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Is Pursuing Financial Freedom a Sin? (this is what the Bible says) — Transcript

by Brayden Hebert · 4,229 words · 573 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00As a young man who's business-minded,
0:01I've always had this idea and this dream
0:04to achieve financial freedom. Ever since
0:06a young age, I mean, I would come home
0:07from school, my early teenage years, and
0:10start watching these YouTube videos for
0:12hours and hours on how to build wealth
0:15and real estate investing and how to
0:18invest in the stock market, how to make
0:20money online, and all these different
0:21things as a teenager. And I got obsessed
0:25with this idea of financial freedom. I
0:27didn't really grow up with money and
0:29things like that and I saw how hard it
0:31was on my parents and the sacrifices
0:33that they had to make in order to give
0:35me a good life and you know one thing
0:37led to another and it led me to this
0:39idea that I want to become financially
0:42free. So I've been researching this for
0:43years and then finally whenever I got to
0:46a point in my life where I decided to
0:48give my life to Christ, I started asking
0:50the questions, what does God's word
0:51actually say about this? Does God want
0:54us to be wealthy? Does God want us to
0:55pursue financial freedom? Does the Bible
0:57even talk about this? So, very recently,
1:00I've been diving into the Bible and
1:03trying to find out what it actually says
1:05about money and wealth and possessions
1:07and how we should go about it as a
1:08Christian, living life how God wants us
1:11to live. Growing up, I'd kind of hear
1:12bad things about money. Um, especially
1:15whenever it came to being a Christian,
1:16it kind of just felt like money wasn't a
1:18topic to talk about. Um, it kind of was
1:21like not something that everybody was
1:23comfortable talking about. And a popular
1:26verse I kept hearing is money is the
1:28root of all evil. Money is the root of
1:29all evil. Until I finally read that
1:32verse for myself and I came to find that
1:34it actually says the love of money is a
1:37root of all kinds of evil. And so that
1:40was my first discovery that like just
1:42because it's something that you hear
1:44often doesn't make it true. You have to
1:46go and read the Bible for yourself
1:48because what if what you've been taught
1:49all your life or the things that you've
1:51heard isn't even true with scripture. So
1:54that's something I would hear and as I
1:56continued to read the Bible, I would
1:57come across things like Matthew 6:24. It
2:00says, "You cannot serve two masters. You
2:02cannot love both God and money." So
2:04after reading verses like these, I
2:07thought to myself, okay, I had to choose
2:09one. It's either going to be God or it's
2:11going to be money. For some reason, I
2:12thought it was a sin to build wealth as
2:14a Christian. And I came to the
2:17conclusion that if I wanted to serve
2:19God, I couldn't even think about
2:21building wealth. And if I wanted to
2:23build wealth, I couldn't even think
2:24about being a Christian and serving God.
2:26That's the mindset that I pretty much
2:28came to conclusion to until I decided to
2:31fully go in detail, read the Bible of
2:34what it actually says about money. Not
2:36just with the words on the page, but
2:38what about the themes throughout the
2:39stories of the Bible? Do we see certain
2:41themes of characteristics that God uh
2:44works through certain people? Or what
2:47does Jesus actually say himself in red
2:49letters? And then what does it say in
2:51other books of the Bible like Proverbs?
2:53And what I came to find I think might
2:56shock you or it might surprise you. I
2:58would read verses like Proverbs 13:22
3:02that says, "A good man leaves an
3:03inheritance to his children's children."
3:05Or Proverbs 10:4, "Lazy hands make for
3:08poverty, but diligent hands bring
3:10wealth." Proverbs 21:20, "The wise store
3:13up choice food and oil, but fools gulp
3:15down all they have." Deuteronomy 8:18,
3:18the idea that God is the one who gives
3:20us the ability to produce the wealth in
3:22the first place. Or 2 Corinthians 9:11,
3:26you will be enriched in every way so
3:27that you can be generous on every
3:29occasion and through your generosity
3:31will result in thanksgiving to God. And
3:33all of these verses started to point to
3:35the fact that having financial freedom
3:38and having wealth is a good thing.
