You may not have seen the show "The Apprentice," but I am sure that you have heard about it. "You're fired" have become words that we hear very often. Donald Trump continues to put himself in the public eye with calculated steps to give himself constant publicity - the show, the book and new construction. He has left no stone unturned.

Now as a group of women who meet on a monthly basis and espouse Christian principles, how do we end up talking about a book written by a man who certainly has a worldly approach? To be sure, we are not recommending the book as a must read item. But by reading the book with an open mind and seeking the principles that a godly person would implement, you find that many things that he has to say have application for our lives. The entire book is comprised of bullets of information on his thoughts about everything related to business and his success.

Part III of the book is titled "Money, Money, Money, Money" with five sections of no more than two pages each. The following is a summary and an analysis of each section.

Be Your Own Best Financial Adviser
In this section, Trump tells us to rely on our own judgment. Read the financial publications - The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Forbes, and Fortune, as well as The New York Post and The New York Times. By doing so, you begin to understand what is going on in the market and you find the people and funds that have solid track records. Donald says to trust your own common sense.

Good advice, we should always do our own research and learn as much as possible about an investment before jumping into something. But before opening up the financial publications that the Donald recommends, we want to seek our wisdom by prayer and reading the Bible. The following are only two of the 206 Bible verses that refer to wisdom:



God will give wisdom to anyone who asks for it.

Invest Simply
He tells us not to be caught up in the latest intricate financial transactions and only invest in products that are understandable and with people that you know and can trust. Here again Donald mentions common sense.

There are plenty of people out there who dream up get rich quick schemes or who create financial scams to take your hard earned money. Donald's advice will help you avoid these traps. But what is common sense? We know common sense to be the wisdom that God gives us. Follow the advice in Proverbs 2:12-15:


Get a Prenuptial Agreement
This is the instruction from a man who has not exhibited faithfulness and self-control. It is certainly more important that we seek God's will for our lives. Then we need not worry about a prenuptial agreement.

If both husbands and wives practice the principles given to us in the Bible, marriages will last a lifetime. For example:


This concept of respect is exactly what is lacking in the examples that Trump provides in his book and is the main reason that marriages fail.

Let's take Donald's advice about written agreements and apply it to other circumstances. We should always have valid contracts and agreements when entering into business and financial arrangements, especially with family members. Family agreements are the situations that we never think will be a problem, but they can also be the most difficult to unravel. We should also make sure that we have a will to protect our heirs and to carry out our wishes with regard to our property. This saves money and needless controversy at the time of our passing.

Cut out the Middleman
In this section Donald explains that he was able to negotiate arrangements with his lenders because he worked with them directly. He didn't just let his attorneys handle his affairs. Because he came to know the people on a personal level, they trusted him.

In Luke 16:1-12 Jesus talks about a dishonest, shrewd and worldly manager who negotiates a deal for himself after his boss finds out about his cheating. Jesus doesn't excuse the man's bad behavior but commends his "negotiating" skills to make the most of a bad situation. Sometimes we find ourselves in difficult situations, but we should still try to negotiate to our advantage. Speak directly to the people you owe money to and negotiate better terms so you can resolve your debt.

Jesus also speaks about using money to our advantage and how we must be good stewards of earthly riches before we should expect God to give us "True riches."

We want to be trusted because of the way we lead our lives. By spending time with God in prayer and in his word, we will know how to handle ourselves in all situations. The more we come to know that God's words are true, we learn to trust in him to lead us. No one can attain this relationship for us.


Teach Your Children the Value of a Dollar
Trump says his children know the value of money from his example just as he learned it from his parents. His parents emphasized education and the children were expected to contribute to society as well as to the family. If you are careless with money, they probably will be also. Children should earn extra money by working and they should be given incentives to save.

What he says is true; however, he excludes the ultimate gift that we can give to our children - the opportunity to know God as Lord and savior. If our children have this example to follow, everything else that we teach them will fall into place.


God wants his people to enjoy generational wealth. Through obedience to his covenants and promises each succeeding generation should prosper and increase spiritually and financially.


Although Donald talks about giving, the principle of the tithe is what we can teach to our children. Everything that we have is God's. Psalm 24:1 makes the point: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." The question then becomes how much do we give back to God in order to honor him. Without getting into a lengthy discussion (as can often happen), I will say that 10% is the proper amount for the tithe. We cannot out give God. Luke 6:38 tells us:


By reading the scriptures, both New and Old Testaments, we learn how the house of worship, those who work there, traveling teachers and prophets and the needy were cared for. A thought to remember as you pray about tithing is given to us in 2 Corinthians 9:6 and 7:


Summary
The chapter on money is short and concise as is each section of the book. What I found most interesting as I skimmed through the balance of the book, is the integrity that is exhibited by Trump. I searched for references to God. As part of the dedication of the book to his parents, Donald quotes his mother: "Trust in God and be true to yourself." This is good advice that he claims to have followed, but it falls short of what we are taught in Proverbs 5 - 10: