Wayne Smith III | On July 13, 2017

While talking with Michael, the owner of our house cleaning service, he noticed the coat which had been hanging on the back of my chair. As he looked with interest at the coat, he asked where I bought it. I told him I bought it at the Columbia outlet.  He then said he recently gave his coat away to a homeless man. Hearing this, I proceeded to get a coat out of my closet and give it to him.

Now, the coat I gave him was one that I did not like nor ever wear. It was a multi-colored, reversible coat. I did not like it because the fabric would drag on my shirt sleeves – making it uncomfortable to wear.  Now, the giving of my coat was not an act of generosity, nor is it the purpose of this post.

What is important about this moment, was the recognition of an opportunity to show the love of Christ to someone.  God will give us opportunities to represent Him in our fallen world, and it is up to us to take advantage of them.  How do we do this?  We must look and listen with spiritual eyes and ears.  We must see each situation as a potential to show Christ or show the world.  When we are self-centered, we tune out God working through us.  When we are Christ-centered, we see these ‘divine’ appointments, and then act upon them.

One does not need an abundance of coats or cash to make the most of these opportunities.  If God presents us with an opportunity to show Him, you know that you will have what is necessary at the time!  Consider Matthew 6:28-30:

So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Wayne Smith III

Prior to establishing Insight Wealth Partners in 2010, Wayne spent 16 years as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ practitioner and Senior Financial Advisor with Ameriprise Financial Services. During his distinguished career he earned many awards including being selected by his peers as Advisor of the Year. His areas of expertise include comprehensive financial planning and investment management. Prior to becoming a wealth manager, Wayne spent 10 years in the manufacturing industry where he achieved ever-increasing levels of responsibility in manufacturing management and plant engineering at the best-in-class organizations, Frito-Lay, Inc. and Ecolab Inc.

Wayne graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. A member of the Financial Planning Association, Kingdom Advisors and Crown Financial Ministries, Wayne has also traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia teaching Biblical financial principles to business and church leaders and individuals.

Wayne lives with his wife, Julie, and two children in Allen, Texas where he enjoys golf, sailing, scuba diving and the study of stewardship. His stewardship blog can be found at www.amusingsteward.com