3:39something that happens to the wise and
3:42something that God can get the glory out
3:44of and you can bless others on every
3:46occasion. And so on one hand it's
3:48starting to seem like this good thing
3:49that we should do. And then I kept on
3:52reading my Bible and then I would start
3:54to see the opposite side, the warnings
3:56of wealth. And I would read things like
3:581 Timothy 6:10, for the love of money is
4:02a root of all kinds of evil. Some people
4:04eager for money have wandered from the
4:06faith and pierced themselves with many
4:08griefs. Or again, Matthew 6:24, "No one
4:11can serve two masters. Either you will
4:13hate the one and love the other, or you
4:15will be devoted to the one and despise
4:17the other. You cannot serve both God and
4:19money." Luke 12:15. Then he said to
4:22them, "Watch out. Be on your guard
4:23against all kinds of greed. Life does
4:26not consist in abundance of
4:27possessions." Proverbs 11:28, "Those who
4:30trust in their riches will fall, but the
4:32righteous will thrive like a green
4:33leaf." Ecclesiastes 5:10, "Whoever loves
4:36money never has enough. Whoever loves
4:39wealth is never satisfied with their
4:40income. So I got to this point I'm like,
4:43okay, I feel like there's just as many
4:44verses on money being a good thing, but
4:47then the love of money being something
4:48that could completely rip your life
4:50apart, a bad thing. And I pretty much
4:52came to the conclusion that the
4:53difference in these two different verses
4:55or two different types of verses is that
4:58on one hand, money and wealth when used
5:02in the right way could bring glory to
5:04God. It could leave an inheritance for
5:07your children's children. You could be
5:09generous to other people. You can
5:10provide for your family. You can do all
5:11these things. And then on the other
5:12hand, it's like the love of money,
5:15putting your security in wealth and the
5:20warnings that Jesus says for a lot of
5:22these things of making money your god.
5:25So, it simply comes down to your heart.
5:28Money can be a tool used for great
5:30things on one hand, and on the other
5:32hand, it can be something that
5:33completely destroys your life and tears
5:36you away from God. And so, here's
5:38something that pretty much changed
5:40everything for me. I had to realize that
5:45if you were a Christian, you have to
5:47operate out of being a manager of
5:50everything that you have on this earth.
5:52Nothing is truly yours. When you die,
5:55it's just going to get passed on to the
5:56next guy. everything down to the house
5:59that you live in, to the land that you
6:00own or to the shirt on your back. It's
6:03either going to get thrown away or
6:06recycled or given to somebody else or
6:09sold or whatever. So, no possession that
6:11you have is truly yours anyways. You're
6:14just managing it for God while you live
6:16on this earth. And we see this in Psalms
6:1924:1.
6:20The earth is the Lord's and everything
6:22in it, the world and all who live in it.
6:25for he founded it on the seas and
6:27established it on the waters. So
6:29anything that we ever have on this life
6:32not only is for God but it's been given
6:34to us to manage it for God as well. And
6:38whenever you really really start
6:40operating as a manager instead of an
6:43owner, your view on money becomes
6:46completely different because the
6:47question that you're asking yourself is
6:49no longer how can I become wealthy. It
6:52starts to be am I managing God's
6:55resources responsibly or the way that he
6:59wants me to be doing it. So financial
7:01freedom shouldn't come from a place of
7:04how can I store up for myself as much as
7:06I can on this earth to give my security
7:08to live it up or like any of these
7:10reasons. It becomes almost your duty as
7:14a Christian to manage the opportunities
7:16in your life to have responsibility
7:18whenever it comes to your finances and
7:21having obedience to God's word on what
7:23it actually says to do with your money.
7:24And I'm going to be completely honest, I
7:26got to a point in my life very recently
7:28where I understood all these verses. I
7:30understood all these concepts in the
7:31Bible and I could recite the scripture.
7:34I can tell you that the love of money is
7:35the root of all evil. I can tell you
7:36that you can't serve two masters. I can
7:39tell you that Jesus warns us about
7:40storing up for ourselves treasures on
7:41earth and instead we should store up
7:43treasures on heaven. And yet somehow I
7:45was still struggling on how to operate
7:47on a day-to-day basis because every
7:50single time that I would start to
7:52operate in a responsible way with my
7:56work, with my finances, with building
7:57wealth, with pursuing financial freedom,
8:00I would get this this thought that would
8:02creep into my mind of like, are you sure
8:04you're doing it for God? Are you sure
8:06you're not just doing it for your own
8:07selfish gain? Are you sure you're not
8:09trying to just see a certain number of
8:11money with your net worth or your bank
8:13account or anything? And I would
8:15constantly be on a back and forth
8:17battle. And it drove me into this severe
8:21level of laziness and I just fell off
8:23altogether with my purpose in life. And
8:27it was terrible. I'm not even going to
8:28lie. Like it got to a point where where
8:30I was so far off of what the Bible even
8:33said that I realized I just woke up one
8:35day and I was like, "Dang, I really let
8:39the devil play me like a puppet and
8:42knock me off of what God truly has for
8:44me cuz he twisted the scriptures and he
8:46put those lies in my head and I believe
8:48them." And James 1:22 puts into
8:51perspective on kind of like the life
8:54that I was living. And I feel like this
8:55is exactly the type of person that I
8:57was. James 1:22 says, "Do not merely
9:00listen to the word and so deceive
9:02yourselves, but do what it says." Anyone
9:05who listens to the word but does not do
9:07what it says is like someone who looks
9:09at his face in a mirror and after
9:10looking at himself goes away and
9:12immediately forgets what he looks like.
