"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe the He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him"
-Hebrews 11:6
I have 3 priorities in my life. Faith, family, and fortune. Every decision that I make is centered around satisfying these three things. Faith is the number one priority of the three. It is what drives my personal values and foundation of my character. my faith in God will always come first.
What is faith? It is trust, assurance and confidence in God. Living faith is shown by service and obedience to God.
The expression “just have faith, it will work out” is used by people to encourage and comfort someone facing serious problems or stressful situations. But just what is faith as described in the Bible, and does it really work? In the New Testament the English word faith is used to translate the Greek word pistis. The New Strong’s Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words says, “Pistis is used of belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same. ‘Faith’ means trust, confidence, assurance, and belief” (p. 1315).
The Bible also defines pistis in Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is the substance or assurance of things we hope for, but have not yet received. Faith (confidence, belief, trust) is also our evidence of that which is not seen—the invisible spiritual things. Faith comes before a prayer is answered or before an individual has received what he or she has requested from God. If we have received what we asked for, then faith is not needed.
What is faith? A New Testament example An example of this definition is found in Matthew 9:27-30 where two blind men came to Jesus and asked Him to heal them. Jesus first asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” and their reply was, “Yes, Lord.” “Then He touched their eyes saying, ‘According to your faith let it be to you.’ And their eyes were opened.”
Their faith and assurance that Jesus could give them sight was the substance or reality they hoped for. It also gave them the evidence or trust that they would receive what they asked for. They believed; that is, they had faith in advance that it would be done.
-Proverbs 6:20
The nuclear family is disintegrating—or so Americans might conclude from what they watch and read. The quintessential nuclear family consists of a married couple raising their children. But from Oscar-winning Marriage Story’s gut-wrenching portrayal of divorce or the Harvard sociologist Christina Cross’s New York Times op-ed in December, “The Myth of the Two-Parent Home,” discounting the importance of marriage for kids, one might draw the conclusion that marriage is more endangered than ever—and that this might not be such a bad thing.
Meanwhile, the writer David Brooks recently described the post–World War II American concept of family as a historical
aberration—a departure from a much older tradition in which parents, grandparents, siblings, and cousins all look out
for the well-being of children. In an article in The Atlantic bearing the headline “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake,”
Brooks argued that the “nuclear family has been crumbling in slow motion for decades.” He sees extended families and
what he calls “forged families”—single parents, single adults, and others coming together to support one another and
children—as filling the vacuum created by the breakdown of the nuclear family.
David Brooks: The nuclear family was a mistake
Yet the search for alternate forms of family has two major flaws. First, there’s evidence indicating that the nuclear
family is, in fact, recovering. Second, a nuclear family headed by two loving married parents remains the most stable
and safest environment for raising children.
There are, of course, still reasons for legitimate concern about the state of the American family. Marriage today is
less likely to anchor family life in many poor and working-class communities. While a majority of college-educated men
and women between 18 and 55 are married, that’s no longer true for the poor (only 26 percent are married) and the
working class (39 percent). What’s more, children from these families are markedly less likely to live under the same
roof as their biological parents than their peers from better-off backgrounds are.
But there is also ample good news—especially for kids.
Today, the divorce rate is down, having fallen by more than 30 percent since peaking around 1980, in the wake of the
divorce revolution. And, since the Great Recession, out-of-wedlock births are now dipping as well. Less divorce and less
nonmarital childbearing means that more children are being raised in stable, married families. Since 2014, the share of
kids in intact families has begun to climb, reversing a decades-long trend in the opposite direction. And as Brooks
noted—citing research that one of us conducted at the University of Virginia—the nuclear family headed by married
parents remains a personal ideal even among men and women who harbor no moral objections to alternative family
structures.
"Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and
He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to
pass."
-Psalms 37:3-7
You may have heard the term ‘generational wealth’ and thought, ‘Wow, that sounds important'. But at the same time, you
might have pushed it to the back of your mind because you have more pressing issues.
For instance, you might be focused on getting out of debt, saving money, or pursuing other financial goals. It may be
that creating generational wealth is not on your immediate priority list while you tackle your current finances. But
with that being said, you can still build it into your long-term financial goals.
Not quite sure what transitioning generational wealth means exactly? Don’t worry! I'll be sharing exactly what it is and
how to build it for your family.
It is basically wealth that is passed down from one generation to the next. You may also hear this called family wealth or legacy wealth.
If you are able to leave something behind for your children or grandchildren, then you are contributing to the growth of generational wealth in your family.
Of course, you may leave many things such as good memories and healthy genetics behind for your family. However, I'm specifically referring to the financial resources that you are able to leave behind.
This wealth can come in many forms such as real estate assets, stock market investments, or a financial education to carry forward into the future.
If you are starting from scratch with your finances or starting out with a large debt burden, then you should realize the importance of generational wealth.
What if your parents had the ability to fund your college education? This single action could have a tremendous effect on your financial future. Instead of playing catch up to pay down your student loan debt, you could be saving for your first home or your future retirement.
As you continue your personal finance journey, you have likely discovered that it is not always easy to recover from your financial mistakes. What if your parents had been able to offer solid financial guidance as you stumbled your way through? It could have prevented spending beyond your means or started you on a budgeting habit much sooner.
The more you think about your own financial life, the more you realize how important generational wealth can be. If you have kids or plan to have kids, then you may start to think about how their financial futures will play out. Imagine how differently things could turn out if you take the time to educate them on personal finance and set up vehicles to add security to their financial future now.