The Legacy JourneyExemplo

The Three Lenses

Through the years, my wife, Sharon, and I have gotten a lot of questions about our journey from going broke to learning God’s ways of handling money. People ask things like, “How do you keep your wealth from destroying you?” or “How do you make sure wealth doesn’t ruin your kids?” Those are valid questions because we’ve all seen wealth damage families and lead individuals into all kinds of dysfunction.

One sure way to protect your legacy is to view your wealth and relationships through three lenses.

The first lens is God’s ownership. Everything belongs to God (Psalm 24:1), and success on The Legacy Journey means remembering that we manage His resources. One day, we’ll give an account of what we do with His stuff, so we’ve got to be wise with our finances.

The second lens is magnification. Wealth makes you more of what you are—whether good or bad. If you’re a jerk with a little money, you’ll become a colossal jerk with more money. On the other hand, if you’re generous now, you’ll become a true philanthropist as you build more wealth. Whatever you are now will be multiplied.

The final lens is community. We need help staying grounded, and quality relationships help us make good money decisions. Solid community keeps us sane while everything around us seems to go crazy.

When the Israelites reached the Promised Land, Moses challenged them to make wise decisions in their new home. In Deuteronomy 30:19, he told the people that choosing well would lead to blessings. Poor decisions would lead to curses.

The three lenses provide a filter for making better decisions, and they pave the way for blessings. Choose life. Let ownership, magnification and community set the boundaries for your legacy journey.

Want to take a deeper dive into what the Bible has to say about money and wealth? The Legacy Journey takes you deep into God's Word, revealing His perspective on wealth, your personal and family legacy, and how He wants to use you to further His kingdom work around the world. To learn more visit daveramsey.com/legacy.