After posting 21 money stories and lessons, let’s cut down the chase and get to the bottom: Where is the best place for your money?
Story 22:
In 1843, Pastor Russell Conwell was approached by a few poor young men. They asked him to lecture them so that they could have college experience.
Conwell decided to raise money for a university that could give these poor but deserving young men a chance for education.
He gave 6,000 lectures from state to state and raised seven million dollars by telling the story of Acres Of Diamonds.
The donation birthed Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The story was about a successful African farmer.
One day, he entertained a traveler on his farm and learned that there were precious diamonds somewhere in Africa.
Driven by a burning desire for more money and power, he sold his farm and wandered in the continent of Africa for diamonds.
On his journey, he lost his family and all his money. In the end, he threw himself into the river.
Meanwhile, the new owner who bought his farm diligently worked in the field.
One day, when he worked at the edge of his farm by a stream, he saw something glittering in the sun.
He picked up the rock and cleaned it in the stream. He brought it home and set it on his fireplace mantel.
Many months later, a visitor stayed on his farm. When the visitor saw the rock one night, he examined it carefully and discovered that it was a giant diamond!
In alacrity, both the new owner and his visitor returned to the area where the new owner found his first diamond.
Wow, they were surprised with many sparkling diamonds in the rough!
It turned out this farm was one of the most prolific diamond mines in Africa.
Lesson:
Who you are and where you’re standing is where the money is.
Pastor Conwell taught the moral of the story of acres of diamonds:
In searching for a magical place, admiring the greener pastures in others’ yards, and toiling for a diamond of some kind, we forget that we’re all standing in our acres of diamonds.
I saved this story as my last money lesson because money is essentially spiritual, regardless of how social media flashes with its shiny objects of mansions, fancy vacations, upscale cars, and designer goods.
God created you as a creator, and money is a reflection of your creation in life.
If you feel you’re living a pinched financial life, this may be a spiritual calling to confront your fears and past life issues.
During my financial turbulence years, my lower back was always in pain. After I was forced to learn money management, I discovered the spiritual side of my physical phenomenon.
It turned out that each external physical challenge is associated with an internal psychological battle.
Oh yes, I bet your doctors never told you that each disease is a dis-ease of something inside.
For me, I had suppressed the fear of money from childhood traumas. I wasn’t aware that I resisted money subconsciously by resenting opulence and envying others’ abundance, which blocked my money flow.
At the time, I worked as a case manager in the field. Whenever a patient complained about lower back pain, I dared to ask an experimental question,
“Are you concerned about a financial situation?”
Ten out of ten times, my patients confirmed that they were battling with a divorce settlement, college tuition, job loss, or fear of a pension crash.
With the best mentors, I diligently went deeper within and slowly healed myself with money wounds. As my financial situation improved, I healed my lower back pain.
If you experience a financial disappointment, regard it as a wake-up call from God. Don’t avoid it, because if you don’t take care of it now, it’ll come back to visit you again and again until you’ve learned to deal with it.
Money is just one area of your multifaceted life. Any area you experience lack or inadequate, health, money, relationships, or self-expression, it’s God calling you to work on yourself in that area so that you can move forward in fulfillment.
Jesus said, “By standing firm, you will gain life (Luke 21:19)” By standing firm in your challenge and confronting it head-on, you’ll evolve to the next level of your being.
Losing your race, gender, job descriptions, and all assigned social roles, what are your core values in life? What are your rock principles that are infallible to your soul?
If money is out of the equation, and you can do anything you want now, what will you do? What excites you? What makes your heart sing and feel free?
Lastly, to discover your acres of diamonds, what do you need to let go that no longer serve and grow you?
There is no better and more secure investment than yourself.
In the word “believe,” do you see a LIE in it? What if your previous beliefs about money are all lies? What if you can create a new set of money beliefs for a new you?
What if the acres of diamond you’re seeking are in yourself, right here and right now?
With all my love, I bless you and bless you with prosperity and God’s infinite riches.
Now open the money door with affirmations:
I AM deserving wealth.
I AM creative with money sources.
I AM standing firmly on my acres of diamonds.
Let the money truth be engraved in your heart.
What you are and where you’re standing is the best place for your MONEY.