One of the most amazing truths about wealth is that there is so much of it to be had and so little claimed.

One of my favorite passages of scripture talks about this.  It teaches us that wealth is all around us, we just have to learn to see it.

I’m not talking about being greedy or experiencing a windfall, I’m talking about plain old hard work.

The sad truth is that some people will spend more energy trying to get out of work, rather than just working.

There’s a waste of not only energy but time.  As one wise man once said, once begun, half done!

By now, you’re probably wondering what you can do to gain more wealth.   The first place to begin is right where you are.

Proverbs 27:23-27 tells us to begin with what we have.  Not what we want, but what we possess.  You can call it leveraging, stewardship, wisdom, whatever you want.  The fact is, that if you want to be successful, you have to start with what you have.

We see this time and time again throughout the bible.  A widow accumulates enough oil to pay all of her bills.  But first she begins by gathering up what pots she has and borrowing from neighbors.

Five thousand people are fed, but it all begins with a boy’s packed lunch.

Men and women become great leaders, but first they must begin with the gifts and skillsets they have.

In Proverbs 27, we’re taught that if we want wealth, we need to take care of what we have.

Why?  Because in a agrarian or farming society, people knew that if they wanted more, they had to begin with what they have.  If you want a field of corn, you have to plant one.

The good news is that we all have something!

If you want a principle, it’s this…take care of the people and things that take care of you.  Or, feed those who feed you!

Is there someone who has invested in you?  You’d be wise then, to invest in them.

Again, feed those who feed you.

My grandfather practiced this principle on his farm.  He knew his cows and even took the time to measure how much milk each cow produced.  Guess which cows received the most grain?  You guessed it.  The ones who produced the most milk.

Not all results are equal.

In the world of principles, this is called the Pareto Principle.  This means that 20 percent of our efforts produce 80 percent of our results.

In organizations, 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work.

So what does that mean?  Well, it appears that if we want results, we should focus on the 20 percent that is producing 80 percent of our results.

One area this applies to is people.

We should spend the majority of our time with the people in our lives who are producing the majority of fruit.

By nature, we do differently.  We focus on our weak points.  Some how we’ve believed the tale that we should be successful in every area.

A cousin of mine has taken my Grandfather’s strategy a step further.  When her cows are producing poorly, she sells them and replaces them with cows that have better genetics.  That’s wisdom.

The bible doesn’t tell us to keep on pouring into animals in the herd that don’t produce.  It tells us to inspect our flocks.

It’s easy to get comfortable and just let things ride.  To coast and hope for better results.  It’s another matter to reflect and invest in things and people who are fruitful.

In my own life and ministry, I’ve been surprised to find that those who have the least to give are the most apt to give the most.

The love and support I’ve received throughout the years hasn’t come from the most promising looking individuals.  Often those people are just that, all show and no go.  The fruit has come from those who didn’t have it to give.  The reason I found that true, was that people who have it, often want to keep it.  They reason that if they let it go, they’ll go without.  Sadly, it’s not the “rich” who give, it’s the “poor”.

It all boils down to reaping and sowing.  If we want a harvest, we have to plant.  And if we want a large harvest, we have to plant a lot of seed.

But the truth is that wealth doesn’t generally fall out of heaven in large amounts.  It generally snowballs.  Little things add up to big things.  Wealth comes in the form of feed, fleece, milk.

All of these things add up to not only material comforts, but riches.  With these riches, we can expand and invest.  We can buy a field or a home.  But it all begins by tending to the little things.

The truth is we’re all not farmers by nature, but we can be farmers in principle.  Or another way, we can be better stewards and take care of and invest in the things God has given us.

If we want better kids, why not start with the one’s we have?  If we want better jobs, why not start with the ones that we have?  If we want better friends, why not start with the ones we have?

Why not start a ‘stop and do not resuscitate list’?  Maybe there’s a habit you need to part with.  It may not be a ‘bad’ one, but it’s not going to help you achieve the goals you’ve set.

Or, maybe there’s someone in your life who is a drain rather than a blessing.  Parting ways with them doesn’t mean that you don’t care about them.  It just means that you care enough about yourself to do what’s wisest.

Ultimately, we all only have limited time and resources.  Why not make the best use of what we have?