9:15But whoever looks intently into the
9:17perfect law that gives freedom and
9:19continues in it, not forgetting what
9:21they have heard, but doing it, they will
9:23be blessed in what they do. So, not just
9:25reading the word, not just being able to
9:26quote scripture, but whoever intently
9:29looks into God's word and continues in
9:31it, they will be blessed in what they
9:33do. So, how do we do that on a daily
9:35basis? I think Romans 12:2 gives us a
9:38perfect example of that. It says, "Do
9:41not conform to the pattern of this
9:43world, but be transformed by the
9:45renewing of your mind. Then you will be
9:47able to test and approve what God's will
9:49is, his good and pleasing and perfect
9:51will." So do not conform to the pattern
9:54of this world. So do not conform to your
9:57natural way of thinking of falling into
9:59those traps, your fleshly way of
10:02thinking and operating, but be
10:04transformed by the renewing of your
10:06mind. Meditating on scripture, reminding
10:08yourself daily what God's word says. Not
10:11just to be able to quote the scripture,
10:12but so that you can actually live it
10:13out. Like James 1:22 says, don't just
10:16read the word, but be doers of the word.
10:18constantly reminding myself why I am
10:21operating the way that I do or what I'm
10:24doing on a daily basis. Like why am I
10:26actually going to put in the work? Like
10:28what are the actual motives behind it?
10:30Not just okay, I'm going to work because
10:32I need money to survive or I'm going to
10:33work because I guess I want to build
10:35some sort of wealth because I don't want
10:37to be poor. It's it's so much deeper
10:39than that for a Christian. It it goes
10:41from the surface level of, you know,
10:44cause and effect like I'm going to work
10:46so I can get money. It goes from that to
10:49I'm going to work hard in everything
10:50that I do because it's obedience to
10:52God's word. It's not about puffing
10:54ourselves up. It's not about our ego.
10:56It's not about what can we accomplish.
10:58It comes down to obedience. Colossians
11:003:23, "And whatever you do, work at it
11:03with all your heart as working for the
11:04Lord and not for human masters." So, we
11:06know that we have to work hard. 1
11:08Corinthians 4:2, "Now it is required
11:11that those who have been given a trust
11:13must prove faithful." So we must be
11:15faithful in everything that we do.
11:17Proverbs 22:29.
11:19Do you see someone skillful in their
11:21work? They will serve before kings. They
11:23will not serve before officials of low
11:24rank. So not only work hard, not only be
11:27faithful, but be skilled in what you do.
11:29Ephesians 6:7 through8. Serve
11:32wholeheartedly as if you were serving
11:33the Lord, not people, because you know
11:36that the Lord will reward each one for
11:38whatever good they do, whether they are
11:40slave or free. In everything that we do,
11:43we should be doing it wholeheartedly.
11:45Serving in our marriage, in our
11:47finances, for our studying, for our
11:49test, literally everything. Not just
11:51building wealth, not just, you know, one
11:52thing or another. Whenever it comes down
11:54to these principles as Christians, we
11:56need to realize that it transcends our
11:58entire life. Obedience to Christ is not
12:01just on Sundays. It's every single day
12:03of our life in every area. So, I'm to
12:06this point now where I'm fully convinced
12:07that God does not call man to be average
12:11in anything, but to be excellent in
12:13everything. Not for our own glory, but
12:16for God's glory. And that by doing that,
12:18it's honoring and pleasing to God
12:20because we're obeying him. Jesus said,
12:22"If you love me, you'll keep my
12:23commands." In Matthew 5:14, it says,
12:26"You are the light of the world. A town
12:28built on a hill cannot be hidden.
