Anthony Amaradio Reviews the Barriers of Giving
Anthony Joseph Amaradio, President and Chief Strategist of Select Portfolio Management, Inc. has added published author to his list of achievements with his book Faithful with Much. Anthony Amaradio with his wife wrote Faithful with much which recalls their compelling journey from simply seeking wealth to understanding God’s heart about money and possessions. Drawing from their experiences they discuss how to break the barriers to generous giving. Anthony Amaradio states there were several barriers that he and his wife had to overcome, but that three were especially difficult.
The first barrier he calls the heart barrier. As a money manager, Anthony Amaradio likes to be in control of his assets and money, but he had to ask himself could he give up that control and realize that the lord was going to be in control. Once he was able to break the heart barrier and allow himself to fully trust the lord with his current and future needs, came the second barrier.
The second barrier was more of a principal, Amaradio did not find it difficult to give income but rather to dig into his asset; what he saved for years could he just give it away? He asked the question “what if we live too long and run out of money? What if, Lord, I am going to be poor again like I was as a boy?” The Lord’s answer he claims was Luke 12:24 consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!
The third barrier, Anthony Amaradio describes as the most difficult. As a tax adviser, he would analyze tax portfolios and often had the attitude that he would like to give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar but not a penny more.” He needed to come to the realization that if he was going to step above the 50 percent adjusted gross income test, he would be giving money that would not be tax deductible.
He goes on to add that giving may sound very good, but they were very insecure, frightened, and lacked complete self-confidence. Tony and Carine took the leap of faith, made the commitment and decided they don’t need self-confidence anyway; they want God’s confidence.