their tax liability, the most straight forward approach to doing so is to reduce their income. Not many people were excited to do that. As difficult as it is to grasp, a higher tax bill is almost always indicative of higher income or appreciation, both of which would be favorable gifts from God.
Tax reduction, although a worthy goal and smart stewardship, should never be the tail that wags the dog in your overall financial and stewardship planning.
Remember, true stewardship is the ongoing recognition that we are temporarily managing assets that ultimately belong to God. This would include our ability to receive income. True stewardship would see that income, from whatever entity it comes from, as ultimately coming from God. This recognition of God’s ownership is hugely important to paying taxes with thanksgiving. Why?
How we manage money – including the payment of taxes – is a direct reflection of our integrity. God uses money as a tool in our lives, to test and to mold us in preparation for other non-material aspects of our present and future lives. Luke 16:10 says “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.”
Jesus himself speaks directly about paying taxes, as recorded in Luke 20:25 to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” Similarly, when the Jewish tax collectors came to collect the temple tax in Matthew 17, Jesus also said to Peter to pay it so as to not cause trouble. In a sign of God’s provision to honor such an act, the tax for both Jesus and Peter is paid from a coin that Peter pulls out of a fish’s mouth after Jesus tells him to cast a fishing line into the lake.
Paul also addresses this in Romans 13:6-7 when he states to “Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”
We don’t need to look too far in our culture to find perceived reasons to pay less than our legal obligations to our government: “everyone else is doing it,” “I don’t want to support an irresponsible government,” “It’s a non-productive use of money,” and “I disagree with the government” are all commonly stated opinions. But none of them hold up very well in light of what we’ve talked about above.
Ron Blue actually says, out loud, with each quarterly tax estimate he pays: “Thank you, God, for providing me the opportunity to pay this tax.” How can he get to this point?
He says that the secret to paying taxes with joy and with thanksgiving is to stop thinking about the money as OURS, and truly believe and act that it is God’s. If we do so, and if we believe that He has placed our current tax laws and government in place and expects integrity from us, this actually becomes possible. We’re able to see his hand of provision in our lives. It doesn’t mean we don’t do effective (and legal) planning to potentially reduce our tax liability, but it does mean that we can pay taxes free of guilt or shame and actually bring honor to God in our ability to do so.
Securities America and its representatives do not provide tax advice; therefore it is important to coordinate with your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.
5 Ways to Grow Your Gratitude
February 16, 20165 Ways to Grow Your Gratitude
by Jeremy Walter
Take thirty seconds, right this moment, and look around you. What do you see with your eyes, process with your mind, and evaluate in your heart? Seriously, if you haven’t done so, stop reading for thirty seconds.
As I write this on a snowy Tuesday morning, I see the following: snowflakes falling outside, a steaming cup of hot coffee, a parking lot that my car is parked in, an office with heat, a pen and notebook, a laptop computer, and a cellphone.
My eyes provided sensory input, which my brain automatically converted into meaning, and I now have a conscious choice of how my heart can evaluate the results. For most adults, these first two steps happen without any conscious effort on our part. The third step, what we choose to do with the results, is the soil where our attitude begins to take root. In fact, this third step should even be thankful that those first two items happened in the first place!
Most of the time, I’ll process my above list of things without thinking too much about it. But, as I’m doing right now, when I do take time to think about it, it’s pretty remarkable how much I have to be grateful for. Snow (at least amounts under two feet) is beautiful. Having a reliable car for transportation is a luxury most of the world doesn’t have. The snow outside can be seen as a beautiful scene and not a life-threatening event because I have an office that has functioning heating controls. I was taught to read and write, which has enabled me to learn and communicate in this world. One laptop has access to more information at my fingertips than generations before us could even dream about. My cell phone functions, all at once and at a fraction of the combined cost, as a WalkMan, digital camera, walkie-talkie, voice recorder, AIM instant messenger, alarm clock, scrapbook, phonebook, library, calendar, weather station, calculator, atlas, and television. Oh, it also makes phone calls to any other phone in the world. Effortlessly.
But just as easily, I can see whether that will mess up my schedule, a drink that got cold, a sedan that doesn’t have four-wheel drive, a building that requires keeping clean, a journal of unorganized thoughts, a laptop that doesn’t have the newest features, and a phone that needs charged once a day.
So what? Well, I believe that God cares a lot about our attitudes (maybe even more so than our actual behavior, and certainly more than our possessions). Stewardship means that we’ve been entrusted with temporary possession of someone else’s rightful belongings. And just as God loves a cheerful giver (1 Corinthians 9:7), he also loves a grateful and thankful steward (Psalm 118:24, Colossians 3:17, Ephesians 5:20). In our culture, it’s all too easy to just want the next thing, to look at the next step, to dwell on what we don’t have. Instead, I think God wants us to realize what we do have, and express thanks for those blessings (James 1:17).
Below are 5 ways I’ve found personally beneficial in cultivating the soil of our heart to grow gratitude. (Disclosure: I don’t have this perfected or executed every day. Writing this post is just as rich of a reminder to myself as it is hopefully to you reading it.)
Verbally express one thing each family member is thankful for at mealtime.
We started doing this a few years ago with our kids, currently aged 6, 3, and 1, and it’s been so fun to see what the older two find meaningful. It’s a great builder of perspective for other people, and it sets a good model to our kids that praying isn’t just about asking God for things, it’s also expressing thanks for what he’s given.
Write out one thing you’re grateful for in the morning.
A practice I started a number of years ago is my 3G routine (back when 3G was actually considered a good speed for my previously mentioned cellphone). I write out the Gospel, expressed in one sentence, one opportunity I can Give in some function of my time, talent, or treasure that day, and one specific thing I am Grateful for. Putting gratitude into writing helps make it more concrete, and also, if you keep track of what you’re writing, is a neat exercise to look back upon.
Brainstorm an all-inclusive gratitude list.
A mentor challenged me to do this many years ago as a way of building perspective, and it’s something I’ve heard of many other people doing as well. Give yourself 15 or 20 minutes and just start writing or typing all things in your life that you’re grateful for, large or small. It’s amazing how many things we never give conscious thought to as a blessing in our lives. Bonus feature: sharing your list with a spouse or close friend.
Read the news and express gratitude for positive things happening.
A lot of media is loaded with things that are certainly not things we’d consider worthy of gratitude – in fact, oftentimes they require prayer of intervention more than anything else. However, reading with an eye towards gratitude can bring some things to light that we might have otherwise missed out on. Feeling doubtful on this concept? Challenge yourself then to read the news specifically searching out the good amidst the ugly – the grand openings, the miraculous births, the non-fatal accident, the latest cancer-fighting research.
Ask God for a grateful heart.
Maybe this seems silly to include, but I think it’d actually silly not to include it. God wants to give us good things, and sometimes we just need to ask him for them, including our attitudes (John 16:24). In fact, we can enact all the self-discipline in the world to cultivate better attitudes, but without God’s help, we won’t make much headway (Psalm 127:1).
There are plenty of other ways to grow our gratitude, certainly ones I’m not aware of that may be far better than my list above. Find what works for you, and keep at it. Share your gratitude with those around you, as well. We can honor and worship God by our attitudes, especially our attitudes towards what he has entrusted to us. As parents, there are few things more frustrating than when our kids act entitled to what we’ve given to them as gifts or as provision. As stewards, there’s few things more worshipful than expressing thanks to the Giver of all that we have.