OPEN: Years ago, I had a friend who attended a Bible Study at my home. He shared with our study that when he graduated from High School, he had a life goal. His life goal was to be a million dollars in debt before he reached the age of 30… and THEN he’d declare bankruptcy.
He said he was more than half way there when he became a Christian. As a Christian he realized that he had to responsibility for those debts and he’d just recently paid them all off.
Now, a couple of observations:
1st - Bankruptcy is not a shameful nor ungodly option. Our nation’s bankruptcy laws are loosely based on the Law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 15:1-4 says: “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
(In the US a citizen can declare bankruptcy every 7 years).
This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you. However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you”
So, bankruptcy laws are in place to help when people get in over their heads. But my friend in the Bible study understood that he just gotten in over his head… he had deliberately incurred debt he had initially no intention of repaying. The words of Psalm 37:21 haunted him: “The wicked borrow and do not repay…” and so he fought to NOT go bankrupt.
So - first – bankruptcy is not a shameful or ungodly option.
In fact it is a Biblical way of dealing with debt that has gotten out of control.
2ndly – people have borrowed money for centuries - even in the Old Testament.
Have you ever heard of Dave Ramsey. He and other financial teachers like him strongly stress that Christians should avoid debt and stay out of debt. And I totally agree with them.
But it’s important to remember that it’s not a sin for us to be in debt… it’s just a bad idea. If it were a sin to be in debt, God would have told the people of Old Testament Israel – “You’re in debt. Too bad. You get what you deserve.”
Instead, God made protecting those who’d gotten into debt part of His Old Testament Law. God did not forbid or condemn borrowing. He protected them when they got into trouble.
So, it is not a sin to borrow money.
It’s just a good idea to avoid debt.
God constantly sets before His people that being OUT of debt is where you want to be.
As our text this morning says: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” Proverbs 22:7
And Romans 13:8 echoes that by saying “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…”
God’s people CAN borrow money (it’s not immoral to do so).
BUT God’s people should repay their debts.
“The wicked borrow and do not repay…” Psalm 37:21
Why should we repay out debts?
1st because we’re children of God. If we owe the debt (if we borrowed the money) we’re honor to do everything in our power to pay it off.
BUT 2ndly (and perhaps more importantly) the reason we should pay our debts is because - as long as we’re in debt, we’re in slavery. My creditor OWNS ME. And God doesn’t want me to be owned by anyone but Him.
The problem for us as a nation is that we’ve gotten used to the idea that debt is a “good thing”. Before WWII, most people avoided debt whenever possible. But after that war, debt was used as a way of kick starting the economy. Home loans were made easily available. And gradually, over time, debt went from being something you did only if you had to… to being a state of being where we ought to be. Where we should be.
It became the NEW normal.
As a result the vast majority of our nation has gotten to the point where most people are in debt up to their ears.
ILLUS: I remember a repairman coming in to work on a water purification system at my last house. I’d originally bought the system from a local company, but they’d sold out to another company in a much larger nearby city.
So, here was this repairman from that city working on my water system. And I said
“You must really do a better business over in that city than here. It’s a bigger city, much more industry, and so on.”
He replied “Oh, we’d rather do business over here. You folks pay your bills.”
He went on to explain that many of their customers in that larger city DID work for big companies. And they DID make good money.
But because of the availability of large amounts of money, they got in the habit of trying to compete with their neighbors. If their neighbor had a big house, impressive car, or if they had a boat or RV in the driveway… they just had to have one too.
The repairman explained that many people in that city ended up needing to work overtime, just to pay for all the “stuff” they had. And they struggled to pay the basic bills.
Now, this lies at the heart of why so many people are in debt. They have a desire to accumulate “stuff”. And the better, and more expensive, the stuff they can accumulate, the better they like it. They have the wants they just have to have.
They live a lot like that old bumper sticker that says “He that dies with the most toys wins.’
And this problem doesn’t just plague America.
ILLUS: A missionary visited a rural village in Africa and he asked one of the villagers “What is the biggest problem in your village?” He fully expected to hear about a food shortage or lack of medical supplies. He was not prepared for the response he received. The man said, “our wants”
· If a man has a mud hut, he wants one made of stone.
· If he has a thatch roof, he wants a tin roof.
· If he has one acre, he wants two.
The biggest problem for people in debt is that they have “wants”.
ILLUS: I had a friend who owned a business at the last church I served. I baptized both he and his wife. And we spent a lot of time together. One of his constant prayers had to do with the bills he struggled to pay.
