Giving Up And Still Winning

“Giving up” sounds like quitting, but we mean something else entirely: letting go of the mindset that says you’ll always be behind. We start with a bold declaration of shalom, nothing missing and nothing broken, then press the uncomfortable question underneath it: if God is not a God of lack, why do we keep living like scarcity is our permanent home?

We connect faith to real-world economics by talking about redlining, housing access, and why asset accumulation and home equity change a family tree over time. That’s where the conversation gets honest about systematic oppression and how exclusion shapes what people believe they can become. We also explore the internal cost of scarcity thinking, how it can lead to coveting, comparison, and closed hands, and why Scripture calls us to examine ourselves instead of normalizing fear.

From there, we get practical about Christian stewardship: open-handed giving from Deuteronomy 15, integrity that still pays the bill, and wisdom that doesn’t confuse generosity with irresponsibility. We share simple habits like setting aside a small giving amount every paycheck, blessing people without crushing their dignity, and building a real budget or financial strategy so you actually know what you have. We close with a warning from the parable of the talents: don’t bury what God put in your hands.

If you want a faith-forward conversation on generosity, abundance mindset, integrity, budgeting, and breaking the spirit of lack, press play now. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can find it, then tell us: what’s the hardest part about giving for you?

Transcript

Why Giving Up Can Work

SPEAKER_00 0:07

All right, thank you for tuning in to this podcast on today. It is for your life and your legacy. Hey, today we're going to talk about why giving up works. I know it sounds kind of funny, doesn't it? But how to give up and still win. It is a good thing to learn how to give up and still win. And we're going to unlock some things today and we're going to talk to you about that. I think you're going to be surprised that some things just work and there's nothing you can do about it. Because we serve a God who can do anything but fail. So listen, come on. Strip in. Go on, get ready. Kick your shoes off. Don't relax, though. Because we're about to make sure you meet life where you need to be living. All right. On top and living it abundantly. All right. You know, I almost forgot to tell you, to ask you, to hit that like and share button. Come on, hit that like and share button. We definitely appreciate it over here. Ah,

Shalom Means Nothing Missing

SPEAKER_00 1:12

yes, and here we go. Because life is waiting on you.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

So let's do this again. Shalom literally means, thank you, sir. Nothing missing and nothing broken. So when you say shalom, shalom, and you're talking to your brothers or your sisters or what have you, thank you, sir. Um, the expectation is that you want nothing missing and nothing broken in their house, over their house, over their lives. So let's say shalom. Look at somebody and say, Shalom.

unknown 1:43

Shalom.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Shalom, shalom. So you are making a proclamation over somebody's house. I want nothing missing and nothing broken. In other words, God is not a God of lack. God is not a God of lack. Now, I know, and I gotta touch on it real quick because some some of y'all might say, well, brother, what do you mean? I mean exactly what I said. He's not a God of lack, he doesn't come up short at all. I'm gonna let that sink in for a little while. He doesn't come up short at all. What did you what was that scripture you just quoted, Dean James? God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory. So let's go by Deuteronomy 28, verse 1. What does it say again? It shall come to pass. That means it's going to happen. Somebody says it's going to happen. Here you go, Doc. I know you need this. It's going to happen. Now, here's what we got to believe. It's going to happen for us. It's going to, I know, don't worry about it. I know what the text says, I know what the scripture lesson is. You, but you got to understand, you got to get the fundamental principle first because there's a spirit that needs to be killed.

