In one part of Christ’s Sermon on the Mount to the Nephites, Christ teaches his disciples not to worry about having the things that they will eventually need. “Consider the lilies of the field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin”. In this sentence, Christ illustrates how the lilies don’t have many resources and Christ shows that lilies do not work hard. God will provide for the lilies, and the lilies use what He has provided. I hope to teach that principle. God will bless the faithful in the present and the future with what is needed.
Take no Thought for the Morrow
Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Continuing with The Sermon on the Mount, Christ teaches that God will give what is needed. “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, even so will he clothe you, if ye are not of little faith.” God cares for the grass of the field. I would bet that if He could number the grains of sand, he could number the blades of grass. And by numbering the blades of grass and their organic needs, He can address the needs of all grass.
If God cares for all the grass of the field and the lilies, then He can care for his billions of spirit children. I can have faith in knowing that God knows me personally and He knows my wants and needs.
But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient is the day unto the evil thereof.
Christ encourages us to not worry about tomorrow, because today has enough evil to occupy our worries. Since today has enough evil to care for, it is as if God is encouraging to live in the present. As Master Oogway says in Kung Fu Panda, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift… that’s why the call it the present.” Yesterday is done and gone; it is history to be learned from. Tomorrow is a mystery and could never be solved until the future occurs. And the present is if a gift of life each day.
To live day to day, Christ exhorts us to calm down and live in the present because he’ll handle everything for those that seek the kingdom of heaven. He can provide for all the needs of the inhabitants of the earth. Will I have faith in God that He will provide for what I need? I think so. Will I have faith that I can be consistently looking out for what God wants me to do? I hope.
Thou Good and Faithful Servant
It is good to realize that God will care for the needs of His people, and God would love to see stewardship over what He gives. This may be illustrated by the Parable of the Ten Talents. Before I quote the parable, let me specify a talent. A talent was a measure of weight, similar to pounds or kilograms. It is hard to know what measurement of weight is a talent, because different eras had different amounts for a talent. But what is known is that a talent was the largest unit of weight in those era, so a talent of money would be a lot of money.
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them. 20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. 22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
Each time the servants presented what they were able to gain, the Lord told them that they were good and faithful servants. The Lord said to each one, “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” The servants were able to show initiative for what they were given. The Lord was pleased with their stewardship and He let the servants know his pleasure by letting them be rulers.
But the point of the two good servants would not have as much an impact if it wasn’t for the servant with one talent. The servant with one talent did not do anything with it. He stored it away to keep it safe, and he did not show any initiative for the stewardship that he was given. The lazy servant was not further blessed like the other servants.
By the parable of the ten talents, I believe that Christ is teaching us to show initiative for what we are given. As President Nelson has said in a recent General Conference, “the Lord loves effort”. The Lord wants to see that we want to be with Him. We may never equate what the Lord has done for us, but the Lord is forgiving and graceful. His love is infinite and incomprehensible, and He really wants to “make us rulers over many things”.
Develop Your Own Finances
If I may, I would like to encourage people to find and figure out their own finances. Figuring out one’s finances can help one live in the present and prepare for the future. I will explain briefly the finances that I have taken and what works for me. These do not need to be taken for granted, because there are many different ways to have successful finances. But I have been able to base my finances from other financial experts’ advice.
Side note, this isn’t a financial strategy, but a commandment. Pay tithing. I strongly believe that paying tithing has been a big factor in showing my stewardship and receiving more blessings for my future.
First, I have a checking account with a balance that equates to about two months of normal spending. This is a suggested amount that one needs in order to live in the present. Similar to Christ’s teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, with a checking account, one could live in the present moment and live everyday without worry.
The second thing that I do is have an emergency fund, or rainy day fund. This fund has at least 6 months normal spending. This money source is static and does not need to be accessed immediately. It may be accessed when a job is lost, because there wouldn’t be any income. Or it could be accessed if someone has a surgery, and the checking account won’t be able to cover the cost of the surgery. I have placed my emergency fund in a low-risk investment account. A low risk account means that it should have 2-4% increase over time, and almost never go negative.
The last thing that I do is place any extra money from a checking account and emergency fund into high risk investments. High risk investments means where one can get -10% to 10% money back. The best way to handle high-risk investments is to wait for a long time, like for retirement. Waiting a long time with high risk accounts will definitely allow one to gain money.
With having an emergency fund and investment accounts, I believe that I am showing initiative for what I am being blessed with. And because I have been able to handle my investments in this way, I can provide for my living everyday, and I am building my future.
Living
I have highlighted two principles that I think go well with each other. First, do not worry if needs are not going to be met. Focus on Christ and the kingdom of heaven, and he will provide for everything that is needed. Second, once Christ provides for things that are needed, He expects righteous stewardship over what He grants. In essence, Christ can provide for the faithful their present day needs, and all the future needs for those that will obey Him.