Satisfied.
Last Sunday I began a series of messages called “Satisfied.” that is about money – except it’s not really about money. It’s about life.
In that message I pointed out three lies that sounded like truths and three truths that sounded like lies.
Three lies
The three lies were that
Money Satisfies
It doesn’t. There is never enough.
It’s my money
It’s not. It’s God’s. He just lets you possess it for a while.
Money is the proof of success
It’s isn’t. Money is the not the proof. Money is the test.
Three truths
I also shared three truths. Here they are:
God is the source for all good things
It all comes from him. He is the creator of all things.
God determines what you have
God has given us each the skills, talents and abilities we possess – all of which produces the wealth in our world and in our life. Ultimately, how that all works out is determined by God. How we handle what we have is the test of life.
God made us to Give which is the only way to a satisfied life
Spending, saving, hoarding, gambling, begging, borrowing, or working for money does not lead to a satisfied life. The ONLY way money leads to a satisfied life is when we honor God by following his example and give to another.
So problem solved – right! Wrong! Most people will agree in principle that the one who gives is more blessed than the one who receives. But they still struggle with giving – often because they can’t give. They have too many bills and are struggling to get by. There is no margin in their life. In fact, they spend more than they make.
Debt
Debt keeps you stuck in the trap of using your future to pay for your past.
Mary Hunt
Credit and Interest is a way of life in the modern world. One of the most important numbers you have today that is attached to your name is your credit score. It affects what you pay in interest on your car loan and on your home mortgage. It is factored into how much you pay for auto and home insurance. A low credit score can mean interest rates on your credit card of 20-15%. A high score can mean an interest rate of only 12%.
Debt is a way of life in our world. But today I want to show you what God’s word says about debt? I did a little digging in the past couple of months and here is some of what I discovered in the Bible.
#1: Some Debt is OK
1 At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the LORD’s release has been proclaimed.
Deut 15:1-2
Certainly, one thing we do learn immediately is that it’s not wrong or evil to have debt. Being in debt is not a sin! In fact, there are times when it may be necessary or even wise.
When Donna and I first married we were students at Great Lakes Bible College living on a very limited income. This was over 42 years ago so the prices were a lot different but the principle would be the same at today’s prices.
Back in the olden days we budgeted $7.00 a week for groceries. We could fill the gas tank on our car for $3.00. Our laundry expenses were the killer – around $4-5.00 weekly. That’s what it cost to go to the laundry mat and put quarters and dimes into the machines. It also meant blowing about 2-3 hours watching clothes go around in a big dryer. I hated it and so did Donna.
So we went to Sears in Frandor and borrowed $235 to buy a portable washing machine and a drying rack. The monthly payment was $14. That meant we actually lowered our monthly laundry bill by roughly $6.00 and I didn’t have to sit in a laundry mat anymore.
There are times that a little debt makes some sense. The problem with debt comes when it gets out of control and it costs you more – not less.
The second thing we learn is that debt is so dangerous that God put in place a formal bankruptcy every seven years for everyone who was in debt.
In the Old Testament God limited debt to no more than seven years. Actually, what the law said was that every seven years there was to be a financial Sabbath and all debt was to be released. All land that was mortgaged was to be returned to the original owner.
What this meant in practice was that everyone’s credit was limited and that no one could get too deeply into debt. Those who could loan you money did so knowing that the debt was to be forgiven every seven years so they made loans that fit into God’s pattern.
Everybody got a fresh start every seven years in God’s plan. In God’s plan the borrower was protected and the lender was discouraged from doing too much lending.
Today we still practice a form of God’s plan – but it’s very limited. It’s certainly not every seven years. In fact you if you go bankrupt today you are blocked from doing it again for another seven years. In the world’s plan the borrower is discouraged from asking for forgiveness and the lender is protected.
On top of that there is the issue of whether it is right to declare bankruptcy. Some people really struggle with it. Over the years there have been several times that I’ve been asked if ok in God’s eyes if you declare bankruptcy.
Some people get buried under a mountain of medical bills. Sometimes they get right sized and then can’t find a job. For some, there is a divorce and the income is radically changed but the bills keep coming. There was a time not too recently when the housing market collapsed and people got so upside down financially that they couldn’t keep up.
Bankruptcy is a way of getting financial mercy and grace – forgiveness.
The reality is that debt is dangerous. It puts us at great risk and there are times in life when a person’s financial world collapses. Some of you have been there. Some of you may be there today. This collapse comes when we get so badly in debt that there is no way to ever get out.
