(This message extensively based on the sermon starters provided in the "Who Cares" package materials from Outreach.)
Have you ever experienced something, or some time in your life when things got so bad that you couldn’t do anything but laugh? Ever been there? Just had to laugh it off? Well, we have actually reached that point regarding today’s topic. One of the most popular commercials out there is one that you have probably laughed right along with.
(Video of Commercial clip - Stanley Jones of Lending Tree)
But it’s really no laughing matter, is it? Did you know, the current national debt stands right around 8 trillion dollars. I have no idea how many zeroes that is, but it goes up roughly $1.5 billion a day. However, that’s the government’s problem, right?
Fortunately, so that we too can experience the reality of an out of control debt, the level of consumer debt is also growing rapidly. Credit card debt alone now stands around 800 billion dollars, or about $8,500 per family. Only you know whether you are a part of an above average family, or not.
And while commercials such as that of Stanley Johnson provide us with some comic relief, and an escape from the reality of the ever growing pile of bills, the suffocating burden of financial debt is no laughing matter.
Who Cares? Video Clip
Maybe more than any topic in our series, there will be very few people under the sound of my voice today who can not relate to financial struggles, spending battles, and even the burden of debt. Increasingly, Americans are using credit cards to cover basic living expenses, and that’s a dangerous trend.
Here was the scenario for our household –
- 26 years old w/ a new baby boy
- Tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt from college and seminary
- Had purchased our first home
- Had leased our first brand new,4 door car
- Things were tight, but doable
- Until we were informed of our health insurance carriers bankruptcy
- More than $10,000 in medical bills were left unpaid
- Still doable – barely – but doable
- Until we were informed by the senior pastor that within 48 hours we were both to have our desks cleared out
- Unemployed, new parents, in debt up to our eyeballs – without income
- Credit Cards – to buy groceries, put gas in the car, pay basic living expenses
- In big time financial trouble
Everyone take out your wallet. Ladies, grab your purses. You don’t have to raise your hand. In fact, please don’t. But do look inside and answer in your head, how many of you have at least one credit card in your wallet or purse? How many have two credit cards? How many have three? More than three? And how many with unpaid balances?
According to one of the most recent reports the average American household holds twelve Visas, Master Cards and various other cards. Credit card companies send out more than one billion new credit card offers every year.
Way back in 1972, 35 years ago, Walter Cavanagh and a friend bet a dinner to see who could accumulate the most credit cards. Eight years later he won the bet - and broke the world record – by applying for and getting 1,003 credit cards, weighing 34 pounds and entitling him to $1.25 million in credit. His ultimate goal - 10,000 cards.
Of course, Walter is definitely an above average performer. All told, on average Americans have $17,000 in non-mortgage debt. The result is that more than 1 million Americans file for bankruptcy every year.
There was a man whose wife’s credit cards were stolen, but he didn’t call to cancel them. The reason, he said, "The thieves were spending less than she was." Indeed debt has become a big problem for many of us.
Suze Orman, an American financial guru writes, "Debt feels like the heaviest burden of life. It weighs down your spirits, keeps your mind occupied and makes you feel bound -- because you are bound."
Almost sounds Biblical, doesn’t it? That’s because it is. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor.” Not much we can do about that. “And the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
There aren’t many things that can wreak havoc in our lives like debt can. It is a frustrating thing – and here’s the really not so funny part – we do it to ourselves! When we exceed the amount that we have to spend. When we spend more than we make. When we go overboard in debt. We do it to ourselves, and we set ourselves up for a number of frustration.
There’s physical frustration. For most, the physical frustration usually amounts to no more than upset stomachs and sleepless nights. But debt creates unhealthy stress on the body, and remember, we are to be stewards not only of our finances, but also of the bodies God has given us. This means that we need to take into account our body’s natural reaction to being stressed out under a weight of debt.
Here’s a simple little exercise for you to do while we’re talking about physical stress – this afternoon add up all the debts you owe. Include your home, your autos, all your loans and credit cards – all your debts that aren’t monthly living expenses and get a total. Then divide that total by your hourly wage. The number you get is the number of hours you’ll have to work that body of yours just to pay off the debt you’ve already accumulated assuming you don’t create any more!