12:30Neither do people light a lamp and put
12:32it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on
12:34its stand and it gives light to everyone
12:35in the house. In the same way right
12:38here, let your light shine before others
12:40that they may see your good deeds and
12:42glorify your father in heaven. So to me,
12:45whenever I'm reading these things, if we
12:46do this with the right motives to
12:48glorify God, whenever we succeed in our
12:51finances, that alone, other people can
12:54look at us, see our good deeds, and
12:56glorify God in heaven. So in every area
12:59of your life to succeed in finances is
13:02obedience to God. To succeed in your
13:04marriage and your relationships is
13:06obedience to God. To take care of your
13:07body and prioritize your fitness and be
13:10healthy is obedience to God. Why?
13:13Because it's all about being managers
13:16and stewards of what he places in our
13:18life. God gave me this body. So I'm
13:20going to treat it wholly and with
13:22respect and I'm going to put healthy
13:24things into it. and I'm going to go out
13:25for runs and I'm going to be strong and
13:27lift weights. And all of that is not
13:29just for your own glory. Whenever you're
13:32doing it with the right motives, it can
13:34be for God's glory. And I think that's
13:36the way that he intended it. In the same
13:38way, he gave me this wife, so I'm going
13:39to honor her and I'm going to honor God
13:41and I'm going to treat her respectfully
13:43and we're going to have this healthy
13:44marriage because I am being responsible
13:47with the things that God gives me on
13:48this earth as a manager, not like an
13:51owner of, oh, that's my wife. She's with
13:54me now. now I don't have to try or why
13:56can't I just lay on the couch all day
13:58play video games and eat potato chips.
14:00This is what gives you the purpose in
14:02everything that you do is because you're
14:04starting to live life through this not
14:06just what you feel like doing but out of
14:09obedience to God's word. And it has to
14:12be intentional. You can't just get to
14:14the end of a goal that you have like
14:16let's say I don't know you want to make
14:17a million dollars and you get to this
14:20point and where you have you built this
14:21entire successful business and then at
14:24the end you're like oh yeah uh glory to
14:26God but the entire time you were just
14:29not even thinking about it or that
14:30wasn't actually the reasons of why you
14:32were building the business that you
14:34built or whatever the case may be. It's
14:36not about just giving God the glory at
14:38the end. It's about every single day
14:41living your life with him in obedience
14:43to his word. And that's the reasons of
14:45why you're doing it. And I'm not going
14:46to be able to tell you and you're not
14:48gonna be able to tell in my life. I
14:49could have the wrong motives way in the
14:51back of my mind and nobody will see on
14:53the surface, but only God can see it
14:55because God knows your heart. It's
14:57between you and him ultimately. And it
14:58has to come from a heart that wants to
15:01please God, that wants to love him, and
15:03that wants to obey his word. And so to
15:05help me not fall back into the old ways
15:08of operating and then like forgetting
15:10about God and being like, "Oh yeah, God,
15:12I want to be doing life your way." And
15:14so something that's helped me on a
15:16day-to-day basis is I made this little
15:19thing that I typed out for me to read
15:21every morning. And it's pretty much like
15:23my life mission statement of why I'm
15:26going to work every single day backed by
15:28scripture. And pretty much the idea is
15:30for me to read it every single morning
15:32before I start my day to really set the
15:35foundation of how I operate on a
15:37day-to-day basis. It says, "Why will you
15:40continue to work hard even on the
15:42hardest days?" The first thing is to
15:43provide for my family every single
15:45month. 1 Timothy 5'8, "Anyone who does
15:47not provide for their relatives,
15:49especially for their own household, has
15:50denied the faith and is worse than an
15:52unbeliever. To achieve financial freedom
15:54and to create generational wealth."
15:57Proverbs 13:22, "A good man leaves an
15:59inheritance to their children's
16:01children, but a sinner's wealth is
16:03stored up for the righteous." To give
16:05and bless others radically and at scale,
16:08not just 20 bucks here and there, but
16:10I'm talking like these radical ways of
16:13giving. Like, I want to get to a point
16:14in my life where I can see like a single
16:17mom or something with kids and she's
16:18struggling and go bless her with a car.
