What if Your Richest Asset Isn't Your Bank Account?

You're building your financial house, you've done savings, you're growing your income, you've got those goals, all those things are growing. But deep down, just like we talked about yesterday, you feel like something's missing. Sure, you've got some wealth, but you feel isolated.Well, let me ask you this question. What if real richness isn't just found in your bank account but also in your relationships?Well, stick with me today because I'm going to explore what true wealth really means.This is Financially Confident Christian, your daily dose of gospel, grounded insight and faith driven tips to help you break the cycle of financial shame with confidence. Hey, friend. Welcome back to your Financially Confident Christian. I'm Ralph and I'm truly glad to be with you again today.This is the show all about helping you answer that one life changing question, how can I become a financially confident Christian? And we're continuing in our series beyond the Budget, finding Financial freedom through Intentional Living.Now, if you missed yesterday's show, which I'll encourage you to go check out, we explored how to invest with a purpose, not just for return. It's not about just growing your wallet, but to really support your God given mission. Well, today we're going to go even deeper.Hey, didn't you think there was going to be any deeper? But yes, we're going to do that today. We're going to redefine what wealth really means.Because sometimes, and I've learned this firsthand, some of the richest people in the world, you ready for this one? They are relationally bankrupt. And listen, you don't want to be that way. So let me ask you this.Have you ever looked around and realized, hey, you know what, Ralph? I'm doing well financially, Ralph, I'm hitting my savings goals, I'm, I'm planning wisely, I'm growing my retirement.But then you look around and there's nobody around there with you. You've lost touch with your people. You miss church gatherings, you haven't called that friend back. Family dinners. Hey, I rarely have time for that.I'm too busy on my goals. Ralph. Yeah, you're prosperous, but you're not connected. And see that disconnect, this creates this subtle ache.And when you're really honest with yourself, when you really start to think about, gives you a sense that something's just off. See, here's the thing I want you to hear today. And this is not something you're going to hear on every show. It's a difference.With my show, true wealth is not just financial. See, if you look at the tabloids, if you look at social media, if you look all around you, everybody. Oh, wealth, wealth, wealth.Oh, we got nice cars and big boats and big houses and fat bank accounts and nice jewelry. But some of the most unhappy people I met, I've met in my life are people who have all those things. See, true wealth.I had a pastor one time, he was a counselor of mine, said this to me. He says, Ralph, in the end, it's all about relationships.And let me just tell you right now, it's taken me a long time to really understand what he's getting at. See, true wealth is not just financial. It's deeply relational. Listen, let's talk.Let's look at the scripture and I'll show you exactly where I'm going with this. Look at the Book of Proverbs, chapter 11, verse 16. It says this. A kind hearted woman gains honor, but ruthless men gain only wealth.Think about that for a second. A kind hearted woman gains honor. Kind, heart, relational, but that. Ruthless men, yeah, they gain wealth, but only wealth. See, that's a reminder.You can chase wealth and listen, I'm guilty of this. There were times and seasons in my life when that's all I was worried about. How much was in that bank account? How much more money was I making?How much more stuff could I buy? How many more cars could I get? How many boats could I get? Could I get a extra house? Could I get a beach house? Could I go on vacation?So you could be chasing all of those things and think, hey, look, I'm so wealthy. But ask yourself, do you feel good about it? Do you feel good about it? Or you missing honor? Are you missing love?And this might seem kind of counterintuitive, but look at the Book of Proverbs, chapter 15, verse 17. It says this. Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred. I found this in the Bible.It's a verse I used a couple weeks ago on the show, and it's one I hadn't really noticed. I've been reading the Bible since I was, you know, a teenager. But I love this verse.Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred. And just think about the visual of that. Yeah, you've got a plate with some meager vegetables on if you're a vegetarian.Listen, right now you're like, Ralph, that's a, that's, that's a. That's great for me. But the mind shows us something different. See that little serving of Vegetables.And then we pictured this big fattened calf and boy, this was fantastic, but filled with hatred. And I had somebody say to me, they said to me one time, they said, Ralph, what good is abundance if there's tension at the table?Now that I'm going to tell you right now, think on that, ponder on that today. What good is abundance if there's tension at the table?And of course, the best verse of the Bible is Jesus himself says this in Matthew, chapter 6, verses 19 to 21. And I've used this on the show many times.Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and vermin destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where moth and vermin do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Think about that for a second. Your treasure, is it in your stuff?Hey, there have been seasons in my life, like I mentioned a few minutes ago, where I thought it was all about stuff. And I'll tell you right now, that's not how God views the word. God views us. God values connection over accumulation.The Bible is a love story about relationships. It's not about stuff. It's not about wealth. It is about love over luxury, community over consumption.Because if you've ever had money, what I'm getting ready to say will hit home to you. Money will fade, money fades.But those relationships, if you truly grow and invest in those relationships, I'll talk about how to do that in a minute. Those relationships, those last into eternity. So now you're thinking, Ralph, man, I get it.For the first time, a light bulb just went off, Ralph, because trust me, I've been there. About 15 years ago, was sitting in this pastor's office counseling session, was really having a rocky time with my wife, in my marriage and my kids.We all. Nobody was getting along. Was a constant arguing in the house. And he looked across to me, he says, Ralph, I can see you're wealthy.And I don't say that to be boasting or, or arrogant. But yes, I've been doing well. He said, but that's not what life is all about. Dude, how's your relationships?I was like, wow, man, you just hit me over the head with a, with a two by four. But he was so right. It's all about the relationships.And you've got to make the decision right now, today, to intentionally invest some time, some energy, and maybe a little of that money into relationships that matter. I'm not Talking