Welcome to episode 21 of "Your Encore Life". In this episode we are continuing our series on finding joy. The main source I have been using for this series is the book "The Joy Model" by Jeff Spadafora. In episode 17 we talked about what the joy model is, which is based on "Being" and "Doing" on horizontal and vertical axis's. Beginning with episode 18 we began talking about what Spadafora has landed on as a process for integrating "being" and "doing" in a healthy way that that leads to lasting joy, which has 6 components that make up the acronym "MASTER". So far we have discusses Margin in episode 18, Abide in episode 19, and Self-Awareness in episode 20. I encourage you to go back and listen to the previous episodes in this series if you haven't already, but they stand alone well so you don't need to do that prior to listening to this episode. This week we are taking about the "T" in MASTER, which is "Treasure".
The Joy Model book refers to treasure as "The Green Monster" that is the number 1 reason "people hold back from courageously pursuing the lives that will lead them to true joy." Let's be honest here. Money tends to dominate most of our thinking. When money is considered above all else, it can be said that it has become an idol and could keep us from doing what we know in our hearts we need to do to build a life of greater joy. When you put money in the proper perspective where it belongs in relation to God and family, money will lose its idol characteristics and will no longer dominate your thinking. So is money evil?
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Take note that it does not say "money is the root of evil" but rather, "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Money is a gift from God, and the more money an individual has, the more they are able to bless others who are in need.
The book references a "recent study of US adults that showed while money matters, the incremental impact on a person's joy starts to diminish dollars for dollar after the $75,000 annual income mark. In another study, Martin Seligman, the author of "Flourish" notes that "Life satisfaction in the United States has been flat for fifty years while GDP has tripled. GDP being Gross Domestic Product, which measures the value of economic activity within a country.
Realizing that money and joy are not as aligned as you may think is a huge step toward joy and freedom.
How many of you can look back on your careers and say that as you worked your way up the ladder you experienced more joy? Do any of you look back and think about a role in your career that you felt was fulfilling what you were meant to do, but because of success you moved up the ladder and out of your calling, actually feeling less joy as you earned more money and what was considered a better position. I experienced that with my position in the school district. As I have said in the very first episode of this podcast, I had to find a way within my position to align my passion with my role because I had worked my way out of my passion. I began to buy into the lie that so many people buy into, that my self-worth was directly correlated to my income. I wasn't strong enough to not care about what others may think of me and to care more about what God gave me strengths to do best.
So are we saying that having significant amounts of money and a life of joy can't co-exist? Not at all. Spadafora says "You can have the life you've always wanted and lots of money. You and God would both be pleased with that. The problem is when we think it's the money that will give us the joy we crave." He goes on to say "There are plenty of poor people who have chased the money and missed out on the joy too. At the end of the day, both the rich and the poor run the risk of being exhausted-and regretful-about the time and relationships that slipped away while they chased the next buck.
If you are a person of faith, then you realize that God gave you your talents, strengths, and relationships that give you the ability to earn money, making it His.
Action Item: Regardless of how much or little you make, try boosting your joy by seeing using some of His money to bless others. Search your heart to see if an unhealthy focus on money could be standing in the way of experiencing lasting joy.
"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Join us next week we will be talking about the "E" in the acronym MASTER, which is engagement.
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