Tuesday 14 March 2023

Homeschooling & Property Industry

Homeschooling & Property Industry

It has been 8 years since I left full-time church ministry to enter into the real estate industry for the purpose of fathering my son in his foundation years.

While I left the full-time church ministry, Kingdom ministry has not left me. For the past 8 years, I have been more zealous than before and have never stopped ministering online and offline. I have reached out to individuals way more than I did when I was working in the church.

I have not lost sight of the purpose of why I left full-time ministry. This is the reason why my wife and I chose to homeschool our child after his pre-school years. This is why my wife resigned from her job as a teacher (with stable income) to educate my son.

Being in the property industry has not been easy. I uphold Kingdom values and every ounce of it contradicts the Mammon values in the real estate business. As a result, I have a team but I often walk alone, because we are not supposed to be unequally yoked.

By choosing not to handle property deals the way we are taught to do so, I quickly become the minority. When everyone is pushing for new launch projects as encouraged by our agencies (who are stakeholders), I find myself unable to do so for the sake of a clear conscience.

I am not the top salesperson who clocks million dollars commission. Neither am I the kind who keeps putting out award-winning posts. Yet there is always grace from God who brings people into my life, for which I am grateful.

I want to thank all of them ---- my friends and clients who believe in me, trust me and graciously allow me to journey with them in their real estate decisions and progressions.

My family and I are thankful. For without you being part of God's grace in our lives, we would not be able to continue homeschooling and ministering in the Kingdom.

Thank You Jesus! And thank you all!

P.S: It is impossible to reflect the Kingdom if we are reflecting more and more like the world.

Saturday 11 March 2023

What Is Enough?

What Is Enough?

Financial sufficiency has different meanings for different people. It is very subjective. What is enough?

For some, having enough is to have food on the table.
For some, having enough is to have big cars and houses.

I have people telling me that they are trusting God to provide for them, yet they drive luxury cars (BMW and above is considered luxury in my humble opinion, but again, it's subjective for others), having $2mil over property, etc. 

And I have people trusting God to provide for them, and they are living from day to day for bread on the table.

I have people saying that they don't have money, yet they have more than one property and few hundred thousand dollars in savings. And I have people saying that they don't have money, and they are waiting for paycheck every month to live by.

Working in the present industry has shown me so much about people's views on finances. And those who really walk out the Kingdom values (or not). Money is not evil. But it always exposes the heart.

People often judge by the surface. It is shallow. They look at the property news. It's hot and booming. And they look at me, "Wilson, you must be doing very well." Well or not, I will never say that I'm not doing well. Neither will I say that I am doing well.

To say that I am not doing well is to speak contrary to the Word of God. I will never say it, because I am trained to speak the Word. It took me so many years to learn how to speak the Word.

To say that I am doing well is kind of like giving wrong impression and not being truthful. Even the word 'well' is very subjective for different people. What is 'well'? And what is enough?

My view of 'what is enough' definitely differs from many. Because unlike what many people think, I didn't enter the property industry to earn alot of money. Yes, maybe 99% enter for that reason, but there is always that 1%. I just need enough for my family. And honestly, my 'enough' is lower than majority of the people I know.

"Wilson, you enter property for money right?"

"Yes, did you enter your current job for free?"

We all need a job that has an income because we are IN the world. If you don't need money, then quit your job. Nobody works for free. You do your job, you get paid a salary. I do my job, I get paid a commission. It's the same.

Why are we so shallow in looking at the surface? Shallow conversations take place in a society where materialism and consumerism are widespread (like Singapore). 

I long for deeper conversations. Perhaps this is why I only have few in the inner circle.

What is enough? It's a question that perhaps we as Christians should seek God for deeper understanding.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. - Phil 3:13b-16