The Slave Money Mentality

Last week, I introduced you to the three money mentalities that are going to supply the substance for our discussions on the blog each Monday. They are:  the slave mentality, the boss mentality, and the worker mentality (for more information, please refer to last Monday’s blog – Money Mentality, dated 10/10/11). Last week, I provided you with a brief description of each money mentality and I asked you to determine which mindset best resembles your own. Well, today we are going to take a more thorough look at the slave mentality.

The slave mentality is an impulsive and irresponsible one – it is one that thrives in moments and gives little regard for the long haul, and does so at the expense of others. A person with a slave mentality has no concept of financial stewardship, nor does he show much interest in changing. He is motivated by present urges and conditions, and so spends money with little regard for more important financial responsibilities. Thus, he drags others down. You know people like this. It’s the woman who never seems to have enough money to pay her utility bills, but eats out regularly. It’s the guy who can’t seem to come up with the money to make his car payment, but consistently finds money to buy the latest gadgets. It’s the people who can never seem to earn a living but have no problem collecting welfare from the taxes paid by the multitudes who do.

A person with the slave mentality wears debt like a badge. He or she isn’t ashamed to borrow money from friends and family with no regard for paying it back. This person is more interested in letting others take care of them than learning to take care of themselves. This is the most difficult mentality to change. You can offer to pay for them to receive financial education and training but they typically will not accept your offer. You can even promise to pay off their debt at the conclusion of such training, but even that will prove unsuccessful. Why?

Why is the slave mentality the most difficult to change? What causes a person to embrace the slave mentality in the first place? A man who lives according to the slave mentality is a man who has allowed himself to become a product of his environment. You see, a slave is nothing more than a professional hustler…a person who has learned how to scheme others out of money while refusing to apply the same efforts to become financially stable and prosperous on his own. He is content to ride the coattails of others, burning bridges as he goes along the way.

A woman who exhibits a slave mentality is a woman who has been victimized in some way and now uses manipulation to protect herself and survive harsh circumstances. Unfortunately her approach proves a lack of faith to believe that her identity isn’t characterized by her past. She is no different than a woman who becomes promiscuous as a result of being molested as a child. The woman controlled by the slave mentality has been crippled by either having lost everything or by having been given everything. This is a woman who can watch everyone around her mature and change without ever considering her own potential to do the same. She views their advancement as another opportunity to take greater advantage of them.

Nothing angers me more than to meet a person who is content with living a life whereby he or she gladly passes ownership of her existence over to others so as to avoid accepting responsibility for her own life. She is a slave to the credit card company, a slave to her friends, a slave to her landlord, and anyone else she owes.

Come on Out of the Dark

Have you found yourself living by the false contentment of a slave? Are you finally tired of depending on others...tired of looking out towards others with begging hands instead of looking inward at the capabilities and gifts within your own mind? Are you tired of living just for today, with no hope for the future because every day seems to pan out like the one before it? Do any of the characteristics of the slave mentality point to parts of your thinking and your life? If so, my prayer is that you will read the following points very intently so you can begin to adjust your thinking and revolutionize your life.

1.       Change your mind!

a.      You are not your past. What has been a FACT in your life does not determine what has to be the TRUTH in your life now.

b.      If you have experienced loss in your past it doesn’t mean you have to continue to lose.

c.       If you’ve had everything handed to you before now, that doesn’t mean you have to be controlled by a sense of entitlement. You can change the game!

2.      Change your actions!

a.      Get off of your behind and use your mind! Go to work! It took an opportunistic mind to take advantage of others in order to get them to fund your life; use that same spirit to gain legitimate employment so you can pay your own way.

b.       You don’t have the right to enjoy natural pleasures more than you have a spiritual responsibility to take care of your own financial responsibilities. Don’t buy new shoes if it will take away from the gas money you need to get to and from work next week.

c.       It is a privilege and your responsibility to acquire money (God makes it available to you), but it is not your privilege to spend it on a whim. It is His and should be directed with godly purposes in mind.

Finally, I would like to close by encouraging those of you who may not be motivated by a slave mentality to avoid encouraging those who are. Let’s face it – all of us have people in our lives who look for opportunities to sup from our plates instead of working, filling, and supping from their own. We must understand that by choosing to fund slavery, we also choose to be enablers who will be responsible for crippling healthy, intelligent individuals who can and should be taking care of themselves.