Money & Stewardship

I often hear people proclaim that "money is the root of all evil" and there is quite the sentiment in the American culture now to despise those who have acquired wealth.  It is odd to me, people will flock to listen to a comedian or actor that makes millions upon millions each year to insult a man that has built a company that employs thousands of people and then pays himself a few million each year.  It is non-sensical to say the least. 

It also imposes a degree of discomfort for me as I am unashamedly seeking to become a millionaire in the next 2 decades.  My intent is to become free.  Free to do with my life as I see fit.  Currently, I am enslaved by my mortgage and car payments.  Further more, my employer dictates between 40 and 50 hours of my week - but beyond the hours, my option in where I live, when I travel or how I spend the remaining hours of my days, and so on are controlled. 

I am clearly not unique in this, but that does not mean I am satisfied with it.  My whole life I have watched my parents and those I have associated with trade their time for money - and never have enough to retire.  My generation has no chance of a retirement in the traditional sense.  Pensions are a thing of the past thanks to uncontrolled inflation and regulatory costs such as healthcare.  IRAs are a joke unless you make over 6 figures for 4 or 5 decades and open several IRAs. 

The question must be asked then - if money is the root of all evil, why does everyone trade their most valuable resource (time) for it? 

My wife and I hit several significant markers last year - we celebrated 10 years of marriage and realized that our son had already lived half of the years he will be living with us.  This year, he has fewer years at home than he has lived.  It has jolted me to the core to realize that my children are marching at the steady rate of time out of my home. 

I now consider things such as, how can I maximize my earnings from work - so that my wife and I can retire - but without sacrificing time with my children?  As I notice my son maturing, however, I also consider things such as - what should I encourage him to do so that he will do better than me?

Something I am currently seeking to impress upon my son to become, and what my daughter ought to seek in a husband, is a man unafraid of success.  To have a clear conscious in accomplishments.  I have seen truly impoverished places in this world that are wrenching on the soul - but that does not mean I must live in squander. 

To be even more clear, I can have no influence or impact to alleviate those that suffer if I myself am suffering.  As Christ taught - cleanse the inner vessel first. 

This is where stewardship comes into play.  Money for the sake of money is illogical just as the storage of shovels is.  Why?  Simple, they are both tools - nothing more, nothing less.  But, money for the purpose of establishing security for family and then the ability to influence this world as a force for good - that is stewardship. 

My first duty to my family and society is the same - ensure we are self sufficient.  If we are, then we aid society in that we reduce the demand of support.  If that is all that can be achieved, then stewardship is realized in its infancy. 

Just as a family grows, so must our stewardship.  As the earning power is increased, the dependencies are eradicated until the point more can be supported.  This is where Stewardship is realized - in the expansion of influence. 

It is this I wish to teach my children - work intelligently.  At the beginning of every career, there is an imbalanced trade for money & time.  This is fine if it is for a purpose.  A person cannot start an expert or a leader, these things must be developed with experience.  An employer provides these as part of the compensation, making the lower hourly wage worth it if it builds to something greater. 

A man can still be a steward at the beginning of his career while he is doing the lowly work - he must simply have an understanding how he will increase his independence and one day be able to be truly free from the mindless money for time rat race. 

It will take patience and determination.  It is not easy and there are no shortcuts - but life must be lived with a purpose.  Without purpose, life is not worth the price of death we all pay. 

Agency - is it really Choice?

I find myself going through phases of what I learn and ponder.  Last year, I spent much of it contemplating the concept of "time" from a scriptural stand point.  It was an exciting year of learning - especially for a non-physicist such as myself.  Probably much of what I learned was nothing more than an intro to relativity for those that specialize in such topics.

A few weeks ago, I was reading from the LDS Ensign and found a wonderful article: "With All They Getting, Get Understanding" and it has given me focus on simple things I have previously ignored.  It made me think, with all that I study and review, do I hit pause and look at my basic beliefs?  Truth is, I do not.  I quickly dive into intricate topics, eager to expand my mind - but it has been a while since I have reviewed the foundations of my beliefs. 

For instance - as a Mormon, a very fundamental belief is that we all have "Agency".  If you go anywhere to a LDS service discussing this - you will hear phrases like "free agency is the freedom to choose".  That is certainly supported by the dictionary - but that combination of words is never found in the scriptures. 

With the ease of technology, I was able to search through the use of words in the Scriptures (being Mormon, this means the Bible (Old & New Testament - King James version), The Book of Mormon, The Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price [combination of Joseph Smith's story and a supplement to the books of Moses]).

Usage Review: Choice

In the Scriptures, I found the word "Choice" 48 times.  47 of the uses were the same in that "choice" was the best of options - such as Proverbs 8:10

"Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold."

This usage was not in what a person chooses but rather a reference to the quality of something. 

There was one usage of the word "choice" where it referenced a decision, Acts 15:7, this is where Peter is stating that God decided for the apostles to teach the Gentiles. 