Bankruptcy is a legal and cultural way to offer up financial forgiveness to those who need relief. There are times that when this is necessary. Of course, bankruptcy can be and often is abused. We should pray long and hard before we go there.
The reason why is the second thing I learned in my studies.
#2: To Borrow and Not Repay is Theft
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives…
Psalms 37:21
This brief passage also touches two very important and key points.
First: it’s wicked to borrow and not pay back.
When you borrow you need to pay it back. That’s clear. To borrow and not pay it back makes you a thief.
When you borrow money to buy something you have made a promise. You have given your word. You have even affixed your signature to a document to prove that you have made a binding promise. That means something… or it should.
Second: While it’s not wrong to borrow, it’s far better to give.
God did not create you to earn, save and then loan money to others so you get more money back.
It’s not wrong to loan money – unless the interest you charge is usury. The Bible does speak about that and it is a sin to prey on poor people. Those check cashing places you see around town that give payday advance loans are charging interest rates that turn out to be 400% and more. That’s just wrong… but I digress.
The real issue is that we were made in God’s image. He gave us his life through his one and only son. Following after God’s ways means that we become givers of life – not loaners of money.
As I studied I learned that the Bible is really pretty clear about debt. In general…
#3: It’s Better to Stay Out of debt
18 One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.
Proverbs 17:18
In God’s economy going into debt was foolish. According the writer of Proverbs when you go into debt and put up your house or car as security you are lacking in sense.
I used to think my house was an exception because the values always go up. Then the housing market crashed in 2008 and today my house is worth about what I paid for it 15 years ago – maybe.
And then there are credit cards – where there is nothing put up as security and interest rates range from 12% to 24% or even higher.
Do you know what the slang term is in the credit world for people who pay the minimum payments on their credit cards? They call them “revolvers” and the banks love them. Do you know what the slang term is for people who pay off their credit cards every month? They call them “deadbeats.”
Over the last five years Donna and I have been gradually working our way out of debt. The cars are all paid off. All we have left is our house and we hope to have that paid off in the next 5 years or so. But what I’m really excited about is that we have no credit card debt because we pay them off every month. I love being a deadbeat!
Listen, to me…. When you get those invitations in the mail tell you how great you are and offering you a fantastic opportunity to get credit really cheap, to win fabulous prizes, or to get forty thousand points when you apply for a new credit card you need to know that credit card companies are not your friends. They are making money from you. They want you to use their card and make it as easy as possible for you to spend money.
BTW: Those 40,000 free points? They are only worth a few dollars. It is always better to stay out of debt.
There’s more about debt in God’s word…
#4: Debt Makes You into a Servant
7 The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.
Proverbs 22:7
Paying off debt is not fun. It’s hard. It’s a lot more fun to spend money and to buy stuff. It doesn’t satisfy but it is fun… until the burden of debt builds up.
When you owe someone money you are indebted to them. In some senses they own you. If you don’t pay them and you put up something as collateral they can come and take it away.
I’m getting 2-3 letters a week right now from a debt collector that is trying to locate a man that used my name as a reference to borrow money. I’m sorry I ever allowed him to use my name!
When you don’t pay for your car and they repossess it the car goes to auction but that doesn’t mean you are done! If the car doesn’t sell for as much as you owe you still have to pay the difference. Now you are paying for something you don’t even have in your driveway. The borrower really is the slave of the lender.
But the real problem with this is that we are supposed to have only one master – our Lord and God. Debt makes you a slave to another master.
Often it is this master that makes it hard for us to be the giving people we were made by God to be. Because we don’t give we never experience the deep and rich satisfaction that comes from sharing with others and are instead trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and dissatisfaction.
So where does this start… and what feeds it? God’s word tells us that debt is fed by discontent.
#5: Debt is Fed by Discontent
11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Philippians 4:11-12
This is where most of us really get into trouble. Advertisers convince us that we deserve to have luxury and stuff. Debt allows us to get more stuff that does not satisfy and then leaves us holding an empty bag we have to keep paying on for years.
And this happens because we have not learned to the secret to being content – all because we are desperately trying to be satisfied.
A very few have tried to find satisfaction through denial. They have made vows of poverty and given away all their possessions trying to find contentment.
You don’t learn to be content by not having stuff either. Being content – being satisfied – has nothing to do with having or not having money! It’s very important to grasp this.
Riches don’t make you content. Neither does poverty. Being a monk and living on nothing doesn’t make you content.
So what is the secret of having plenty or having little and being content in either circumstance?
The secret of Being Content
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:13
More stuff will not make you happy. And more debt to get more stuff just feeds the monster called discontent that lives inside of you.
