<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></title><description><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></description><link>https://rayphillipsjr.substack.com</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Z0i2!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff1d30399-9e9c-46eb-b49a-d34029b11285_1024x1536.png</url><title>Ray Phillips Jr</title><link>https://rayphillipsjr.substack.com</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 09:28:24 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://rayphillipsjr.substack.com/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[rayphillipsjr@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[rayphillipsjr@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[rayphillipsjr@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[rayphillipsjr@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[40 Lessons Before 40]]></title><description><![CDATA[Purpose over Popularity]]></description><link>https://rayphillipsjr.substack.com/p/40-lessons-before-40</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://rayphillipsjr.substack.com/p/40-lessons-before-40</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Ray Phillips Jr]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2026 02:04:55 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!Z0i2!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff1d30399-9e9c-46eb-b49a-d34029b11285_1024x1536.png" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Be a Good Steward of Whatever God Gives You</strong></p><p><strong>It&#8217;s Not About How Much You Have</strong></p><p>One of the greatest lessons I&#8217;ve learned is this: God isn&#8217;t asking me to manage what someone else has. He&#8217;s asking me to be faithful with what He&#8217;s placed in my hands.</p><p>We live in a world that constantly pushes comparison.</p><p>We compare our money to someone else&#8217;s wealth.<br>Our business to someone else&#8217;s success.<br>Our platform to someone else&#8217;s following.<br>Our gifts to someone else&#8217;s talents.</p><p>Comparison is dangerous because it causes us to overlook what we&#8217;ve already been entrusted with.</p><p>I&#8217;ve learned that stewardship begins with gratitude.</p><p>You can&#8217;t properly manage what you&#8217;re always complaining about.</p><p><strong>Everything Is on Loan</strong></p><p>The older I get, the more I understand that everything I have is temporary.</p><p>My relationships.<br>My opportunities.<br>My resources.<br>My influence.<br>My gifts and abilities.<br>Even my time.</p><p>None of it truly belongs to me.</p><p>I&#8217;m simply managing what God has entrusted to me for a season.</p><p>That perspective changes everything.</p><p>When you understand that you&#8217;re a steward and not an owner, you become more intentional with how you live.</p><p>You stop wasting opportunities.<br>You stop taking people for granted.<br>You stop abusing your gifts.<br>You stop chasing things that don&#8217;t matter.</p><p>You realize that one day you&#8217;ll have to answer for how you handled what was placed in your care.</p><p><strong>Steward the Small Things</strong></p><p>Many people want more.</p><p>More money.<br>More influence.<br>More opportunities.<br>More responsibility.</p><p>But God often looks at how we handle the little things before He entrusts us with greater things.</p><p>Can you manage your current finances?</p><p>Can you lead the people already around you?</p><p>Can you show up consistently even when nobody is watching?</p><p>Can you honor the assignment you have today?</p><p>I&#8217;ve discovered that faithfulness in small things often prepares us for bigger assignments.</p><p>The little things aren&#8217;t little.</p><p>They&#8217;re preparation.</p><p><strong>Steward Your Relationships</strong></p><p>Some of the greatest gifts God gives us aren&#8217;t things. They&#8217;re people.</p><p>Family.</p><p>Friends.</p><p>Mentors.</p><p>Coworkers.</p><p>The young people we&#8217;re called to influence.</p><p>The people who pray for us, encourage us, and challenge us to become better.</p><p>Relationships require stewardship.</p><p>People need our time.<br>They need our presence.<br>They need our attention.</p><p>Too often we assume people know how much we appreciate them.</p><p>Then life reminds us that every conversation isn&#8217;t guaranteed.</p><p>Cherish the people God places in your life.</p><p>Love them well.</p><p>Encourage them often.</p><p>Give people their flowers while they can still smell them.</p><p><strong>Steward Your Gifts</strong></p><p>Every gift carries responsibility.</p><p>Some people have the ability to lead.</p><p>Others can teach, build, create, encourage, organize, or inspire.</p><p>The question isn&#8217;t whether you&#8217;re gifted.</p><p>The question is whether you&#8217;re using what you&#8217;ve been given.</p><p>Far too many people die with potential still sitting inside of them.</p><p>Books never written.</p><p>Businesses never started.</p><p>Dreams never pursued.</p><p>Wisdom never shared.</p><p>Potential was never meant to be stored.</p><p>It was meant to serve others.</p><p>God doesn&#8217;t give us gifts simply for our benefit.</p><p>He gives them to us so we can make a difference.</p><p><strong>Steward Your Influence</strong></p><p>You don&#8217;t need millions of followers to have influence.</p><p>Influence is simply the ability to impact someone else&#8217;s life.</p><p>As a parent, you have influence.</p><p>As a coach, you have influence.</p><p>As a business owner, you have influence.</p><p>As a friend, you have influence.</p><p>As a leader in your community, you have influence.</p><p>The question becomes: What are you doing with it?</p><p>Are you building people up?</p><p>Are you serving others?</p><p>Are you leading with integrity?</p><p>Influence is one of God&#8217;s greatest gifts because it allows us to leave fingerprints on lives that may outlive us.</p><p>That&#8217;s called legacy.</p><p><strong>Stewardship Is Worship</strong></p><p>I&#8217;ve come to believe that stewardship is one of the purest forms of worship.</p><p>How I handle my time matters.</p><p>How I treat people matters.</p><p>How I use my gifts matters.</p><p>How I manage opportunities matters.</p><p>Everything God places in my hands deserves my best effort because I&#8217;m ultimately serving Him.</p><p>I may not have everything I want.</p><p>I may not be where I ultimately want to go.</p><p>But I can choose to be faithful with what I&#8217;ve already been given.</p><p>Because often, the next blessing isn&#8217;t found in asking for more.</p><p>It&#8217;s found in properly managing what you already have.</p><p><strong>My Challenge to You</strong></p><p>Take inventory of your life.</p><p>What has God already placed in your hands?</p><p>Your family?<br>Your business?<br>Your health?<br>Your talents?<br>Your opportunities?<br>Your influence?</p><p>Now ask yourself a difficult question:</p><p>Am I being a good steward of these gifts, or am I taking them for granted?</p><p>Don&#8217;t spend your life wishing for more while neglecting what you&#8217;ve already been entrusted with.</p><p>Be faithful.</p><p>Be intentional.</p><p>Be grateful.</p><p>Because the measure of a person&#8217;s life isn&#8217;t found in how much they accumulate.</p><p>It&#8217;s found in how well they steward what God gave them.</p><p>And that&#8217;s where legacy begins.</p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>