“Debt is hurting me!” (the first of two maybe three articles about the biggest downfall I have counseled in the thirty-three years of ministry)
Those were the words said through tears in my office by a couple who couldn’t make ends meet. Consider the following information and weigh the benefits of applying Scriptural Truth verses living in debt.
Why is there so much debt in my life? The financial aspect of individuals and families seems to make you feel uncomfortable, doesn’t it? Yet the drive to have “things” is overwhelming isn’t it? Here are some indicators that you are out of whack when it comes to finances (the following list are a compilation of observations made from those counseled in the past):
1. You are borrowing from your future, there is no savings regularly contributed for your planned and unexpected expenses ahead (you know they are coming, don’t you?).
2. You look for comfort in all the wrong places (fast food, buying stuff that is fun but not really necessary, internet purchases that you can’t really check out).
3. You reach into your wallet for some cash, to help a needy person, give an offering for a missionary or help with a special project and you come up empty.
4. You have maxed out your credit cards, ability to borrow from family and/or friends.
5. You have to work even if you are ill because the bills are compounding (a vacation would be taking a break for an hour between jobs).
6. You have phone calls, emails and letters coming from credit collectors asking for prompt payment.
7. Your church and charities send you a receipt for your giving and it shows a smaller figure rather than the one you committed to contribute.
8. You have to juggle paying bills because there is too much month left at the end of your money.
After looking at the list can you relate to any or several or all of the statements? Could you add a few others to the list? Why continue down this road of heartache? There is an answer it is found in the best counsel for finances imaginable: the Bible. Yup, yes sir, bonanza, you heard it here, right on it is the best seller of all and it still works when applied in faith.
Consider the answers from the Word of God regarding getting the finances back under control.
- Pray-I know it isn’t the Publisher’s Clearing House check you expected but actually it is God’s plan. I Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.” God desires to hear of your needs and your situation isn’t beyond Him. I recommend that you write out your prayer requests and date them when you first begin to pray. Watch how when you apply His method to your finances how He will bless you and you life.
- Plan-I know it isn’t as exciting as a vacation cruise or a new SUV but it is the right thing, the “bitter pill” you need right now. The plan has to be for the immediate time and then for the short term, mid term and long term needs. Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
- Practice-Didn’t you hate it when the music teacher told you to do it but then appreciated it on concert day? Yes, you did! So the same principles are good for financial needs too. There needs to be a commitment to the Lord’s Way for your money. Psalms 37:4-6 “4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass . 6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.”
This is the first step to building a financially strong house, it all begins with the foundation to be on the Lord.-Dr. Timothy W. Jackson 06/07/2012