Tag: treasure
Year of Increase – Creating a Vision for our Resources
February 10, 2025
by Ron Bare
Have you ever met a visionary? Maybe you’re one yourself. I’m talking about that person who seems to have endless ideas, always sees the big picture, and is always trying to fit 100 pounds into a 50-pound bag. Though our visionary friends do have some drawbacks, I’m convinced they bring something to the table that each of us can learn from.
This valuable trait that visionaries have is simply having a vision and being able to look beyond the current moment. Here at Bare, we often refer to our vision as “Beyond Abundance.” When we look down the road 5, 20, or 50 years into the future, what we hope for our clients is not that they’ve become rich, but that they’ve lived a rich and full life. We pray that our clients have been blessed beyond their basic needs, and that they have served others with their abundance. We also pray that our clients have taken a good, long look at their resources and considered how they might bring an increase to them for the good of others.
How can we ensure that at the end of our life, we’ve done this well? Investing and growing our finances, time, and resources is no small feat, but it is worth it! Ephesians 3:20 and 2 Corinthians 9 both remind us of this reality – that when we sow, we reap. As you take a look at your life, what has God placed in your hands? How can you invest and grow the resources that God has given to you? What kind of impact can your resources have on others?
We can talk about these principles all day, but it’s crucial to take time to nail down what this actually looks like in your life. We want to intentionally create a vision for our resources, and vision first begins with inventory. To aid in this process, we’ve crafted the Beyond Abundance Inventory Sheet. This tool helps us think about exactly what resources God has given to us and how we can bring an increase to them for His glory.
The first resource on the inventory sheet is our financial resources. Whether a salary, an inheritance, or ownership of a business, financial resources are easy to see. After we know what financial resources we have, we can consider giving, investing, or planning how our business can serve others. These resources are so tangible, but certainly not all there is.
Intellectual resources might include a high school or college education. They might include a specific skill that you are trained in, or unique experience that you have. They may even include financial literacy. These are the kinds of gifts that are important to continue investing in, and as learning continues, are important to pass on to others through teaching and apprenticeship.
Relational or social resources come in the form of people. You’ve heard it said before: who you know is often more important than what you know. Many of you know this principle to be true because you’ve lived it. One of my favorite ways to watch networks serve the community is through banding together to solve a problem. Often, one person or organization does not have all of the solutions to a problem, but when networks work together, things get done. How can you work with others to solve big problems?
We also believe spiritual resources are critical. It is such a gift to be able to live in a time and place in history where spiritual resources are easy to access – whether a church, pastor, or our Bible. Going one step further and inviting others to join in is where true transformation happens.
The last category on the Beyond Abundance Inventory Sheet is physical resources. This includes those tangible things – housing, food, and clothing. Though many of us are blessed, many of our neighbors are under-resourced in this area. How can we use our physical resources to come alongside them? Whether buying properties and renting them at fair rates or donating food to food banks, there are plenty of ways to serve.
At Bare, we believe that stewardship and generosity are important. That’s why our impact statement highlights these two ideas: through intentional stewardship and extravagant generosity, we help generous people shift the culture and change the world for the glory of God. Would you join us on this mission? We’d love to have you!
Do You Believe You Can Change the World?
May 1, 2024by Ron Bare
What would it take for you to believe that you could change the world? What if I proposed that it simply starts with intentionality and a generous heart? Would you believe me?
At Bare, we truly believe this. It takes commitment and planning, but when you’re ready, we’ll be right here to support you. Through intentional stewardship and extravagant giving, we help generous people shift the
culture and change the world for the glory of God.
Changing the world starts with changing your world. Last month, we talked about what it means to be faithful stewards of what God has given us. We must first define generosity, define enough, and then set financial goals.
Many of these financial goals are long-term goals – even lifetime goals. There are 6 main long term goals, or “buckets,” that we find most of our clients to
be pursuing.
The first bucket is financial independence or retirement. This bucket is focused on how much will be enough to meet their needs and accommodate their lifestyle after working full-time. The second bucket is debt elimination. This bucket is working toward paying off all debts and committing to a debt-free future. The third bucket is additional lifestyle goals. This bucket is planning a large one-time purchase, like a cabin or a beach house.
The fourth bucket is family goals. This bucket is considering how they’d like to support their children or grandchildren. The fifth bucket is centered around giving goals. This bucket begins to move beyond the 10% tithe principle into greater giving. The sixth bucket is new opportunities. This bucket is seeking new business or investment opportunities.
In our experience, our clients are typically pursuing goals in a few of these buckets.. We have walked with people from all walks of life and have been able to support them no matter the goal they are pursuing.
