I was challenged at the 2020 Kingdom Advisors Conference! One of the highlights for me was the idea of having a vision, particularly as it relates to finances. Dr. Henry Cloud spoke about vision and pruning toward that vision. He talked of “pruning the good” in order for the best to be possible. Upon first hearing this, my thought was “I’m happy when my life bears good fruit, (rather than bad)” but the truth is that good is often the enemy of best. We must prune the good to allow the nourishment to be directed to the best.
As financial advisors, helping people accumulate money is certainly the norm and represents what is good. Clients desire to save tax efficiently and utilize TFSA’s or RRSP’s for short term or long term goals. When you meet with your financial advisor, particularly this time of year, the conversation usually goes toward saving enough to maintain the desired lifestyle for the rest of your life. That’s good, but is it the best?
Have you ever considered what your vision is for your finances? What is the ultimate purpose for the funds accumulated? Until my thinking was challenged, I never realized that a vision for finances was even worth my consideration.
We’ve probably all heard this proverb that references vision: “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained …” Or “Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy” Prov. 29:18 CSB. It is often quoted from the KJV where it declares that “without vision, the people perish.”
The word means “to let loose” or “to ignore, reject” and in another sense “to let slip through the fingers.” If you make the connection to your finances, you begin to realize how important a vision is because without it, the discipline to manage finances is lacking. In other words “where there is no vision (revelation from God), ‘the people are undisciplined/get out of hand’.”
When the purpose for your wealth lacks vision, it becomes directionless and ends up going everywhere (like the example of hair in the wind). If you don’t have a vision for retirement, you won’t save in RRSP’s and money can slip through your fingers. On the other hand, when you want to make a major purchase (like a house), you begin to set aside funds for a down-payment, simply because you have a vision.
The natural thinking around money is that what you earn is for you and your family. In other words, you earn to provide for your family, which includes pleasure and enjoyment (vacation). I’m sure you would agree that this is good because your funds are being directed to align with your vision. However, is there a greater vision? Dr. Cloud challenged me deeply and now a year later, I’m still considering how I should “prune the good” so nourishment can flow to the best.
In Randy Alcorn’s book Money, Possessions & Eternity he tells this story:
At the end of the movie Shindler’s List, there’s a heart-wrenching scene in which Oskar Schindler – who bought from the Nazis the lives of many Jews – looks at his car and his gold pin and regrets that he didn’t give more of his money and possessions to save more lives. Schindler had used his opportunity far better than most. But in the end, he longed for a chance to go back and make better choices. This life is our opportunity.
Perhaps this is as good a time as any to take the advice of the Old Testament prophet:
Write down the vision and inscribe it clearly … so that the one who reads it may run. (Habakkuk 2:2 NASB)
Have you ever thought about the consequences of not having a financial vision?