SPEAKER_04 2:58

All right.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

There's a spirit in the body that needs to be killed. There's a spirit that is birthed out of oppression that needs to be killed. I want to make sure we, because we're going to tackle that. We're going to tackle both the spirit that needs to be killed, the spirit that is birthed out of oppression that needs to be killed. And honestly, I'm going to tell you right now, there's at least when we talk about the spirit of oppression, it's not just a racial oppression, not just a simple fact of racism, there's also sexism. There's also times where we've pushed down people of specific genders and wouldn't allow them to rise to certain positions, right? Simply because of their gender. It's obvious, right? And the same thing with those who have, depending on your color, your nationality, that's happened, right? And there's a spirit behind that. So we're going to talk to that, but the truth of the matter is if you don't really realize where you're supposed to be, you will never have an uh an aspiration to become

Redlining And Wealth Building Basics

SPEAKER_01 3:55

that thing.

unknown 3:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 3:56

Because it's been denied. Let me give you another example. Y'all ready for an example?

unknown 4:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:02

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there's this practice, and I learned this doing some real estate, is there was this practice called redlining. Anybody ever heard of redlining?

unknown 4:12

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 4:12

All right. Redlining actually kept people from being able to purchase property. Now, if you don't know it, having the access to funds to purchase a property is quintessential. It's fundamental, it's important for what we call asset accumulation or wealth building. Right? If you want to become wealthy, one of the more fundamental things that you need to have is access to capital or and then thereby having access to a property in which you could build funds. Now, let me how many of y'all have seen uh housing prices go up? Oh, yeah, you housing prices have gone up. Did did you do anything to make the housing prices go up?

unknown 4:54

No.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

No, you didn't do anything, right? There is a as a it's called a housing market for a reason. And I know some people say, what does this have to do with spirituality? Watch. Just watch. Housing market goes up. It appreciates because the value of it, right? The value of it is sustained. And as a matter of fact, it's not just sustained, it is promoted. Even in our society, y'all with me? Y'all with me? It's promoted. So if I promote the value of a thing, the more I promote the value of a thing, the more people will want to obtain.

unknown 5:28

Right.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

And thereby drives the cost. There are other things, multiple things, that contribute to how your house, how the housing market continues to drive up. Now, here's the thing. If I know I buy a house today, if I know I buy a house today and that house, that house for whatever reason uh goes depreciates or whatever, I'm gonna scratch my head and wonder why. Right? I'm gonna wonder what just happened. Now, here's the question I really want to ask. Is that have we ever seen the housing market depreciate? Why? Anyone remember? Anybody remember? Probably don't. That's okay. We'll talk about that later. At the end of the day, it's only really happened in our economic society at least twice that's noticeable. I'm going somewhere, just stick with me, I promise you. If you understand this basic premise that the house you live in and the places that you you dwell in, even if you own commercial real estate, that these things accumulate in value, what does that mean for you as the asset holder? As a person who owns the property? What does that mean for you? Your portfolio grows, right? Your portfolio grows. Does that mean now that you have access to more money? You should. You should if you if you if you don't know how to yeah, okay. So you should have access to the equity in your home. You should have access to these things, right? So here's the thing. If I am never afforded the opportunity to buy a property, can I then do wealth accumulation? Can I can I accumulate wealth? Not that way, it won't happen. Not that way, so I have to find another way, which is which doesn't happen as quickly, and which really, in many instances, doesn't have the same attraction. So I believe believe me or not, believe it or not, these are some of the things that will keep you from, but most of the time, and let me press on, most of the time, what we will find is that if you are in a state wherein you can't have an abundance, you will really start to work in a spirit of lack. Okay, you will keep your hand closed because you feel that's all I that's all I have. And if this is all I have, I will

Lack Creates Coveting And Comparison

SPEAKER_01 7:55

not share with anybody. Am I right? As a matter of fact, there's another thing, and if you go to Exodus 20 chapter, y'all will go with me, Exodus 20 and 17. I'm gonna show you something. It's actually in your Bible. Uh just in case you wonder, actually, Exodus 20 and 17. When you get there, say, I'm there. Hallelujah. Exodus 20 and 17.

SPEAKER_03 8:16

I'm there.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

You there? Go ahead, read that for me.

SPEAKER_03 8:18

Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor.