With that in mind, it does not seem God puts much emphasis on the concept of blanket "choice".  The verbiage indicates mainly that there are things that are "choice" in life in that they ought to drive our decisions accordingly. 

This is consistent with Christ's proclamation that He is the way the truth & the light and that there are no other ways back to Father.  Christ is "Choice" as are His teachings, and therefore they ought drive our decisions accordingly. 

Usage Review: Agent

I found the word "Agent[s]" 22 times in the Scriptures.  There were 2 usages of it - many were in Doctrine & Covenants where Joseph Smith was directing the church's finances and representation to be handled via "agents".  In other words, this is the same usage we have for it now - a person who acts on behalf of another. 

The other times were along these lines from Moses 6:56

"And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment."

This is interesting to me, as in 2 Nephi 9:46, it states that we will be forced to exclaim that Christ's judgments are holy:

"Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery."

It seems that we are to represent ourselves as we will have a "perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and .... have a perfect knowledge of [our] enjoyment, and [our] righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness." 2 Nephi 9:14

I get from this that we are to choose what we represent - either good or evil.  There is no buffet from us to choose from, we either emulate Christ or we emulate Satan - but we cannot create something new, we only select which of the two options we wish to represent. 

Usage Review: Agency

This word was rarely used, I only found it 6 times.  I think the easiest way to show the context for its usage is in this verse, D&C 101:78

"That every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment."

In essence, the agency we have is the ability to select the morals we will adhere to.  Given that we live in a space and time separate from God - we are sufficiently removed from His presence that we can in arrogance deny it.  But again, this provides us only 2 options, to accept God for who and what He is or reject Him and obey Satan.  This is our choice and ours alone - this is our agency.  Satan cannot force us, therefore we must be accountable to ourselves and to God for what we do. 

Summary

I think Joshua said it best in his book, chapter 24 verse 15

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

As Christ felt momentarily alone on the cross, each of us lives in a spiritual death (separation from God) in this life.  This separation, however painful, is necessary to provide us the ability to represent our true selves.  As God told Joseph Smith in D&C 29:36

"And it came to pass that Adam, being tempted of the devil—for, behold, the devil was before Adam, for he rebelled against me, saying, Give me thine honor, which is my power; and also a third part of the hosts of heaven turned he away from me because of their agency"

Many of God's children were sufficiently brazen to reject Christ in the presence of God.  Most of us were not, but this did not necessarily mean that we in fact desired to follow Christ.  Thus, the separation is a crucial part of God's plan (Alma 12:21):

"[T]here was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God; a time to prepare for that endless state which has been spoken of by us, which is after the resurrection of the dead."

This period here on Earth is, therefore, an artificial existence where we have the opportunity to be tried & tested.  The basic question is simple - will we accept or reject our King, Jesus Christ?  We can only represent one or the other and that is our choice. 

Resolutions

My wife and I have often set individual and family resolutions each year.  Generally, we have done well in achieving them but I have never personally written them down to hold myself accountable to them.

Last year, I had the goal of shooting a turkey, a boar & a deer.  I wasn't even able to go turkey hunting and the one deer that was shot on my hunting trip wasn't by me and it died somewhere in the forest and we weren't able to find it as we shot it right at sunset.  Of course, it snowed that night so no chance of finding it in the morning either.

So, here is to a year where I write my goals down and hopefully refer to it throughout the year...

I have two goals: I want to become more self-sufficient and more present with my children.

Self Sufficiency 

There are three parts to this as I have two in my professional pursuits and one hobby that I want to learn and develop this year.

• New Project at work 

Clearly I cannot say too much of this, but essentially I am wanting to help bring new business into the company I work for.  Being a consultant that knows how to manage an account is one thing, but to be a truly successful consultant, you have to have the ability to bring in new business.

I followed a prompting last Fall that has opened the door of opportunity that may lead to me being a key role in doing just this.  If this does come to be, clearly it will be a great addition to my resume and proof of ability to perform at the next level at work.  Both of these bring financial benefits that will assist my wife and I with our stability in the home by paying off debt or funding something more we have interest in.

• Investment Firm 

A friend and a brother-in-law of mine have begun discussing opening our own investment firm.  We don't have much to invest, but by investing in apps and over-sea development options, we can start earning enough to eventually be able to invest in companies here in the US.

This month, we are looking at opening the firm and potentially taking on our first investment.

• Blacksmithing

I have resolved to learn how to conduct my own blacksmithing in creating tools.  I want a hunting knife and I cannot find the simple, functional design I want as most knives are built for fashion over function these days, the few that do meet my requirements are over $100.  There are also several things my wife has that are either wearing out or she is making do without them that I can learn how to create.

With this in mind, I built my anvil on January 2nd and hope to have my forge completed in early January.  I have already collected some iron and brass parts to begin working - my first project will be a set of tongs.

