The Audacity of Wealth: The Sacred Obligation for the Influential

WARNING: Only for those called to high levels of income, influence and impact (5-minute read)

It is unspoken obligation to a select few which, when ignored, throws society into such imbalance and chaos with ripple effects difficult to quantify...

A sacred pillar of organised society which has been relegated and must be reclaimed by all means and at all costs..

I stumbled upon this by inspiration but confirmed it by study and observation.

The general idea people have of how society runs is that:

1. There is a provider (system of government) who creates policies, infrastructure and is responsible for state matters and resource management on behalf of the (citizens). The government can take many forms - autocracy or democracy, amongst others.
2. There are beneficiaries (citizens and residents) who are directly or indirectly impacted by the actions or inactions of the government.

So it’s usually about ‘the government’ being responsible for running the state and ‘the people’ at the mercy of their policies good or bad. But there’s a third class in the middle of that spectrum - The Wealthy.

You can refer to them as Barons.

I’m talking about people with means, resources and influence enough to make things happen, and enough dignity and respect to be regarded as nobles.

Beyond having money, these people have agency (leverage) at their disposal. There’s both undeniable power and, consequently, great responsibility attached to that.

Yes, I believe ‘being wealthy’ is a calling with specific responsibilities assigned to whoever stewards it.

Foundations of Impact and Influence

So let’s look at the life of Job.

Without going too granular, we can deduce from the description of this man in Job 1:1-3 what it means to be wealthy.

1. ASSETS: He had 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 pairs of yoked oxen, 500 donkeys.If he had oxen, it implies that he had huge farmlands for the oxen to plough. That’s what the yokes are meant for.
2. LEVERAGE: He had a large number of servants. A great household, talking about agency. He had the capacity for productivity with the huge supply of labour under his command. This is the leverage big business owners, CEOs, C-suite executives, founders and directors of large organisations have.

Beyond having assets and leverage, the testimony of the writer concerning Job in vs 1 is that he was perfect (complete, blameless, upright).

We established the material status of Job, but looking further at his testimony in Job 29, we uncover a fundamental principle on which my article is premised.

Job starts out sharing the privileged access and protection he enjoyed while, according to him, God watched over him.

He mentioned how he dismantled complex problems akin only to darkness by walking in divine wisdom

He spoke about his paths being drenched with butter and the rock pouring out streams of olive oil (this refers to his businesses flourishing and growing in leaps and bounds).

We also see from vs 29: 7-12 how he would go to the gate of the city and take his seat in the public square.

He had a seat at the table where decisions were made!

We read of how both young and old respected him, how nobles and princes hushed their mouths when he spoke, and how his influence was undeniable.

Now here’s the point. vs 12 starts with a keyword - BECAUSE

Everything he enjoyed in earlier verses became his reality BECAUSE..

He enjoyed protection, influence, and prosperity, BECAUSE..

Because of his deeds recorded in the following verses:

• He rescued the poor who cried for help, he was a father to the fatherless
• He put his money where his mouth was. He stood for justice and fought for it with his wealth.
• He used his resources, position and influence to ensure fairness, justice and equity in the city.
• He was eyes to the blind. He was sought after for illumination and wisdom (think government consultations for policies, wisdom for decision making, etc)
• He was feet to the lame. He helped people to get up and get moving. He provided support systems for people to rely on and platforms for the less privileged and vulnerable.

Such AUDACITY!

Job knew the purpose of wealth. He knew what it was meant for and he acted as such.

If you have resources and leverage at your disposal, there are ‘commandments’ allotted to you.

The Requirement To Be Perfected (Blameless)

The wealthy must recognise their place in society and their sacred obligation to be a buffer, a refuge, and a support system.

This is the requirement to be considered blameless.Isaiah 32 connects the dots perfectly.

Kings (people in authority, power, CEOs, Billionaires, Millionaires, and you too) must stand up for what is right.

Here is what people with means must begin to do:

1. Consider and determine what OUGHT to be, then organise and deploy energy, assets and leverage (relationships) to make it so.
2. Beyond getting your second passport, create systems of refuge for the vulnerable or less privileged in society who can not afford a means of escape from the economic storms
3. Build, fund and sustain certain platforms and structures that uphold important value systems for society.

The Audacity of Wealth is in recognising that with great ‘power’ comes great responsibility, and deploying that power for purpose.

Understanding that your mark is beyond getting rich, but you also need to be ‘blameless’ and complete.

What Next - How To Scale Your Income, Impact & Influence

Front and centre in the Personal Academy is everything that has to do with optimising and harnessing resources, nurturing leverage and capital to protect, preserve and provide for those who need it.

Not just to build a personal legacy but because you must do so as a matter of duty.

We learnt the power of capitalism from the men who built America.

Even though they did it primarily for selfish purposes, the benefits of those exploits still stand today.

If you have been entrusted with economic leverage, you MUST make it a duty to be wildly successful

It’s not about amassing more wealth to increase your storehouse, but so that you can do more good.

Spare no expense, lengthen your stakes, because you are on assignment.There is work to be done.

If you are a CEO, C-suite executive, Founder, Director or Owner with networth of $10m and /or over 100 team members working with you, or if you know one

Kindly send me a DM and let us talk right away ??

Nigeria is waiting, Africa is waiting, the global South is waiting.