SPEAKER_01 8:35

All right. So what happens when you're in the spirit of life? You start coveting stuff. I want your stuff, because I I don't have any stuff. Now, now now don't get me wrong, don't get me wrong. There's some people who just greedy. Let's just be real. There's just some people who just greedy. Right? But odds are oftentimes there are people who honestly get to that point where they stay in lock so long, all they want is somebody else's stuff.

SPEAKER_05 9:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

Some people, it says don't even covet your neighbor's wife or spouse. Because something in you is lacking, right? And you want to get somebody else. Oh man, they got a good husband. They got a good wife. Well, my wife ain't no good. Or my husband ain't no good. I wonder why they're no good. Maybe you are lacking. Maybe you are in a state of lack. Well, you need to look at your examine yourself, even as a communion table. Say, let you examine yourself. Examine yourself. Find out if there's something going on inside of you that keeps you from. Here we go. I know you ain't gonna believe where I'm going with this, but John 3.16 says what? For God so loved the world that he what? Gay. If you are really loving, you ought to be really given. Given. Giving is a great sign of loving.

unknown 10:00

Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_01 10:01

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. This is an example, a true example. If you really want to love somebody, you ought to be given. Shouldn't we be like God? We ought to be like God because God is a giving God. Am I right? Oh, by the way, I'll give you a quick tip. Just in case you ever wonder, this is how I learn. Um, where do I find the Ten Commandments? In the 20th chapter of Exodus. 10, 20, 30. Y'all remember how you used to count?

unknown 10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:33

10, 20, 30. That's how I remember. I just want to get that to you. Exodus 20. 10 Commandments. All right. So if you want to, if you ever want, I'm just doing that. That's how I learn. If you can't, if you're not making learning fun, that's probably why.

unknown 10:47

It's not fun.

Real Reasons People Become Poor

SPEAKER_01 10:48

It's not fun. That's why you're not, you're probably not learning as much as you should. So let me ask this question since we're here. What are some key signs or key reasons why people become poor? Anybody? Let's go. Not good suit of the money?

SPEAKER_02 11:03

That's it. Mismanaged money.

SPEAKER_01 11:05

Mismanagement?

SPEAKER_02 11:06

Mismanaged money.

SPEAKER_01 11:07

Mismanaged money. All right. Anybody else? Why why are why people why are people poor? Let's give some cure reasons. Why are people poor? Unemployment? Low wages? Lack of education. Lack of education. Lack of education. Alright, so everything we just talked about, even if you, there's sometimes where you just don't know a thing. And if you're content with not knowing, people are content with taking. There are people out there who are content with taking. Because you're content with not knowing. You want to be ignorant? Alright. There are people who covet. Let me keep going. I just went over that. Last thing I really want to get to you. Poor health. Oftentimes the number one or number two thing, as denoted in some uh statistics, is that the reason most people end up in poverty is because of poor health. Because they have to go through many things like doctors' prescriptions, get prescriptions from the doctors, having care uh caretakers, and many other things that drive people towards poverty because it deplenishes the money. Let me tell you something. Let me tell you something if you don't know already. Oftentimes, if you get to the place where you have to go in the hospice and you got to go into a facility, if you have money, like a house, they want that. They want it.

unknown 12:39

They want it.

SPEAKER_01 12:40

They will take it. They will literally deplenish your wealth. Right? This is what happens in America. It happens, not just

Defining Systematic Oppression Clearly

SPEAKER_01 12:52

in America, in other person. Listen, here's the thing. The spirit that we keep talking about, and I truthfully believe it's a spirit from uh, well, the hot place. Um, there we go. I'm gonna say it. It's a demonic spirit in the sense that it's a spirit of systematic depression. Systematic oppression, excuse me. Systematic oppression. The opportunity, and if you want to know what oppression really means, oppression is the unjust, cruel or excessive exercise of power and authority over a person or a group.

unknown 13:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

I'm gonna say that one more time. It is the unjust, cruel or excessive exercise of power and authority over a person or a group. Let me step back. Why would one why would somebody want to engage in oppression?

