Episode Details

I had two conversations this week that prompted the topic of today's podcast. One had to do with weird Christian views about money, and the other had to do with a question about the business mission of my company.

This episode is going to be like one big Spiritual Foundations segment… So, if you're not into that, you might want to skip out until next week. However, if any of the following apply to you…

• You ever wonder if it's okay to want to get rich.
• Internal conflicts about money seem to slow you down.
• Your Christian brothers and sisters judge or criticize you because you're so enthusiastic about business and success.
• You wonder about how to reconcile the gospel with your desire to succeed in life.
• The question of how to integrate your spiritual life with your business life seems to come up a lot.
• You'd like an explanation of just what exactly my weird business is all about.

… Then this episode is definitely for you!

And if you're one of those people who loves it when somebody is WRONG ON THE INTERNET…  and you feel it's your job to set them straight… this is your show! You may disagree in the comments, but no name-calling, etc, Please disagree agreeably.

Announcements:

And here we go…

You Have Permission to Prosper

He sat across from me and stared me in the eye.

"It is scripturally wrong for a Christian to try to be rich." He looked at me defiantly.

I gently tried to explain that he might not have the entire picture, but he was going to hear none of it.

This is a slightly fictionalized account of several conversations I've had over the last year or so. The other person in this story represents people who, when told what I do in my business, are quick to want to school me on why I'm wrong.

Worse, some of them told me that I'm leading people to hell.

This disturbed me somewhat.

Then I had a conversation with someone very close to me, in just the last week. This person, a member of my family, began to describe to me what they thought my business was about: "You write copy, and you teach other people how to write copy, and you sell a bunch of Internet marketing stuff."

Well, no.

The answer to both of these misunderstandings is actually the same. So today, I'm going to revisit a post I made previously on this blog, and spell out very carefully what is the purpose of my businesses… what we do… and how it ties together with this conundrum of Christians and cash.

I really have one basic premise to offer you, and it is this: as a follower of Jesus you are entitled to prosper in every way. And that includes money. You have, straight from the pages of Scripture, permission to prosper.

My Marketplace Mission: 1,000 Millionaires.

I feel that God has prepared me for this very time to help demolish the mindsets of both poverty and greed that have a grip on so many.

I am privileged to be called to be part of the solution.

Our mission going forward, here at Ray Edwards International, Inc, is a very simple one: to mentor, foster, and lead 1,000 people to become millionaires.

Not to become millionaires for the reasons the world normally supposes people want to be rich. Not so that they can buy the biggest house, or the fastest sports car, or acquire the "most toys".

Our aim (and my personal mission) is to develop "Kingdom millionaires". People who seek to accumulate wealth in order to do the work of God's kingdom. "Millionaire Missionaries", if you will.

Leading 1,000 people to become millionaires means bringing one billion dollars into God's Kingdom – money that will be used for His purposes.

Over the last few years, I've had the great privilege of working with many well-known mar