MONEY
The Happiest People I Know
tips for finaNcial success ... 52
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The Happiest people i know... Matthew Kelly, bestselling author and speaker, shares his thoughts on generating a richer perspective on money.
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The Pursuit of 54
Happiness
The happiest people I know are also the most generous people I know. Is that a coincidence? I don’t think so. The world proposes selfishness as the path to happiness. God proposes generosity as the path to happiness. I know many selfish people, but I don’t know any who have a deep and lasting happiness. Selfish people always seem restless and discontented. The happiness we experience through selfishness is fleeting because it is dependent on external circumstances. But I also know some very generous people,
and their happiness is not dependent on things going their way or on getting what they want; their happiness is rooted in the life of God. This happiness, this joy springs up from something that is taking place within them. We are all invited to that life and that happiness, and generosity is the path that leads there. All the great figures that emerge in the Gospels are generous. Sure, you have the widow’s mite, an obvious act of generosity. But in every great Gospel figure you find generosity.
Discontent Self-Determinism
entitlement
Scarcity
fea r
selfishness
Here we stumble upon the great divide between the way of life today’s culture proposes and the life God invites us to live. Consider some of the differences: God invites us to a life of gratitude while the world fosters discontent. God proposes trust; the world arouses fear. God promotes giving; the world promotes getting.God invites us to cooperate with his providence while the world rallies behind self-determinism.
The world encourages entitlement when in reality everything is a gift from God. God invites us to look out for our neighbour; the world tells us to look out for ourselves. God operates from abundance; the world from a place of scarcity. God created us out of generosity to live generous lives; the world encourages us to live a small, selfish life. Generosity begins with gratitude. The world draws us into a conversation about all that we don’t have, but God invites us into a conversation about all that we do have.
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Generosity is at the heart of the Christian life, just as it is at the heart of the Gospel.
55 What conversation was rattling around in your head today? Which one makes you happier?
generosity
trust
Providence
gratitude
happiness
abundance
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Stewardship ownership God appoints us in stewardship while the world touts ownership. Stewardship is the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. As Christians, we are taught that our time, talent, and treasure are all on loan to us from God, and that one day we will have to give an account for the way we managed them. The world says to do whatever you want with your time and talent. As for your treasure: “It’s your stuff! You earned it; it belongs to you”; “Let other people take care of themselves”; “What does God have to do with it?” When we forget that God is the true source of things, then fear, distrust, and close-mindedness begins to reign in our lives. But stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure is one of the largest responsibilities God places on our shoulders. It is impossible to live up to this responsibility unless we approach it with great intentionality. I ask myself from time to time whether I’m a good steward of the treasure God has entrusted me. Am I grateful for the money and possessions that flow through my life? Am I generous with the things I have? Do I make them available to others to enjoy, or do I guard them jealously? Am I generous with the money I have at my disposal?
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versus
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Live simply
so that others may Money
simply live
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Something Pope Leo XIII wrote in 1891 God’s promise is that he will provide for our needs, not that he caused me to re-evaluate my life: will provide for our greed. “Once necessity and propriety are taken care of everything else For example, there is plenty of food in the belongs to the poor.” world to feed everyone, and yet more than two billion men, women, and children go hungry each day. St Teresa of Calcutta was more in touch with human need than most. It was out of her vast experience with the suffering of many that she counselled us, “Live simply so that others may simply live.” It is sobering to think that if we were willing to go without some of the things that complicate our lives or so many of the things that we don’t really need, we would be able to save lives.
Another thought-provoking quote comes from the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen: “Never measure your generosity by what you give, but rather by what you have left.” Like the rich young man, I find I have much. Each time I revisit this topic I find myself being challenged to be more generous with my time, talent, and treasure than before.
Australian-born Matthew Kelly is a bestselling author and speaker and the founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute. For his book, The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic he conducted research on vibrant parishes and their people. This is an edited excerpt used with permission.
Blipp for more or visit dynamiccatholic.com
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Despite choosing to live by a strict vow of poverty, St Teresa of Calcutta founded a flourishing religious order (the Missionaries of Charity), became loved worldwide, and received the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in 1979.
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Tips Money
For Financial Success ...without losing your soul
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Be a producer rather than a consumer Deciding to be a producer, rather than a consumer, sets us free to be more generous, no matter our level of wealth. Net producers have a mindset of needing to create wealth so they can achieve their goals and be in a position to help others. A consumer mindset focusses on what we want to buy and then working out where enough money will come from, can easily lead to unmanageable levels of debt and a feeling of always missing out.
Support ethical companies These include local producers and global corporation that promote safe and fair labour practices and environmental sustainability. If something in a retail store seems too cheap to be true,it probably is. A range of ethical consumer apps and print guides are available that rate companies against criteria of ethical practice. There are also specialised advocacy groups which champion ethical practices in business. Example include - Collective Shout. Sign up and be a more informed shopper.
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Grow the social capital
Take the generosity challenge
Do five suburban houses in a row each need a fancy lawn mower, a leaf blower, and a trimmer? Consider some creative relationship-building alternatives to the unsustainable uber-consumerist model we live with. Share resources, loan, swap and barter, or just freely accept and offer time, talents, or treasure. Most of us already have connections in place through work, school, church, sport, local co-operatives or even social media-based local swap groups. We can nurture these and build new networks that benefit everyone.
Matthew Kelly presents a generosity challenge: work out what you gave last year to the Church, charities, and people in need. Give just one per cent more of your income this year. Increase your giving by another per cent each year, until reaching 10 per cent of your income or whatever is viable for you. This follows the Biblical principal of tithing. The idea is that we give ten percent of our income, in gratitude to God for all of our blessings.
One Minute Catholic
One Minute Catholic
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Secret RAKs Random Acts of Kindness (RAKS) have become a popular marketing strategy these days. Airlines surprise passengers with flowers or serenading flash mobs. Retailers ambush unsuspecting shoppers with promotional products and radio stations delight in cold calling listeners with free concert tickets... all carefully captured on camera or audio and uploaded to social media. There’s nothing ‘random’ and nothing particularly ‘kind’ about any of these cynical acts. In fact, they would be better named ‘Commercial Acts of Self-Promotion’! In the true spirit of RAKs, try doing someone a kindness in secret, so there is no chance of you being acknowledged or thanked. For example, one family for their Christmas charity giving left several hundred dollars in cash at the door of a neighbour who had recently fallen on hard times. They left the envelope on the doorstep, knocked and scurried off before they could be seen.
Whatever your act of kindness, big or small, the important thing is to do it in secret so that you can be sure that you are truly doing it for the simple motive of love.
Jesus said: “Whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet so that you may be praised by others. When you give alms, do so in secret and your Father who sees all will reward you.” Matthew 6:2-4
Send a blessing on someone who has hurt you or annoys you Make the bed for a sibling/friend while he or she is in the shower Put your neighbour’s garbage bins away or mow their front lawn Light a candle or say a Rosary for a friend or family member Send flowers anonymously to an elderly person who lives on his/her own Clean up the kitchen for mum or polish dad’s shoes while they are out Leave some money for someone in need when they aren’t looking
One Minute Catholic
Ideas for Secret RAKS
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