Since “The love of money is the root of all evil” (money itself
is NOT the root of all evil), and because our society has become very
debt-minded, I think is a very important topic.
Our national debt is 15,000,000,000 (15 trillion), and there is 1.7 trillion dollars in consumer debt in our
country. The average household has $7394
in unsecured debt (credit cards, not including student loans). The key for today is DEBT IS BAD.
Romans 13:8 commands us not to owe anyone anything. God never commands us to do things that are
impossible (it may be impossible in ourselves but with God’s help NOTHING is
impossible), so clearly this is something God wants us to do. It may take a while to get there, but we
bring glory to God by being able to do all He wants us to do without giving an
excuse “I can’t afford it.” What we do
with our money is part of what we are responsible for in the kingdom. We want to be ABLE to hear God’s voice to do
something and be able to just do it.
Here are some synonyms for debt=owe, obligated, in deficit,
in default, insolvent, in over one’s head, in arrears, paupered, destitute, needing,
lacking, distressed, penniless, in difficulty, a deadbeat, empty, having seen
better days, bad off, hard off, beaten down, reduced to ruin, embarrassed, broke,
busted. Next to the kingdom of heaven,
money and finance is the next most often mentioned by Jesus, and the Bible has
2000 scriptures that reference money and finance.
6 danger signs that
we’ve got problems in the area of debt:
1) You live on credit instead of paying cash and depend on
credit to maintain your lifestyle.
Proverbs 22:7 says the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is
enslaved to the lender. We should only
be enslaved to Jesus, whose yoke is easy and burden is light. A bonus, if you’re ever considering loaning
money to friends or family, don’t do it.
The relationship immediately changes.
If you want to help them, give to them.
Proverbs 3:27-28 says not to withhold payment on debts.
2) Delaying payment or always paying minimum payments.
3) You’re unable to tithe, or save, or invest. We are still robbing from God if we use it to
pay a bill. We are called to leave an
inheritance to our children’s children (that means we have to leave enough for
2 generations, and train our kids well enough to handle it well and leave more
to the next generation). Proverbs 21:20
says that wise people have “choice” things and a foolish person devours all
they have. A wise man plans for the
future, eats well (not a lot but healthy), and has resource.
4) You’re unable to pay your taxes. You don’t need to pay more than you need to
(the laws are there, but you don’t cheat or lie), but Jesus says to render to
Caesar what is Caesar’s.
5) Habitual
extravagant spending. Dave Ramsey calls
this “Buying stuff you don’t need with money you don’t have to impress people
you don’t like.”
6) You’re always looking for a get rich quick idea. This includes playing the lottery.
Steps to Becoming
Debt Free
1) Commit to be debt free from this point forward. Commit to not bring on any more debt. If you’re forced to, do it smart. (For example, the average millionaire buys a
3-4 year old car and pays cash for it.)
2) Make a list of all
you own and all you owe (if you’re making payments on it, you don’t own
it). Proverbs 24:3-4 is a good
reference.
3) Have a sale. This
is the stuff that is sitting and not getting used. Then use the money to pay down debt. If our money is moving, it can do something.
4) Start paying God
(tithe) and yourself (invest in your future) first. Live on 80% (invest 10%, tithe 10% and live
on what’s left)…or better yet give an offering of an additional 10% and only
live on 70%. That employs God to
multiply what you plant in the earth and allows us to tap God’s wisdom, beyond
just the protection of the tithe. With
the 80/20 plan, if you’re making $60,000 starting at 40 years, by age 60,
you’ll tithe $120,000 and have
investments worth over $250,000 (with modest gains). Remember, that the goal is
to start doing something (you might start at 1% now instead of 10%).
5) Set up a repayment plan (realistic).
6) Share it with your creditors (really). They may tell you all they will accept only
full payment. Take what you were going
to pay them and put it in a separate account, and then when you have it pay
them.
7) Employ God, and
believe God to do it in less than that time.
As we change our heart and actions, God will work on our behalf. Proverbs 16:7 says that if we do what we know
to do and trust God, He will bring us favor and bring us to peace.
8) Make a commitment
that we will NOT add any more debt.
9) Stick to it and
trust God.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on
online media. To learn more about Living
Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
