For the last few years, I’ve been comfortably working in a regular, ordinary, desk job. It has allowed me to focus on family time and not worry too much about paying bills and hustling.
But sadly, it doesn’t afford me the ability to do what I want or what I love. You know the old saying- “you work to make your employer rich.” You won’t find financial independence working for someone else. But I don’t really want to start a business, either.
So I have to make a decision: do I start a business again, or plug along with barely enough?
This isn’t an easy question. And before you say things like “Christians shouldn’t be chasing money!” you should consider Proverbs:
“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established … The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
Proverbs 16:3, 9
The point isn’t that I want to make more money. The point is I don’t want to have to struggle and wonder where I will get the money to pay for my wife’s medical bills, car repairs, and who knows what else.
“Shouldn’t you rely on God to provide those things?”
Yeah. I have been for the last 25 years. My faith isn’t crumbling; I’m just realizing that there’s opportunities out there that I can easily do that will take some of the burden off of me and my family.
Are there things I want to buy with money? Sure. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t. I could use a reliable car. I would like to get a recumbent bicycle so I can take up one of my favorite things again: long distance cycling. (I can’t ride like that any more since my nerves have started to give me trouble.) I could use some respectable recording gear, so I can make the album I’ve been wanting to make. I would love to get a nice camera and build a new PC so I can make videos for Youtube that don’t suck.
Does this mean I’m suddenly against minimalism? No, not even close.
There’s a fine line between “looking out for number one” and simply taking advantage of opportunities that are everywhere. If you could make money indefinitely for just a few days of work- why wouldn’t you? Is that dishonoring God, or is it being a good steward of the resources God has given us?
Obviously, there’s ways to make money that are dishonoring to God. I don’t recommend girls (or guys) get on OnlyFans because “the opportunity is out there, it’s easy, and the money’s good!” No. That’s a horrible use of your resources, and it’s feeding sinful natures in others. I will never do anything remotely dishonoring to God.
But- there are ways to make money that are easy, simple, and can be scaled up. I haven’t done them up until now for a few reasons:
1. I didn’t know how
2. I didn’t think I could be successful at it because I failed in the past
But really, one failure doesn’t mean it’s not possible. I just have to keep trying until I find something that works. And it doesn’t have to be huge! Just one thing. Something simple. Something that doesn’t require massive amounts of time. Something I can automate. Then I can have it make money for me while I sleep.
The more I think about it, the more ideas I come up with. And eventually, I will try to make each of those happen, one at a time.