Most of us are preoccupied with retirement. We work as hard as we can to make as much money as we can so we can retire as soon as we can. Then we can do what we want to do, when we want to do it, and how we want to do it. We consider this to be ultimate freedom—doing our will according to our ways.

To be able to retire, one must have a financial plan—a strategy for accumulating wealth. While it is wise to build assets (Proverbs 15:6; 21:20), it is not wise to build assets to serve one's own purposes.

The above text addresses the error of wrong motives. It is the wrong motive to build assets for the purpose of living according to one’s own will and ways. Such a person is a fool. The Greek word translated fool in English implies “a person without reason.” A fool does not consider ultimate reality. A fool lives myopically building assets to retire and fund a life of ease, pleasure, and comfort (i.e., seeking to do one’s will according to one’s ways) with little or no thought to the ultimate reality of physical death and thereafter.

Jesus notes that when one’s motive is primarily focused on retirement in this existence, then one's heirs will be unprepared to properly steward one's assets. But more important, the fool is unprepared for existence beyond the natural.

The text also indicates that there are assets more valuable than money, that is, riches toward God. In other words, there are riches that transcend this existence (a.k.a. true riches). In the end, we will all stand before God to give an account of our lives—even those saved by grace through faith in Christ will give an account (Romans 14:12). Therefore in the end, true riches will be more valuable than money. This reality suggests that one should use money to trade-up to true riches.

To gain true riches, one must have the right motive. Making retirement—characterized by seeking to do your will according to your ways—your primary objective is the wrong motive. The only right motive is to do everything according to the will and ways of God. This includes how we use money.

Given that our agenda should be congruent with God’s agenda, this means that money is simply a tool to do the will of God. We must learn to use money to accomplish the purposes of God and never view money as a means to enable us to accomplish our will according to our ways.

Here is your business tip. Money is a tool to do God's will according to God's ways. This means that money should be used to acquire true riches—eternal wealth. Therefore, organizations must seek clarity from the Lord on how to properly steward their resources in alignment with the will and ways of God. Likewise managers should seek to help workers learn to live accordingly. If individual workers are not properly stewarding their own financial resources, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for the workers to steward organizational resources according to the will and ways of God. Astute organizational stewardship begins with adroit individual stewardship.