“Help! Why do I never have enough?"
Learn the difference between bread and seed.
“Why is there never enough?! Why do I keep struggling with money?”
Do you feel trapped in a place of financial hardship, where it seems like nothing you do breaks you free from a poverty cycle?
If that sounds like you, I’ll ask you what I pose to my clients when they voice similar concerns:
Do you understand the principle of bread and seed?
Bread belongs in your mouth. This is the part of your income you consume on a daily or monthly basis.
Seed, however, belongs in the ground. Seed money can’t be treated like bread money; it needs to be planted, so it can grow and provide what you need later.
Many people feel trapped and desperate, and they end up consuming everything that comes into their hands: all their bread and all their seed. But this means they have nothing left for the future.
The poverty mindset says you can’t possibly afford to plant your seed. But honestly, you can’t afford not to plant your seed.
Seed money will bring stability to your home finances, but it only works when it’s planted.
Here in the West, Christians tend to operate on a 90/10 grid. We try to “eat” or live off of 90 percent of our income, and we “sow” the 10 percent. Many believers associate sowing with offerings and tithes to churches and charities.
But the Hebrews believed there are two kinds of seed. Generosity is one of them, but the other kind of seed, which we often overlook in the West, can be sown in different ways:
It can be sown into investments.
It can be sown into savings accounts.
It is money that goes toward increasing your assets.
It is money that goes toward decreasing your debts.
Both kinds of seed are important. The poverty spirit says, “I can’t afford to give!” But if you aren’t planting seeds in the ground, you will eventually choke out your bread supply. That’s just how it works, and that is where many people live—they haven’t planted seeds for the future, because the poverty spirit told them they can’t afford it.
But the truth is, every time you choose to plant your seed, you’re threatening the poverty spirit.
If you feel an internal resistance to giving, or a fear of giving, my answer through the lens of Scripture is that you can’t afford not to give.
Go about it with wisdom. Just as seed belongs in the ground, not in your mouth, bread belongs in your mouth, not in the ground. So think about this. Pray. Strengthen your finances, and don’t sow what shouldn’t be sown.
God bless your Prosperous Soul,
Stephen K. De Silva
About: Stephen K. De Silva is an author, speaker, and financial coach. From 1995 until 2017, he served as the CFO of Bethel Church, and a member of the senior leadership team. Stephen’s blend of experience, training, and gifting make him a pioneer in the subject of money. You can reach Stephen at hello@prosperoussoul.com