Time with my children

Last year I did not go fishing once.  My son loves fishing and often requested it, but with my client work being predominately at night (my client is in Japan & Australia) I never made the time for it.  He is already 9 years old, half way gone from my home.  My daughter turns 8 this year, quickly approaching the same milestone.

I do not know how long I will live or how often I will be able to see them after this next decade is over.  I do not want to repeat this year.  My wife and I take them out for one-on-one dinners each month, but I want to start playing more games with them, going camping as a family - and spending more quality time with them.

We have already resolved to play games after dinner each Sunday night and share daily chores where we work together instead of just watching shows or movies.  I'm sure it won't occur every day, but as long as it is most of the days, I will be satisfied.  

Feeling Vs Reality

My wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary by going on a cruise to the Caribbean.  It was our first cruise (well, my first cruise not in a rusty Naval ship...) and we really enjoyed it.  The kids enjoyed being spoiled with the grandparents for a week as well, I'm sure we were not even a passing thought.

I enjoyed the quiet times afloat while Manda was reading her books I was able to sit and just think.  I would watch people and think about where I wanted my life to go.  Towards the end of the cruise, I realized something about people and how we set ourselves up for failure.  There were many people that felt an incessant need to be barely clothed - some with maintained bodies but many without.  

Regardless of shape or size, I would see people (of both genders) sitting around / in the pool alone but clearly viewing themselves as "sexy" in that moment.  It got me thinking how odd that is - how can a person truly be "sexy" if they are alone or only among strangers?  That can only occur if the view of sexy is something that is selfish and self-serving - the prideful desire to imagine strangers as objects or for a person to demand others view him or her as sexy.

Sexy is not something that we can declare or demand other's accept - it is something that others may describe a person with.  But sex is more than just the orgasmic connection of a man and a woman, it is a union of intimacy - and exposure of oneself and potentially a life-creating endeavor.

If we view "sexy" and the pleasure associated with it as something pertaining to an individual - then we begin to warp the biological and spiritual purpose of the act of sex.

Biological

As a species, humans require the act of sex to exist.  The very definition and driving genetic / biological differences between men and women are rooted in the concept of the family.  Men are stronger, larger and more athletic - this comes from the requirement to protect and provide for their family / community.  Women are smaller, have wider hips, and can produce milk - all things required for nurturing and raising children.

It has been proven that teenage girls that have multiple partners and regular intercourse are at a higher risk of cancer.  With this in mind, we must ask ourselves - was the body even designed for the ability to have promiscuous sex?

Many will argue that the biological development is irrelevant and that sexuality is a choice - not a thing of genetics.  That argument is so illiterate that it is not worth a response, but what ought to be understood is the risk of such behaviors.  For instance, teenagers are often not able to understand what a relationship looks & feels like as they only view it as the fulfillment of personal desire for sexual pleasure.

This change in how we approach relationships from a biological design to a personal preference view increases risk of abuse and transmission of disease.  For instance, 80% of all HIV cases are with homosexual and bisexual men.  These relationships are not in line with the biological purpose of sexual urges, leaving only selfish desires.

Spiritual

Spiritually, our existence extends beyond our mortal life - this is something common to all religions.  In my belief, our life began even before our life, I believe that each of us are spiritual children of God - our Heavenly Father.

In our life before mortality, He designed a plan that enabled us to come to earth, obtain a body and choose our path.  This was heavily focused on the family unit as our relationships will extend into the next life if we are married in accordance with His guidance.  Families are also crucial as children require a loving support structure as they develop into adulthood.

This requires the balance of both male and female input - the structure and nurture both provide are crucial to all children.  Gender did not begin at birth and it will not end at death.

What we have now

With the advent of these alternate lifestyles and things such as pornography - the pleasure of sex is becoming a thing of self-fulfillment.  It is a deviation in from a biological and a spiritual design of it. Sex can be a very fulfilling and unifying act between a man and a woman - this is part of why couples often have sex after arguing - there is an emotional aspect to it.

This view we have nowadays also perverts how we interact with people, we act as if we are desirable to strangers around us when we should be concerned if our spouse is attracted to us.  This requires a maturity beyond what our culture requires, however.

What could be

If we as a society learned that sexual actions were to be contained between a man and a woman, we would see a decrease in abuse, drug usage, sex trafficking, and unhappy families.  Depressions and suicides would be down - so much of life would be at peace.

All of these negative things in life occur when people begin to reject life for what it really is for what they want in life.  These fantasies and delusions create a divide that is emotionally sharp to the individual when reality closes in.  This creates rage, depression & overall feelings of isolation - all of which lead to drug usage and other destructive behaviors that hurt more than just the individual.

Instead of living in a pretend life, we could live in this life with all of its potential.  We have unlimited options for joy and peace as we unite in the manner God designed for man and woman merged in marriage.