SPEAKER_03 13:43

Make them feel empowered.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

Say that?

SPEAKER_03 13:46

Make them feel empowered.

SPEAKER_01 13:47

Make them feel empowered. Anybody else?

SPEAKER_02 13:50

Lack of love for humanity.

SPEAKER_01 13:51

Lack of love for human for what?

unknown 13:53

Humanity.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Humanity. Should we love humanity?

unknown 13:56

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Should we love people? Does Jesus love people? If you find it difficult to love people, which means you a good example that you can't love people is you're not giving.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

Okay. Love.

SPEAKER_01 14:08

Right? Y'all with me? If you're in a relationship and for whatever reason it's not, you're not, you find that somebody's not giving? Well, I won't check that love meter. Something's wrong. Alright? I'm gonna move on from there, but uh I'm gonna expressly say this while I'm here. Do yourself a favor. Check your love meter.

SPEAKER_04 14:31

All right.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

Because at the end of the day, it is God's expectation that you love.

SPEAKER_05 14:36

What's love got to do with it?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Well, love has everything to do with it. That's a funny thing. I uh it made a good song, but at the end of the day, you don't want to sing that song when you get in front of the master, the creator. What's love? He everything. I am love. Right? So let's let's make sure we go. Here's the thing. And this is how we gotta go. Let's jump back. And I know some of you wonder where I'm taking you. Don't worry. I normally have a good course of action. Uh I normally have a good course of action. Go to

Open Your Hand Wide

SPEAKER_01 15:05

uh back to Deuteronomy chapter 15.

unknown 15:07

All right.

SPEAKER_01 15:11

And we're gonna start at verse 8 and we're gonna run to 9. Verse 8 and run to 9. Deuteronomy 15, run from 8 to 9. All right. We're gonna hear some good points. Um, I need somebody who can read eight, and I'll read nine.

SPEAKER_04 15:26

But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shall surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanted.

SPEAKER_05 15:35

All right.

SPEAKER_04 15:36

All right, so we're gonna what?

SPEAKER_01 15:38

Open our hand. That means it's giving time. It's giving time. Why is it difficult to give? Anybody? Tell me, why is it difficult to give?

SPEAKER_04 15:48

It shouldn't be.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

It shouldn't be.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Some people haven't taught. They're built up a principle, they haven't taught that in the kingdom you gain by giving what you need. Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 16:03

It's a paradox. It's a paradox, right? It's a paradox, right? Uh so let me let me use it. The guy used it yesterday and I like it because I like big words, right? Antithetical. It's antithetical. In other words, at the end of the day, uh it it's contrary. It seems contrary to how things are going to work. It seems, if I if I give, then that means I have less. But if you forget who the true giver is, you have more. You have more because you realize you never run out. He can only, you're only expected to give what you have. You can't give. You should never give more than what you have.

unknown 16:39

Right?

SPEAKER_01 16:39

Y'all with me? You say, what do you mean? Unless you heard from God, you do not give your mortgage payment to the church. Unless you heard from God.

SPEAKER_02 16:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

Can everybody tell me why? So listen, let's do the practical assessment here. God has set things in order, and one of those things in order is that if I make an agreement with you, I need to hold true to my agreement. So if you sign the paper that say you will pay this bill, guess what? That's your integrity. You're supposed to do what? Pay the bill. Somebody say it with me. Pay the bill. You're supposed to. Why? Because you are a child of God. You're supposed to pay the bill. Does God keep his word? Should we keep our word? Then there's an expectation when you sign that agreement that you would pay the bill. When we say, well, we think twice about it and we change our mind about it. That is not God like. That is not. I'm gonna talk to you. That is not godlike. Right. So now, oh no, no. You make sense. What you what you say just made sense. For those of you who didn't hear him, there might be a day where you need when an emergency comes and you might need something. What did you just read? Eighth verse, what does it say? Okay, we're gonna, but thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and thou shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need. You should be able to go to somebody and ask for some help. Let me paint the picture. In this world, like we just did, in the world that God is talking to us about, if there be any poor among you, you read that up there. His intention is that there never be anybody poor among you. But if there be, if for whatever reason their sickness falls upon you, if for whatever reason something that's that you don't, you for whatever reason, let me I'm gonna stop and slow down. If for whatever reason these things happen to you that may be unforeseen, the intent of God is that it would be enriches in the kingdom sufficient to satisfy your need. Are you with me? Are you with me? Y'all quiet on me. Are you with me? Does that not make sense? Please go ahead, shoot me questions because I want to make sure we cover this. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