If you charged $5,000 on a credit card that draws 21% interest and you made more than the minimum payments each month, at $10 an hour you’d still have to work over 600 hours just to pay off that one card. Is that how we want to spend our lives?
Physical frustration. But there’s also emotional frustration. You know what I mean. When people begin to live on debt it begins with a manageable amount, but then as unexpected things arise it is easy to resort to credit to make ends meet. Been there, done that. When we ought to pay cash for new tires, they go on the Sears card. When the washer goes out or whatever – debt takes its emotional toll. Then, when we become physically and emotionally frustrated, we naturally become…
Maritally frustrated. Think of the fighting, arguing, questioning, accusing, hiding, lying, and shouting that goes on in many homes over money problems associated with debt. Honestly, is your marriage worth that new car? Is it worth the debt? We don’t have to live this way as children of God! And speaking of that…
There is spiritual frustration. Isn’t it hard to draw near to God when we know that we’ve presumed? When we know that we’ve ignored the warnings? After we’ve spent the evening worrying? After we’ve kicked the dog and cursed the wife? What is our spiritual state at that point?
You see, our relationship with God in the area of money is to be one built on trust and patience and contentment. Our relationship with God in the area of money is to be one that says, “Jesus, you are the Lord of my finances and I will spend them the way you would have me to.”
But too often we wait until we are on bottom to make such a statement, and then forget it when we get in the clear. Going overboard in debt flies in the face of trust and patience and contentment. When Jesus ought to be Lord we make our personal wants and wishes lord instead.
So we’ve got the problem. Literally. What are some solutions? First. . .
1. DIAGNOSE THE REASON(S) WHY YOU ARE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE
We need to come to understand why we got into this bind in the first place, so that we can prevent ourselves from getting deeper into debt in the future. There are basically three main reasons most of us get into debt.
WANTING INSTANT GRATIFICATION is surely one reason for our indebtedness. In Luke chapter 15 we read of Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son who went to his father and demanded that his father pay him his inheritance now instead of later. Luke 15:12 says he went to his father and said, "Father give me my share of the estate now." He wanted his money today not when he was older. And that is the way we are, we want everything now, even when we can’t afford it and so we go into debt to meet our desire for stuff. (Frozen Credit Cards)
NOT ANTICIPATING HARD TIMES. Many of us gotten into debt because we lived as if hard times and trouble were not a possibility. I never saw us as unemployed. I never saw a health insurance company going bankrupt. Nobody suggested that possibility while I was giving them $75,000 dollars to educate me in college and seminary. Maybe they could have mentioned that possibility.
So I spent our money assuming that economic conditions and life circumstances would remain stable. I presumed on the future. And I’m not alone. A Harvard study revealed that illness and medical bills are the cause of more than half of the personal bankruptcies in America. And the study estimates that medical bankruptcies affect about 2 million Americans annually when you include the debtors and their dependents - including about 700,000 children.
And catch this. More than three-quarters of these people were insured at the start of the bankrupting illness or medical event. However, 38 percent lost coverage at least temporarily resulting in having to file for bankruptcy.
It brought me at least an ounce of peace to learn that most of the medical bankruptcy filers were middle class, 56 percent owned a home and the same number had attended college. 30 percent of these families had a utility cut off and 61 percent went without needed medical care.
Not anticipating hard times can be a major cause of financial debt. Proverbs 27:1 says, "Boast not of tomorrow, for you don’t know what tomorrow will bring." And frankly some of us are spending like there is no tomorrow. We spend, spend, spend with no caution and then when the car needs a thousand dollar repair or our children need braces we have to borrow money because we didn’t have anything set aside for a rainy day.
One more. How about SPENDING MORE THAN RESOURCES ALLOW. Ecclesiastes 5:11 says, "The more you have the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income, so what is the advantage of wealth except to watch it as it runs through your fingers." And most of us have spent beyond the limits of our income and used debt to fill in the gaps.
Now, once you know why you are in debt, you can begin to. . .