16:20I want to buy a house for somebody one
16:22day. And it's funny because like
16:25whenever you start operating as a
16:26Christian, things like that start to
16:28light that fire under you so much more
16:31than just for like your own personal
16:34gain. Like, oh, I want to buy a sports
16:35car one day or I want to achieve a
16:37million dollars net worth or I want to
16:40make six figures in a month or something
16:41like that. And I'm not trying to like
16:43judge you if those are your goals. Like
16:45you could still have those goals, but
16:47Jesus said is more blessed to give than
16:49to receive. like what Acts 20:35 says,
16:52it's more blessed to give than to
16:54receive. And I can tell in my own life
16:56personally, even on the smaller scale
16:58that I've done it so far, it's like
17:00knowing that you're helping somebody
17:02else, that you're spreading the word of
17:04God to them through your generosity,
17:07that is like so much more fulfilling and
17:10worth it and a reason for me to get up
17:12every morning and go and put in the
17:14hours and get to work and be ambitious
17:16than cuz I want to buy a certain car one
17:19day. The next thing is honoring God by
17:23doing good work in everything that I do.
17:25Whenever God created the world, every
17:27single time he would do something, he
17:29said like God created the light and he
17:31saw that it was good. He created the
17:33land and the waters and he saw that it
17:35was good. Plants, he saw it was good.
17:37Animals saw that it was good. And so
17:40whenever we were created in the image of
17:42God, it makes me think, okay, everything
17:45that God created is good. Then whenever
17:47we go out and everything that we create
17:49or everything that we do should be good
17:51as well. So we should be efficient in
17:53our work. We should we're literally
17:56called to excellence in everything that
17:57we do as humans who are created in the
18:00image of God. And 1 Corinthians 10:31
18:04kind of just like helps me dial that in.
18:06It says, "So whether you eat or drink or
18:08whatever you do, do it all for the glory
18:10of God." And so it's like this idea that
18:13we're operating out of, you know,
18:14obeying God's word and that's why we're
18:16doing everything to bring him glory, to
18:18bring him honor. And so in everything
18:20that you do, God can give the glory. And
18:22it's not about perfectionism. It's not
18:24about holding ourselves to like a too
18:26high of a standard or like it's
18:28literally like obedience to God because
18:30he gets the glory as we are pursuing
18:32excellence. And then finally, be the
18:34example to my son. That one's
18:36self-explanatory. So at the end of the
18:38day comes down to literally one thing.
18:43Your motives. Is pursuing financial
18:45freedom wrong? Is it unbiblical? Is it a
18:47sin? It depends on your motives. Are you
18:51doing it just to get the outcome of, you
18:53know, I want to buy a sports car one
18:54day? Are you doing it and then like
18:56forgetting about God in the process and
18:58then saying, oh yeah, let me go read my
19:00Bible or check off a box. Are you
19:02pursuing financial freedom because it's
19:04actually your idol in your life? because
19:07that's where you get your security from.
19:09Out of the fear of not having the money.
19:12Is that where it's coming from? Is that
19:13the reasons of why you're doing it? Or
19:15are you pursuing financial freedom out
19:17of obedience to God's word? Because God
19:19calls us to excellence in everything
19:21that we do because we are managers and
19:23stewards of the opportunities that he
19:24set in front of us. So with that, that's
19:26the end of the video. If this is the
19:28first time you've seen a video from me,
19:29consider subscribing. This is kind of
19:31the content that I like to make because
19:33I mean, I kind of shared that in this
19:34video. God put it on my heart from a
19:36young age. You know, I had these
19:37passions of building wealth and
19:39achieving financial freedom and um now
19:42I'm tying in like what does the Bible
19:44say about this? Not just tying it in,
19:46but building the foundation of God's
19:48word and that's the reason of why I'm
19:50going to go out and do all these things.
19:51So, if you have the interest of building
19:54wealth and living a life for God, then
19:56this is the perfect channel for you.
19:58Consider subscribing. And one last
19:59thing, if you're a young man, I do have
20:01a Discord channel um for young Christian
20:04men who are trying to live life God's
20:06way, using this as our firm foundation
20:08for not only just finances, but every
20:10walk of our life. And right now, I'm
20:12actually hosting a Monday morning
20:13devotion, kind of get together, and
20:15there's a small group of us where we
20:17start our week off right for God and the
20:19right mindset. And we do Bible studies
20:22throughout the week and different things
20:23like that. So, feel free to join. The
20:25link to that will be in the description.
20:26And finally, leave a comment. Let me
20:28know what you thought about this video
20:29or any thought whatsoever, questions or
20:32something that you didn't agree with or
20:33anything. I'd love to hear from y'all.
20:35So, God bless and hope to see you in the
20:38next

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This page contains the full transcript of Is Pursuing Financial Freedom a Sin? (this is what the Bible says) by Brayden Hebert, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 4,229 words across 573 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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