Fire is an essential part of survival. It warms a home, gathers community, and provides comfort and safety during the bitter, cold winter nights. However, one displaced flame from the fireplace, and you have a massive problem. Even the flicker from an unattended candle can cause a devastating house fire – robbing memories and potentially life itself. This shouldn’t mean we fear a good weenie roast or smores bonfire – it simply means there is a greater demand of responsibility when it comes to such value. Yet, the value itself isn’t found within the blaze but within the people gathered around it for warmth, connection, and love.
Money is a lot like fire. To completely refute it is absolutely ludicrous because it is such a major tool in all of our lives. The problem comes when a disproportionate amount of value comes upon the tool itself and not the purpose it’s used for. Money is used for everyday survival, generosity, and to lavish those we care for. On the flip side, money is also used for more insidious purposes, which enable greed, abuse, self-seeking gain, and dishonesty, to name a few. 1 Timothy 6:10 doesn’t sugarcoat it, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” The biggest takeaway from this scripture is the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. Money is purely a tool, and in order to hold it well, we must constantly keep our hands and hearts in check.
Money may keep the lights on, but it’s the people who fill a space and give it purpose, meaning, and life. The tight-knit relationships our company maintains with our clients have always been of more value than how much revenue we generate or profit. Creating a VIP Experience, especially with new clients, and focusing on creating instant and consistent value has always been a top priority. Joseph Prince once said, “Use money and love people. Don’t love money and use people.” Wow! What an incredible sentiment. It always comes back to people – that’s one of the most significant elements to our call as Christians (i.e. The Great Commission). At M is Good, we believe and seek this principle out full-heartedly. We truly care about the problems our clients face and believe we can provide the solution they’re looking for.
Patrick Lencioni’s book, Getting Naked, is an incredible aid within this concept and is chocked full of wisdom. The premise of this work centers around vulnerability and providing service to a clientele that goes beyond the typical threshold of trust and loyalty of most companies. The key is complete transparency in combating fears, which tend to result in the wavering allegiance of the client. Transparent vulnerability is a massive weapon against greed and the love of money. It establishes confidence within business ventures and lets the client know they themselves are the priority, not just the business they bring to the table.
The greatest command we are given is, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’” (Mark 12:30-31). Stewardship and honor are vital to this instruction. Stewardship of people, their business, and their money – in the honoring ways we would want ourselves, our business, our money to be handled. When we use money and love people, we can truly make the healthy business partnerships we desire to cultivate.