The secret to being contented in life is reliance on God for and in all things.
Reliance on God
Paul continues in Philippians and says it this way:
…I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:18-19
My God will supply every need of yours (here comes the fine print) according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. I love this fine print!!!
Sometimes you and I need to just sit back and wait on God. I don’t believe in self-reliance. I believe in God-reliance. Sometimes it comes through his people sometimes in comes in ways that cannot be explained. But God is always there for us.
Waiting and trusting in God to supply our needs (not wants – needs) just may mean that you need to learn to be patient and stop using debt to get what you want or what you think you need.
NEVER GO HUNGRY AGAIN
Fred and Cheryl went to Haiti in 1985 to bring a child home that they had adopted. Addie was five years old. Her parents had been killed in a traffic accident that left her without a family, but as she walked across the tarmac to board the plane, the tiny orphan reached up and slipped her hands into the hands of her new parents whom she had just met. They described it as her "birth moment," when in that physical act of grasping their hands, she expressed an innocent, fearless trust in their care.
That evening, back home in Arizona, they sat down to their first supper together with their new daughter. There was a platter of pork chops and a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table. After the first serving, their two teenage boys kept refilling their plates. Soon the pork chops had disappeared and the potatoes were gone. Addie had never seen so much food on one table in her whole life. Her eyes were big as she watched her new brothers, Thatcher and Graham, satisfy their ravenous teenage appetites.
Fred and Cheryl noticed that Addie had become very quiet and realized that something was wrong. Was it agitation, bewilderment, insecurity? Then Cheryl guessed that it was the disappearing food. She suspected that because Addie had grown up hungry, when food was gone from the table she might be thinking that it would be a day or more before there was more to eat. Cheryl had guessed right.
She took Addie’s hand and led her to the bread drawer and pulled it out, showing her a back-up of three loaves. She took her to the refrigerator, opened the door, and showed her the bottles of milk and orange juice, the fresh vegetables, jars of jelly and jam and peanut butter, a carton of eggs, and a package of bacon. She took her to the pantry with its bins of potatoes, onions, and squash, and the shelves of canned goods—tomatoes and peaches and pickles. She opened the freezer and showed Addie three or four chickens, a few packages of fish, and two cartons of ice cream. All the time she was reassuring Addie that there was lots of food in the house, that no matter how much Thatcher and Graham ate and how fast they ate it, there was a lot more where that came from. She would never go hungry again.
Cheryl showed Addie that she was home and would never go hungry again.
(Eugene Peterson, Practice Resurrection Eerdmans, 2010, pp. 159-160.)
So let’s summarize…
Debt is Dangerous
Dumb
Explanation for
Buying
Things
It isn’t sin but borrowing money is often a very foolish decision.
Look up debt in Thesaurus: Here are some of the words you’ll find that are synonyms for debt:
obligation, encumbrance, in the red, pound of flesh, arrears, inability to pay, bilked, bound, beholden, up to one’s ears, over one’s head, mortgaged to the hilt, in the poverty trap, unable to keep the wolf from the door, hard-up, beaten down, financially embarrassed, strapped, stripped, fleeced, busted.
My Advice: Get Out Of Debt… as fast as you can!
Start today. To do this you are going to have to do some things…
Make a vow to God and to yourself to get out of debt.
Stop take on any more debt
If you are a revolver – put away the credit card. Freeze it in a block of ice so you have to thaw it out before you can use it. That should slow you down a little.
Develop a written plan (a budget)
Sounds tough but it doesn’t have to be. I have been using a website program called Mvelopes for 5-6 years and it makes it easy.
Put God first in your giving
This is one debt – the debt of love – you can never pay off. You can only honor God with your tithes and offerings.
Set an attainable time frame
It took you a while to get in debt. It’s going to take a while to get out of debt.
Pay down your debts using the debt snowball
Enroll in the Good Samaritan Program and learn how to responsibly take care of your finances and get out of debt. BTW: It’s called Good Samaritan Program because we want to help you stop being a borrower and start being a giver.
Adjust your lifestyle
You are going to have to change the way you live. You won’t be able to do all the same things you’ve been doing – at least for a while. But that can be ok if you learn that the secret of being content is reliance on God.
One last word…
God wants you to experience real freedom
35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:35-36
Debt is not sin. But loving stuff more than Jesus is! Only one master – that’s Jesus.
Get out of debt so you can become a devoted follower and a giver.
Action Steps
Give your life to Jesus
Determine to get out of debt
Attend the Good Samaritan Program this week
Fold $20 up in your wallet and pray for an opportunity to give it away this week.
