Steven Covey makes an important distinction between leaders and managers.

Leaders are those who have vision and direction.

Managers simply master the art of doing ‘it’ better and more efficiently.

Covey offers the following illustration:

The managers are those who are finding better swinging movements to cut more branches with less effort while the leader is the one climbing to the top of the tree to see if they are in the right forest and to see if they are heading the right direction.

The manager might race to figure out how quickly she can climb up the ladder while the leader checks to be sure the ladder is in the right place before attempting to climb.

Too often our time and energy is spent trying to do money management.

We simply try to do the money thing better.  We want to maximize our investment on return, find the best savings account, learn how to cut a few more dollars from our budget.  But at some point we need to take a break from our busy money management and ask – what is the purpose of all this?

Your financial purpose helps you be sure you are doing the right thing with your money – not just the most efficient thing with your money.

4 Reasons To Discover Your Financial Purpose

1.  To Have Clear Financial Goals

Wouldn’t it be a great feeling to be ‘on track’ financially?

It is impossible to know if you are on or off track until you have first looked ahead to decide on some financial goals.  Once you have financial goals in place you can now set some goals along the way to help you track your progress.

When you have financial purpose you can lead your money according to your goals.

2.  So You Can Find More Satisfaction In Your Interactions With Money

At times we wonder – what is the point of all this?

Why should I save this or spend that?  We fall into a pattern of money management depression.  We find that budgeting is a waste of time.  There is no point in tracking our spending.  This indicates that you are just managing your money.  You have no sense of direction or purpose.  If, however, you establish a clear financial purpose those accounting and money management tasks become tools to help you accomplish your financial goals.

When you have financial purpose you will find more satisfaction in your interactions with money.

3.  You’ll Have Emotional, Physical, and Spiritual Peace

When you accomplish something, you typically feel a tremendous amount of satisfaction.

When people decide to diet and start to lose weight they often talk about how it impacts them both emotionally and even spiritually.  There is something satisfying about accomplishing goals.

When you have financial purpose you will experience emotional, physical, and spiritual peace.

4.  You’ll Get To Help Others More

Giving rarely happens unless it is intentional.

The wait for “enough” is a loooooong wait.  In fact, if you cannot give today I suspect you will find it hard to give tomorrow – no matter how much you make.

When, however, you have a financial purpose you can intentionally decide to bless others based on what you have.  A classic example of this is the graduated tithe.  The graduated tithe gives you a direction and a purpose even for money that you are yet to earn.

When you have financial purpose you have a wonderful opportunity to help others.

Take Advantage Of The New Year To Set Some Financial Purpose Goals

For a moment step back and commit to looking at the big picture.  Don’t just try to make an extra $1,000 in 2010. Rather decide on a legitimate purpose to make an extra $1,000.  If, for example, you want to make some extra money to pay down debt, each dollar you earn can then be used according to your financial purpose.

Set some larger, long-term goals to give purpose to your money management and you will find the mundane financial tasks will be easier to mange.

Get out of your financial rut.  Stop merely managing your money.  Its time to lead and find your financial purpose.

What are you striving for?  What is your financial purpose?  Any goals for 2010?  Tell us yours in the comments!

This article was written by Craig Ford. Along with his wife and three kids, Craig Ford works as a missionary in his birth country of Papua New Guinea. He is a Canadian citizen who completed his post secondary degrees in the States. In his spare time Craig writes Money Help For Christians and prepares the MH4C Special Reports. He is the author of Money Wisdom From Proverbs, has a Masters of Divinity degree, and (most importantly) eats homemade pizza with his family every Friday night.

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