Unless you’ve been living under a rock you know recently there was a record Powerball lottery prize of $1.5 billion dollars.  I won’t ask if you bought a ticket or if your palms were sweaty as they called out the winning numbers. If you bought one, just nod your head.  If you didn’t buy one, try not to be smug about it.

Several folks had hoaxes played on them. Some friend or family member with a twisted sense of humor tricked them into believing they had won it all.  I suspect of few of those guys ended up in traction.

Though I didn’t buy a ticket for this Powerball( Caron says she was tempted) I do admit to buying probably 4-5 tickets at various times in the past. Clearly, I was desperate. So I threw a “hail mary” in the direction of my debts and retirement.  But no dice. Dropped balls every time.

Except this one time.

Back when the lottery first became legal in Florida, to make a point that the lottery was a loser of an idea, I stopped by a convenience store on the way to church and purchased a scratch-off ticket.  Then later that morning, as I was teaching I told everyone how futile the lottery was and pulled the ticket out of my pocket.

I then proceeded to scratch the numbers on the ticket

and to my shock and everyone else’s delight I had won $50!

I think lottery sales went up after that.

Then there was the time at our church in Canada when a guy put a lottery ticket in the offering plate. It came up snake eyes.

But, what if we could get in touch with the truth that there really is a winning ticket in our pocket?

Each of us – no matter what our income strata- truly have far more than we can ever imagine.  We are already worth far more than our ego allows us to see.

A lot of us carry around stress based on the ever-elusive search for the answer to the question: “How much do I have?”  And the answer often comes back- “Not enough.”  

Yet what God and life seem to say to us is:

“I have already given you sufficient supply for what you need

at this moment.” 

So, to help awaken you to the “MORE ” you actually do have, I want to share with you 5 practical assets or “capital” you already possess.

Many of us have filled out or created Net Worth statements.  These statements itemize and total all of our assets and then total all of our liabilities and that equation equals our net total.  But those paper statements are not the whole truth.

 Assets –  Liabilities = Net Worth

It’s a lie!

These days when Caron and I look at our net worth, we do it through five asset classes that represent the sum total of our life. 

In brief, here are the Five Capitals we see in Scripture, listed from lowest value- according to Jesus -to highest value.

5. Financial Capital.  

This is simply the money we have available to invest, measured in dollars and cents, pounds and pennies, etc.We are most familiar with this one, because we work with it every day. It’s neither good nor bad, it’s simply a resource we have available to invest.

Jesus talked about money quite a bit, recognizing its place in the world as a form of capital. We can turn it into an idol, of course, if we are relying on it for significance or security, but when it is in its right place, it is simply a form of capital that allows us to invest in other capitals that are worth more.

4. Intellectual Capital.  

This is the creativity and knowledge we have available to invest, measured in concepts and ideas. This is of higher value than financial capital, because you can’t create ideas and creativity simply by spending a lot of money. Jesus possessed an astonishing level of intellectual capital, which he used often in his mission.

In the culture of his day, Jesus was recognized by the crowds, his disciples, and even his enemies as a Rabbi, which means “teacher” or “master.” Jesus wasn’t just a holy person who prayed a lot—he was also a smart person who thought a lot. As Dallas Willard has said, “Jesus wasn’t just nice, he was brilliant!”

3. Physical Capital

.  This is the time and energy we have available to invest, measured in hours and minutes. It comprises the time we make available for tasks, projects, and relationships, as well as the capacity we have to use that time. Our overall health comes into play here, because it greatly affects our ability to invest our time and energy.

Getting proper rest and living in a rhythm of life that allows us to both work hard and rest is essential if we are going to steward our long-term physical capital. Jesus shows us how to do this when he teaches his disciples how to rest and abide so they can bear fruit.

2. Relational Capital.  This is the “relational equity” we have available to invest, measured in family and friends,the quantity and quality of our relationships with others. Having family and friends is extremely valuable, and the amount of relational capital we have accrues to us in many ways, from our overall sense of well-being and happiness to more tangible ways.

We see Jesus invest his physical capital to grow his relational capital with his disciples, for example. In fact, none of the other capitals can actually grow without a relationship of some kind. Jesus invested quite a bit of time in just a few disciples, deepening his relational capital with them, because he knew they would need it for the “job” he was going to give them.

1. Spiritual Capital

.  This is the “spiritual equity” we have available to invest, measured in wisdom and power.We see people astonished at Jesus’ teaching, because it was filled with authority and wisdom, and his miracles, because they expressed a degree of God’s power that they’d never seen before. Jesus was “rich” in spiritual capital. That’s what he “had” that gave him the resources necessary to carry out his mission, which was to open up the doors of the kingdom of God to everyone.

We see Jesus constantly urging people to trade in other forms of capital to gain this one. For Jesus this is the ultimate “payoff” of living as his disciple: you grow your spiritual capital, which is of the highest value of all the capitals. When Jesus talked about life in the kingdom of God and how it was worth cashing everything else in for, he was talking about a life rich in spiritual capital.

When Jesus talked about eternal life, he wasn’t just talking about long-lasting life—he was talking about a life rich in spiritual capital that lasts forever. The kingdom of God and eternal life are like code words to refer to a life filled with spiritual capital.

In fact, you could say that Jesus’ whole mission was to help people prosper in spiritual capital -and through spiritual capital, all the other capitals will grow.  His message was that through relationship with him anyone could become “wealthy” in spiritual capital.

The good news Jesus announced  was that true spiritual wealth was worth it all. It’s like a treasure a man found in a field. In his joy, he sold everything he had and bought the field.

The life Jesus calls us to is one of investing in these five capitals, which yields an “abundant life” that flourishes and blesses others because it is “rich toward God.”

Resources that you could use:

A.  Caron and I speak more about this plaguing identity question ” How much do I have?”  in our new book, Nothing to Prove: Find the Significance & Satisfaction You’ve Been Striving for at the Core of Your True Identity coming out in softcover in a few weeks. From breakdown to breakthrough we share very openly about our story, including how we’re overcoming our struggle with “assets.”

To learn more about Nothing to Prove or to sign-up to reserve your copy click HERE.

Caron and I will be talking more in-depth on this subject, this week, on The Live True Podcast. Be watching for it.

B.  ****And we’re also about to launch a FREE online class in 2 weeks called

“Stop Striving and Start Enjoying the Life God Made You to Live.”  If you’d like to sign up for that, click HERE.

(*We want to thank our friends: Brandon Schaeffer, Ben Sternke, and Mike Breen for introducing us the super helpful paradigm of the Five Capitals.)

C.  You can find out more at fivecaptials.net.  And check out Brandon Schaeffer’s great new book:  “Build A Better Life: Practical Tools and Strategies to Develop and Lead Your Life and Business the Way Jesus Would.”  To order it, click HERE.