When a client defines ‘enough’ and accumulates ‘enough,’ the buckets of retirement and lifestyle goals become filled (see last month’s blog.) On top of that, when all debt is paid off, they find themselves looking at three full buckets! With these three full, the client gains freedom to explore the final three buckets with a different perspective. I like to call these final three buckets the impact buckets.
The first of the impact buckets is the giving bucket. The key theme of this bucket is the impact that intentional planning and giving can have on the world. When we move beyond simply what we need, we are able to consider eternal impact and our legacy.
Typically, the giving bucket begins with giving 10% of our income. When we are in a position to consider giving more than 10%, we begin to wonder what else we can support. We are no longer simply giving out of our income, but also giving out of our assets and accumulation. We begin to see problems around us and are able to give significantly toward their solutions, rather than simply supporting a good cause.
This requires intentional planning about allocating funds, whether to an organization you are passionate about or otherwise. We highly recommend setting up a donor advised fund, which is a tool to help you plan and manage your giving. This fund helps you maximize tax benefits and make a plan for your giving. I love what 1 Timothy 6:17-19 has to say about this. It paints a beautiful picture of extravagant giving and good works flowing together!
Do you believe you can change the world? If you take intentional time to plan and consider extravagant giving, I think you’ll be surprised at what happens. Next month, we’ll cover the family bucket, and how this bucket can be used to shift our culture and influence our world for good!
Focusing on Faithfulness in 2024
January 25, 2024by Ron Bare
I learned all about hard work growing up on a farm. I understood that the small,
unglamorous jobs had to be done. Yet this didn’t make my first job off the farm much easier. I
was working at a local lumber yard, and my job was to catch wood as it came through the
saw. Exciting, right? One day, my supervisor asked for someone to work outside to unload a
huge truck full of wood, and you better believe I was quick to volunteer! When I was done, no
one was around, so I went to find my supervisor to let him know. He was baffled. It was a
project he thought would take all day, and it had been done in just a few hours. He promoted
me on the spot, and I said goodbye to my lumber-catching role.
I was trusted with catching wood, and then I was trusted with unloading a truck, and
then I was trusted with even more responsibility. As I continued to prove faithful, I was
entrusted with more. And I believe this principle stands true spiritually as well. As Christians,
we are called to be faithful with what God has given us.
Jesus illustrates faithfulness in the parable of the talents – many of you have likely
heard this story found in Matthew 25. In this story, the master left town and entrusted his
possessions to three servants. Two servants invested what they had been given, making
double what they had received by the time the master returned. One servant buried what he
was given, fearful that he may lose it. The master was pleased with both servants who had
multiplied what they’d been given, and displeased with the other.
In this parable, we see the master, who represents Jesus, giving servants talents. After
he returns, he is pleased with those who have multiplied what he left them with. It all
belonged to him in the end; the servants were just stewarding what had been given to them.
Scriptures like Psalm 24:1 remind us of this very reality. All we have is God’s. And all of
these things we’ve been blessed with – finances, family, time, resources, etc. – we’re meant to
manage them in a way that honors Him.
What a tall task. And don’t overlook the fact that many temptations will arise,
encouraging you not to be faithful with your resources, and most of these dress themselves as
fear. We each have fears, especially when it comes to managing money. If I give some away,
will I have enough? What will others think of my financial decisions? Questions like these
will come from everywhere – culture, others, the enemy, and even from ourselves. We must
decide ahead of time that when we feel fearful, we will still choose to be faithful.
And when we choose to be faithful, we might also be led to ask what things God is
asking us to be faithful with. What does this really look like? First, God gives us time. How do
you spend your time? If you examine your time, what can it tell you about what you value?
Second, He gives us talents. What are you doing with the gifts and abilities God has given you?
Are you serving others with the specific giftings you have? Are you pointing back to God when
others praise you for these giftings? Third, He gives us treasure. How does your financial
management point to God?
When we are faithful with the little that He gives us, He entrusts us with more.
Faithfulness is not for the faint of heart. It demands that you recognize God as the
owner of everything you have. Once you acknowledge that, how much easier it is to be
faithful! God’s gifts to each of us in the form of time, talents, and treasure are unbelievable.
Let us thank Him for these gifts through our acts of faithfulness.
This year at Bare, we’ll be focusing on the year of faithfulness. As we provide
excellent wealth management grounded in Biblical wisdom, we have developed resources to
share with you that will help you identify and focus on key areas to grow in faithfulness. We
can’t wait to meet with you and talk about what faithfulness looks like.
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