Two Powerful Views About Money, Power, and Wealth: Becoming My Own Philip

Image from sixnotes.com

Thinking about the Book of Acts, Chapter 8 today, and understood this to be two views of wealth, and what to do (or not to do) with it. 

First, There is the view of Simon.

This man possessed a power so magical and dazzling that he amassed loads of groupies who utilized the Social Media of their day to decree that Simon had the "Power of God" ...until the Apostles Peter and John came to town.

Simon immediately started to hang out with them, watching as they laid hands on the people so that they might receive the Spirit of the Lord.  Simon was so dazzled at this Power, that he offered some cash to Peter and John so he could get in on it too.  Peter said to Simon, "You and your money should both be destroyed, because you thought you could buy God's gift with money."

Then, there's the story of Queen Candace of Ethiopia's CFO.   While coming back from church, the CFO was reading the book of Isaiah out loud, and wanted to know more about the Man, whom Isaiah was talking about in his book.  

Enter Philip, sent by God to walk alongside the CFO's chariot, who asked the officer if he understood the words that were coming out of that book.  The officer said he needed it to be explained, and offered for Philip to sit next to him in his chariot and break it down to him.  After a while, the officer was so dazzled that he wanted to get baptized immediately.  The two found a creek or something nearby, and in it, Philip baptized the CFO.  When he came up out of the water, he found Philip had vanished, God having sent Philip elsewhere to do something.

Wow.  Two views of wealth and power.

Simon tried to buy it and couldn't, treating God's Power and Wealth as a commodity.  The CFO recognized an opportunity to receive true Power and Wealth by seizing that God-sent moment with Philip: and he received it all. 

I am in the process of setting my life in order to align with God's plan and purpose for my life...thus, I am on a quest for being a good steward of "Godly Wealth," such as is taught by George B. Thompson, which emanates from the Holy Spirit rather than "things," and is given to me by the grace of God.  In a word, I am becoming my own Philip: I am leading myself to a place of recognizing and seizing the opportunity to do  something (or not do something) with True Power, and True Wealth.  I recognize today, that:

• To change my outer landscape, I must renew my inner landscape going forward...and it is truly a serious fight with my "self." 

• Transformation is a moment by moment yielding and commitment. 

• Transformation is the formation of new habits not taught in childhood that, when consistently and wholly applied, will change my life.

• It all starts with my THOUGHTS, and the true Will To Do/Will To Succeed ...and recognizing the power of what to do (or what not to do) with a moment. 

Reinvesting in your most important asset - YOU, is a continuous process loop of Renewing the mind.  Here, I have developed the Continuous Process Loop of Godly Self Transformation, or (Renewal = R³).

1. Refocus on the Lord through prayer and thanksgiving.
2. Realign yourself with His precepts and principles.
3. Respect the process, not the content, to invest and reinvest in God's Plan.

Image and Concept  by Colette (Coco) Street © 2013 All Rights Reserved.

The other day, I had a great discussion with my Mentor, Dr. David Blake Willis, about the scholar/practitioner and life journey I am on.  In the midst of that conversation, I had one of those realizations that I was experiencing a moment to seize, that will change the rest of my time left on earth...

...to be continued.

the continuing struggles of a suppressed dj

dj dj dj.  still wanna do it, go through with it, but where will i spin?  who will dance to my tunes? moreover, what will catch-a-fire?  i know there are many who have wondered what life would be like if they chose to do the thing that is taboo, that thing they always talk about in moral sitcoms where the person lives out their dream which alienates their people because they met this person when they gave up the taboo dream and began life as they knew it.  but one can only keep a caged tiger tamed for so long.  it has to come out somehow, and then risk being beaten back into safe submission by friends and family who are afraid of the taboo.  they don't want the taboo...they want safe little old you.  meaning well and doing it out of love, sure... but why can't we and our loved ones love all aspects of our creative selves?

by the end of that moralistic sitcom, the rogue is back in her safe little slacks and blouse with her briefcase and weejuns floating off to the corporate job of creative mundane-ness.  meanwhile the taboo's death knell sounds.

i feel bad about it.  i remember dancing at the old "does your mama know" back in the day and seeing some "senior dancers" moving through the crowd, drink in hand.  i felt offended at their presence.  "go back to the piano bar" i thought, asking why someone their age would have the gall, the unmitigated audacity to dare be in the presence of the fabulous young!!  now, i ain't a senior yet, but it's sittin' on the porch filing its nails waiting for me to join it!  if i walked into a place like that now, with half naked chicks writhing to the beats created by my generation, would they give me that get outta here jeer?  you bet they would.  if i created a club for people like me would they come?  only if it went no later than midnight, unless tomorrow's a vacation day or holiday.  if not, no dice.  gotta get up and weed the garden in the morning, you know.

maybe it should be a little hobby like cooking or needlepoint?  oh...what are your hobbies, ms, coco?  who, me?  after i write all of my court reports and send them in, i comb out my mohawk and go dj someplace.

hmmm... nice.