I was praying with him one day and he mentioned he was going to lease a new car. He explained that he leased a new Trans Am every couple of years.
I said “Are you serious? You can’t pay your bills and you’re leasing a new car?”
And he replied “Well God wants me to be happy doesn’t he?”
Well, yeah. God wanted him to be happy.
But God just didn’t want him to be stupid.
This guy didn’t NEED a new car every 2 years.
He WANTED a new car every couple of years.
And did you notice why he wanted that new car?
It made him happy!
Now the WORLD knows that people think like that and so it markets to us accordingly. In fact, the world often markets to the poor because they seem more prone to “wants” in their lives, since they have so little.
One recent study found that if wealthy people inherited a fairly sizable portion of money, they often would just invest it. Middle class families might pay off some bills and invest the rest. But poor people would often take that inheritance and spend it almost immediately on something they WANTED (not needed).
ILLUS: “Check cashing” companies cater to that mindset. You know what these companies do? That’s right – they cash checks. And they cash them in advance. If a person has a check and feels they just have to have the money before they could ordinarily cash it at a bank these companies will help them out… for a percentage of the check. And these check cashing companies cater to poor people because they’re generally the ones who just can’t wait for payday.
Then there are other companies who cater to the poor’s WANT for luxury.
· Places that offer “Lease to Own” or “Rent to Own” for example, will market things that poorer people WANT but can’t afford (such as furniture or appliances or computrers). These companies offer these items for weekly/monthly payments… and ultimately make 2 to 3 times what the item is worth.
· Even worse are the car lots that advertise “Buy here, pay here” for people with poor credit. Now, there may be honest car dealers at places like that, but most of these companies count on their clients not being able to pay for the car. The car is often sold at a higher price than an ordinary car lot could ask. But it’s attractive to the person with poor credit, because they can’t get a regular loan. Bad credit. Once the purchaser falls behind on their payments, the car company will repossess the car and resell it. They count on being able to resell the car three or four times before they finally get rid of it.
· And, of course there’s the state lotteries. What kind of person usually buys lottery tickets? That’s right. The poor. That’s why, in many large cities, many lottery bill boards are placed in poorer neighborhoods. They advertise where the potential customers live.
There are a number of businesses that prey on the poor. That’s where they make their money. They market to people’s WANTS (and sometimes “Needs”) and then end up causing the poor to become even poorer.
But wait… there are other companies that will do exactly the same thing for you and me. In fact, I have one of their cards in my wallet (pull out wallet and produce a Credit Card).
ILLUS: The owner of a meat market had a customer come in one day and inform me she had gotten some unexpected money and wanted to fill her freezer. This customer picked out about $200 worth of meat and handed the owner her credit card.
The owner smiled and said: "I thought you got some unexpected money”.
"I did," she replied. "They raised the limit on my credit card"
Credit card companies make money in two ways.
1st – by charging the businesses a percentage of every sale that is made on their card. That’s why the gas station down the street offers you 5 cents off every gallon of gas if you’ll pay with cash or a check. They don’t want to pay the credit card company for their services.
But 2nd, these credit card companies make the most money by counting on us to accumulate so much debt that we end up NOT paying our bill on time. In fact, if you pay your bill in full each month, credit card companies regard you as “dead weight.” You are not their preferred customer.
Credit card companies count on you not being able to pay your bill on time. In fact, they encourage this behavior. Have you ever noticed on your statement the phrase: “Minimum payment”?
If you decide to only pay a portion of your bill, the credit card company is pleased. Do you know why? Because they charge an exorbitant amount of interest. Anywhere from 20 to 30% in some cases.
Now, that said, I use a credit card to keep track of my expenses for tax purposes. But there’s an inherent danger in using credit cards. Studies have found that – on average – people end up paying about 23% more every month than they would if they did not have a card.
Why would people spend more with a credit card?
Because if we ONLY have cash in our wallets, something in our brains says “STOP” when we find that only have a few dollars in our billfold. We’re not as likely to make “impulse” purchases, because it takes time to get the cash to buy what appeals to us.
But credit cards allow us to make “impulse” decisions in our purchases. Credit cards make it easier to buy what we WANT when we Want.
ILLUS: One wit observed: “Visa will take you anyplace you want to be… except out of debt.”
Next week we’re going to examine ways to get rid of financial debt.
But this week, we’re going to focus on dealing with our WANTS - because it’s our WANTS that lead many of us to spend more than we make.