2. DEVELOP A PLAN TO GET OUT OF DEBT AND STICK TO IT
You have to have a plan. Though I do recommend it be a bit different than this –
(Movie Clip - From ScreenVue of couple betting on race horses.)
Many of us live like this couple. If not in reality, at least mentally. We are just waiting for our ship to come in. Waiting to find that winning lottery ticket on the ground. Waiting for the right horse to pull through in the big race.
But God’s word says in Proverbs 21:5, "Good planning and hard work leads to prosperity." Good planning and hard work. No quick fixes. Develop a plan to get out of debt, and stick to it.
And the plan, I believe, to be a biblical plan, must include the following elements –
GIVE TO GOD. Please here this this morning. The voice of experience. The main problem behind our debt is spiritual. Our priorities are out of whack and we need to involve God. Did you hear that? The main problem behind our debt is spiritual. Not material. Spiritual. We wrestle not with flesh and blood, or coins and dollars. Financial debt is a spiritual issue.
So you handle it as a spiritual issue, and even if you can’t see how you can give to God, you do it. By making a commitment to give back to God you are saying, “God my priorities are changing. I am giving you control of my finances.” Someone hand me a dollar -
(The government’s help with our priorities – the dollar bill wording: correlate with prayer in schools
and the 10 commandments)
Give to God. Not when you are out of debt. Not when it is easy. Now, as the first step in a life plan towards financial freedom.
(Practical Logical Example of Help versus Payment: Doctor – Lawyer – God)
The big question: “Pastor, God wouldn’t want me to be tithing, to be giving tens, or hundred, or even thousands of dollars to the church while I’m in debt and paying tons in interest, would He? That isn’t good stewardship. Surely He wouldn’t have me do that?”
Sounds logical – unfortunately, it isn’t Biblical? (Acts – Malachi)
If you come to me for financial counsel – I won’t become an accessory to robbery. That is what Malachi says. If you are not tithing to God, you are robbing Him. Whether you are in debt, or not. Give to God.
DETERMINE WHERE YOU ARE. Getting out of debt requires knowing the total amount of the debt you owe. This includes credit card balances, mortgage balances, installment loan balances, car loans, etc. Write out everything you owe. If you don’t know, call your bank and they will tell you how much you still owe on the loan if you paid it all off today. But in order to begin to get out of debt you need to know how much you owe total.
Proverbs 27:34 says, "Know the state of your affairs and watch your business interests closely." You have to know where you are. And as logical as it sounds, I don’t think I have ever had anyone come to me for financial counseling who could clearly tell me where they were at. It’s a critical starting point. Know where you are.
Then it gets tough. Hah, you already thought it had gotten tough. No sir-ee, Bob. STOP BORROWING. Think about it this way. If you went in your home and found it standing in a foot of water. Would the first thing you do be to grab a bucket and start bailing the water? First, wouldn’t we wade through the water, find the source of the leak and stop it? So we could actually clean-up the mess. Make up some ground.
The same is true with debt. You can’t get rid of what you’ve got until you make the commitment to stop going further into debt. Did you follow that? You can’t get rid of what you’ve got until you make the commitment to stop going further into debt. That means all debt – bank loans, auto, credit cards and so forth.
(Example: recent car temptation ending with AAA)
You might need to do some plastic surgery – cut up your credit cards. Financial counselors tell stories all the time about grown people crying when they do this!
Finally. . .DEVELOP A REPAYMENT PLAN. Psalm 37:21 says, "The wicked borrow and do not repay." Anyone looking to be classified by God’s word as wicked this morning? I didn’t think so. So we must begin to make a plan to repay creditors. God commands it. Even if your debt is great, begin to make some kind of plan to pay it back as soon as possible.
May mean selling some assets. The sale of larger items such as cars, motorcycles, entertainment systems, computers, investments, and homes are the first way to scale down debt. You need to determine which item you can do without. But this will help you get rid of some items that are currently putting you in debt. 2 Kings 4:7 says, "Go sell the oil and pay the debt, and live on the rest." In other words, liquidate extra assets and cut off debt.
Example of Counseling – cell phones, cable, magazines.
(Personal Example of company cars, Xterra, and telephone service)
More help – Plug Crown Financial Ministries