I think uh sometimes we sponsor that we'd be thinking about individual in the kingdom.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

That's the thing, is it sometimes we forget that we have the ability collectively to help somebody in the time of need? Oh, uh oh, I'm sorry. The person who's in need has too much pride to ask for it. Should that be a problem? Should that ever happen to us?

SPEAKER_02 19:57

That's a problem, but then the kingdom you should go to them. Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

But if you see the need there, if you see the need, you should go to them. Should I do it like, hey, I got the money for you over here? Hey, I bro, I see you, I see you in need. You should do it in a way that you don't hurt their pride. You you like you keep their dignity.

Giving With Dignity And Wisdom

SPEAKER_01 20:20

You help them keep their dignity when you give. I'm gonna tell you, I see your hand. I'm gonna tell a story. And I had to repent. I'm gonna be honest with you. I was at a store, one of the stores, sheets of Wawas, whatever, somebody standing outside, and the person asked me for something as I was exiting the store. And you you could see the hint that I don't know where it comes to me right now is intrepidation. Anyway, uh in the exchange, right? Uh hesitation, that's a better word for it. And and I exchanged the funds, but it was the way I exchanged it. Right? Because I didn't truthfully believe in what I was doing. I'm just being real with you. I don't know about y'all. Because in my mind, at that time in my life, I was struggling with whether or not I need to give to somebody I thought would go somewhere and spend that money on something I didn't want them to spend the money on. Right? There's some other things that were engaged there too, but I I'm gonna stick to that. At the end of the day, here's what we need to find out. Where are you in your giving spirit? Where are you in your heart towards giving to someone? Can you check that out? Because here's what I ended up doing. From that day forward, I told a person, if I'm giving you money, listen, if I'm giving you money, we're gonna make a covenant. All right, you will not spend this on anything that God would not have you to spend it on. That's my covenant. You say, why? Because it's it's what I have, it's how I'm giving it. You let me explain this to you. If you apply for a grant, they put stipulations many times on how that grant can be used. At that moment in time, I am granting you money. And we need to be mindful as stewards of a kingdom that we have the ability to invoke these things. What they do with it afterwards is their integrity. But it is still on me to be giving. I should not withhold, I should keep my hand what? Wide open. I need to be able to, as a matter of fact, I I gotta get him first and I'm gonna come to you. I gotta be able to, if I would put it even in my budget, I'm gonna be honest with you. Put it in my budget to be able to give to people outside of church. Amen. Amen. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 22:50

That's good.

SPEAKER_01 22:51

What if you set aside $20 every paycheck? I'm gonna start, every paycheck to give somebody something above measure. Just to be a giving. So as you just said, people haven't been taught how to give. What if when you sat down, you know, the waitress of Bill's typically was 10%? You just wanted to bless the waitress or waiter above measure. Just because. Just because it's teaching you to what? Give. And sometimes we think we gotta give big. How about we start small? Are y'all with me? Am I making sense? Yes, sir. Go ahead, Isha. Alright, so some people online asked me to put your uh yes, sir.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

That was my street and died from you from the alley. He told me about his wife, Fragna. At a trailer park. I know where the trailer park was, so I gave him some money. Week or so later, after that, I saw him downtown. Same story. I didn't give him anything. Because I saw where he disappeared to first time. Now I'm giving I'm not giving it to him because I he judged and because where he said he was going, he didn't go. So I didn't give him anybody.