ILLUS: I’m told that out West there is a General Store on the edge of nowhere. As travelers stop in they are greeted by a sign that says:
"If you can't find it in this store, just ask us about the item, and we'll tell you how to get along without it."
ILLUS: You’ve heard of the young men in the ghetto who live in dumpy apartments. But what do they often drive? Yep, the biggest baddest vehicle they can afford. Why would they spend so much money on a car? Because they don’t care what you think about where they live. The car is a status symbol.
ILLUS: But you don’t have to live in a ghetto to make an emotional decision about what you drive. I heard one young man talk about buying a car because it “looked cool”. Another young man wanted a certain model because its engine was REALLY powerful. Still another young person was all excited because his new vehicle had a great sound system.
Now, what is the purpose of a car?
It’s to get you from point A to point B.
All you need is a good engine and four good tires.
But most people don’t buy their cars based on functionality. They buy their vehicles because there’s something about that automobile that appeals to them emotionally.
People buy things based on emotion.
Let’s switch to something like a washer and dryer or kitchen appliance.
If a family goes to the store and sees one product is extremely attractive, it has all kinds of buttons and switches and all the most modern bells and whistles BUT is more expensive… then they see a less expensive model is not as impressive… but is just as functional. Which one are they more likely to buy?
The more expensive model.
It’s the “gee whiz” factor that attracts them.
The product that appeals to them emotionally is the one they want.
And they’ll pay extra money for the privilege.
Man has always been plagued by this desire to have what we want when we want it. It’s driven by a lack of contentment with what we have. But God teaches us in Scripture that contentment with what we have should be our goal as Christians
Paul wrote: “… if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” I Timothy 6:8
ILLUS: Will Rogers once noted: In the days of our founders, they were willing to give thanks for mighty little, for mighty little was what they expected. But now, neither government nor nature can give enough but what we think it's too little. Those old boys in the fall of the year, if they could gather in a few pumpkins, potatoes and some corn for the winter, they were in a thankful mood.
If we can't gather in a new Buick, a new radio, a tuxedo and some government relief, why, we feel that the world is against us.”
Jesus said it this way: So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Matthew 6:31-32
There’s a distinct difference between how people of God ought to look at possessions and how the pagans do. Pagans “RUN” after the things they think they need. God’s people relax with what they have and trust God to provide what they need.
This is essentially what Hebrews 13:5 teaches us:
“be content with what you have…”
And how can I be content?
“Because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’"
I can be content because God will always be beside me.
As Jesus said: He knows what I need
Now Paul said pretty much the same thing in Philippians 4:12
“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
And what is that secret?
“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
A few verses later, he writes this:
“…my God will meet all your NEEDS according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Notice what that last verse says.
It doesn’t say God will supply all our WANTS.
But I can be content, because God will supply all my NEEDS.
CLOSE: Several months ago a team from our church took a short-term mission’s trip to Haiti.
When they arrived, they were shocked at the abject poverty in which people lived.
Most of the people there have little in the way of “personal property” (in fact, it’s a privilege when one of them has a suitcase that way they can store what few items they own in it).
Homes are generally ramshackle affairs that are smaller than a really small bedroom. There’s little food to be had and little work that a person can do for money.
Those whose goal is to have all the health, wealth and wisdom they can acquire would look on these in Haiti with pity for all that they lack.
But when Dave (one of our Elders) returned from Haiti, he made mention of something a Haitian evangelist had told him:
“There are people in this world that say we are poor people here.
But no one is poor who has Jesus.”
Dave noted that though the people were poor by this world’s standards the people at the mission were cheerful and smiling.
Why? Because they loved Jesus and knew He loved them.
So, the question for you this morning is this?
Are you rich by the standards of this world, but without Christ in your life?
You can know God’s forgiveness and love today if you follow these 5 simple steps.
1. BELIEVE that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God, and that He died on the cross for your sins. (John 3:16)
2. But that belief should lead you to the next step: acknowledging that is for YOUR sins that He died. That you need to REPENT of those sins – determine not to live like that anymore. (Acts 3:19)
3. And that decision should be because you are willing to CONFESS Jesus as your Lord and Master. To give Him control of all your life and your possessions. (Romans 10:9)
4. Then you need to seal the deal. Sign the contract. Allow yourself to buried in the waters of BAPTISM and rise up a new creature in Christ (Romans 6:1-6)
5. And from that day on determine to live for Jesus every day of your life.
INVITATION
