Someone said this about money: ‘You can’t win. If you focus on making it, you’re materialistic. If you try to but don’t make any, you’re a loser. If you make a lot and keep it, you’re a miser. If you make it and spend it, you’re a spendthrift. If you don’t care about making any, you’re unambitious. If you make a lot and still have it when you die, you’re a fool – for trying to take it with you.’ The one way to truly win with money is to hold it loosely…to be generous with it and achieve things of value. In 1889 industrialist Andrew Carnegie wrote an essay entitled the ‘Gospel of Wealth’, in which he said that the life of a wealthy person should have two stages: a season of acquiring wealth and a season of distributing it. The only way to keep an attitude of generosity is to make a habit of giving of your time, talent, attention, resources, and money. So, how can you become generous? 1) Find out what kind of hold your possessions have on you. Choose something you truly treasure, think of someone you care about who needs it, and give it to them. 2) Put your money to work. If you know someone with a vision to do something really excellent, provide the resources for them to do it. Give something greater than yourself. Help those who can’t help you or give you anything in return. As John Bunyan said, ‘You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.