about grand gestures. I'm not talking about go buying somebody a car, go buy a house. That's not what I'm talking about.I'm talking about little relational deposits, just small acts that build true wealth. So here's your one action step for today. Here's what I want you to do today. To start going down this path of relationship. I want you to identify.Identify just one relationship or community. Just one. Think about it. Maybe a friend you haven't seen in a while.Well, yeah, I used to talk to Jim all the time and it just seems like I haven't talked to him lately. What's the problem there? Or maybe it's a church group you pulled away from.I used to be super connected to the Sunday morning Bible study or the, or the Wednesday night or the men's group, whatever that looks like for you. Or maybe for you it's a family member you've drifted away from. Yeah, you know, I used to hang out with my aunt all the time. It just.It seems like life got so busy, I just haven't had time to do that. Or maybe it's just that neighbor you've been meaning to check on who lives down the street or lives next door. Just haven't taken the time to do that.So identify that one thing and then I want you to plan a low cost, high value action. This isn't about how much money you can spend. I'm going to give you a few ideas right now, but it's not about that.Low cost, high value, that's what we're going to talk about. Here's a few ideas.Maybe you haven't talked to that friend for a while, invite them out for coffee, say to them, hey, Joe, we haven't talked for a while. How about we get together and grab a sandwich or something like that? That's not going to cost a lot of money. Here's another great idea.A lot of people don't do this anymore. Writer send a heartfelt handwritten note. Not a text, not an email, just a heartfelt handwritten note.Maybe a card that just has your own personal handwriting in it. And maybe you're just too technologically connected. Oh, then that's fine. Text a word of encouragement. Even a text of a word of encouragement.Maybe it's good to volunteer an hour with a local group. Maybe that group you're disconnected from. Just say, hey, you know what? I haven't been involved with the soup kitchen lately.I really want to get connected again.And if it's a family member, maybe Share a simple meal together, Say, hey, hey, how about everybody come over this Sunday and we're gonna get together as a family. And I know there might be a lot of tension in doing that. I get it. I come from a family. There's a lot of tension.But just sharing a simple meal can make a huge difference. And then I'm gonna tell you, just redirect a small amount of spending.Maybe you skip that one essential for a couple days, that extra latte that you don't need or that online impulse buy, just save 10 or 20 bucks to bless somebody, maybe buy them a coffee, go to the store, get a card, handwrite it and mail that card to them. Maybe buy a book for them. Make a memory. It's truly all about the relationships. And now you might be saying raffle. Why does this help?Well, here's why it helps. It gets heals that hidden loneliness. See, you can be as wealthy as wealthy comes. You can have all the stuff.But a lot of times you find yourself lonely because there's nobody to share it with.You spent so much time focusing on growing that business or growing that money or working two jobs or working all that overtime, but you didn't invest any of it in your family. You didn't invest any of it in your spouse. And listen, this is Ralph talking from the heart right now.There were times in my life where I, and I can't go back and fix this. But I should have taken more time to invest in my wife. I should have taken more time to invest in my children.Well, today's show might be the time to change that. Go back to building trust, building friendships and building those faith filled connections.Because let me just tell you right now, and I've learned this personally, if you really do this, if you really focus on the relationship, it will absolutely multiply your joy even more than money could ever do. And it's going to grow something bigger than your net worth. It's going to grow your relationship network, your relational net worth.And as I said at the beginning, that's the kind of wealth that lasts forever. How about we pray together? Father God, I just thank you for the incredible gift of community and meaningful relationships.We confess, Lord, that we often chase income while neglecting that intimacy, neglecting those relationships. Lord, we focus our efforts so much on wealth and we forget about that connection that you really want to see.For us, the love story, the Bible, all about relationships, Our relationship with you, your relationship with us, our relationship with those of the faith. And today, Lord, help us see what matters Most open our hearts to reach out, Lord, show us where to love, Lord, where to serve, where to invest time.Not just our money, Lord, but our time and our efforts. And Lord, we just ask that you would help us build true wealth, the wealth that reflects your heart. And we ask this with confidence.In Jesus name, Amen. If you take nothing else away from today's show, I want you to remember this, friend. Real wealth isn't measured in digits.It's not measured in digits. It's measured in love. It's measured in belonging. And it's measured in eternal impact. So today, I just want to encourage you one more time.Make one relational investment. Reach out, reconnect, rebuild. You're not just managing money, friend. You're stewarding a life that reflects God's love.Hey, one of the ways you can do that is share the show with somebody. You might say, listen, I listen to this daily show. It's called Financially Confident Christian. And Ralph was talking all about relationships today.And I feel like, friend, I haven't connected with you for a while. I just wanted to share this with you and hopefully it'll be an encouragement for you. I'm just going to encourage you to do that.And while you're there, think about grabbing a free copy of my book. It's called Mastering Your Finances. It's a quick read, but it is super impactful.And you can get to that by going to financiallyconfidentchristian.com/master. Now. Tomorrow we're going to have a powerful episode on future pacing your freedom.We're going to talk about how to visualize and walk towards your ideal God honoring life. Now, before I close today, I just want to mention my new show. It's a weekly show. It's called Truth Unveiled with Ralph.If you love the Daily show, you're going to love the weekly show. I take the topics we talk about on a daily basis and make them a little bigger. It's a little bit longer content, but.But I also talk about how to take the timeless word of the Bible and compare it to what's going on in the world all around you. Hey, the first episode is all about the inflation illusion. So I'm going to encourage you to check it out. I'll have a link to it in the show notes.Or you can go to truthunveiledwithralph.com My friend, today, stay generous, stay connected, reconnect if you need to, and stay financially confident. You've got this. God bless you and you have a great day today.