SPEAKER_01 24:19

No, no, no, no, so no, no, no, no. So listen. Here's the thing. We have the right to be good stewards over what God has given us. Can we can we can

Know Your Flock And Your Money

SPEAKER_01 24:28

we make that point clear? We should be good stewards over what God has given us. The scripture actually tells us to be careful to know the states of your flocks. It is God's intent. Proverbs 16. It's in Proverbs 16. It tells us to be careful to know the states of our flocks. If you don't know the state of your flock, then you're already in direct error. You should know, you should have a mindset. Because I want to, this is talking about giving, but this is talking about giving to a culture of people who could literally go outside and count their sheep. Are you with me? Let me give you a case in point. Do you remember when um, and I gotta make this quick. You remember uh Jacob. Jacob was serving Laban, his cousin. And when he was serving Laban his cousin, he said specifically, many days I went outside in the cold and I tended to your sheep, and if any sheep were taken, I replenished them. He he took he took from his own sheep and gave to Laban to restore it. He understood that that was his part to play as a steward. Are y'all with me? Is it important to have integrity? I got one good amen. Is it important to have integrity? Look, I'm gonna I'm gonna teach this till it gets good in your soul. It's important to have integrity because if you don't know it, then guess what? If you don't know what the state of your flights is, I could easily steal something from you. You don't even know it's missing. You know about that $20 bill in your wallet. You know who put it there?

unknown 26:02

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 26:03

Well, you should know the other things, am I right? Okay, if you don't know it, and I know maybe that's why that amen is a soft. If you don't know it, go home and find out. Because truthfully, that helps you understand how you can give. If you don't know what you have, you don't know what you can give. Can I be real? Count your bills. If you don't have a, I know we call it a budget. Like, I like to call it an investment strategy. That's me. I like to call it what's your investment strategy? Why what's your financial strategy? Some people hear the word budget and they cringe. But as far as God is concerned, there has to be a strategy associated with what you've been given. Can anybody somebody ask me what?

Stop Burying What God Gave

SPEAKER_01 26:46

When God gave one, one, he gave another one, two or three, depending on what you want. Another one, what? Five. What happened when he came back? When the in in the parable, what happened when the master came back?

SPEAKER_00 27:00

One had buried it, two had what?

SPEAKER_01 27:03

Had made it increase. What did he say to them? Well done. Thou good and faithful servant. Is there an expectation then from God that we what? Make things increase? You think so? Do you think so? Can I prove it to you? The one that buried it, what happened? He not he took it from him, gave it to the one who made more. Right? And what happened to the one that buried it? He got he was a wicked servant. They called him wicked. He got sitting. The bad part about it is he knew the law. He knew the regulation. He said, I know that you are a master. He knew he knew it. He knew it. But he still decided to bury it. I don't have time to get into that, but some of y'all burying stuff.

unknown 27:51

Wow.

Closing Blessing And Like Share

SPEAKER_00 27:52

All right. Well, we thank you for tuning in again. We know that uh, we know that God's blessed you, and we believe in God for more and more and more. Amen of that. Because he's a blessing. He's a God uh who loves to bless, who loves to continue to make us more and to reveal himself to us that we might become more. So listen, uh, once again, I look forward to another opportunity for us to break bread, for us to uh speak to those things that are needful for transformation. And we believe in God today for greater things, because greater things are coming. Listen, you have yourself a good day and continue to do great things, continue to do great things, continue to do great things, because great things are coming looking for you. Alrighty, till next time. We love you. There's nothing you can do about it. Almost forgot to ask you. Hit that like and share button. Come on, hit that like and share button before we go. Ah, that'd be great. That'd be great. It helps make things happen around here. Alrighty.