OPEN: How many of you have at least one credit card in your wallets or purses?
How many have 2 credit cards…
How many have 3?
According to one of the most recent reports the average American household holds 12 Visas, MasterCards and various other cards. Credit card companies send out more than 1 billion new credit card offers every year.
Back in 1972, 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.
It’s illegal now, but credit card companies used to mail credit cards to people who hadn’t even applied for them. It wasn’t always good business: In 1966, five Chicago banks banded together and mailed out 5 million cards to people who hadn’t asked for them. But the banks had been less than cautious in assembling their mailing lists.
Some families received 15 cards.
Dead people got cards
Babies got cards.
And a dachshund named Alice was sent not one - but four cards - one of which arrived with the promise that Alice would be welcomed as a ‘preferred customer’ at many of Chicago’s finest restaurants. (Information gleaned from “Uncle John’s Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader”)
APPLY: We are a credit-based society. And that’s not entirely a bad thing.
After WWII, VA loans were made available to returning soldiers to make it easier for them to obtain their own homes. The resulting housing boom was so impressive, that FHA loans were created to help 1st time buyers purchase their first home. Without those kinds of loans, many people in America would be renters, not owners of their homes.
And there are credit cards that offer money back for your purchases. I have in my wallet a credit card that gives between 1% and 4% on various purchases I might make. I know that at the end of the year, I will have a check giving me money back on my purchases.
Diana and I also make use of our credit card to help us keep records of our purchases for tax purchases and tracing our buying patterns. But we pay off our balance every month.
But there are definite disadvantages to depending upon credit.
On average, consumers spend 23% more money with credit cards than when they pay cash. Credit card companies know this and that is why they press so hard to have you sign up for their cards. This is definitely a money making proposition for these companies because many people never pay off their balances. According to one report I read recently, at the end of 2003 – for those who carried a balance of debt on their cards – the average amount was about $7,520 per household on their credit cards. Credit card companies depend on those individuals to make their cards profitable. In fact, Credit card companies have a name for those of us who pay off our balances on time: “Dead beats.” We “rob” them of the interest that they depend upon.
In addition, many Christians struggle to give gifts and offerings to God and to reach out to the poor because they are in debt.
I. Now God has an objective: God wants His people to be in a position where they aren’t engulfed in debt.
Look again with me at Deuteronomy 28:12
“The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations BUT WILL BORROW FROM NONE.”
God apparently has NEVER wanted His people to live in a constant state of debt. In fact, He asked Israel to set their economy up on a 7 years cycle. In Deuteronomy 15:1-3 God commanded His people:
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 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.”
This is such a powerful concept that one of our nation’s laws is based upon it. Does anybody know which law that is? Bankruptcy. Chapter 11 is based upon the Biblical teaching here in Deuteronomy 15 and it is based on a 7 years cycle.
II. Why would it be important to God for His people to be debt free?
1st- Debt puts someone other than God in the position of being our master.
Proverbs 22:7 tells us - “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
This is most readily revealed in how some people see the tithe. There are a lot of people who don’t give hardly anything to God. Why NOT? They’ll say “I can’t afford to. I’ve got debts to pay!”
Thus, many people hold back from giving to God because something - other than God - is their master.
God wants us to be free from the shackles of debt.
2nd – Debt can undermine our witness
Jesus said: Luke 16:11 “… if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”
Our witness can be undermined by how we handle our finances. If we don’t pay our debts, that causes those who gave us that money in good faith to question our faith and our commitment to God.
Psalms 37:21 tells us that “The wicked borrow and do not repay”
ILLUS: Years ago, before I became a preacher, 4 of us got together and had a men’s Bible study at my home. Our neighbor across the street took part in those studies and one night he shared what his life’s goal had been before he became a Christian. He told us that his goal had been to be $1 million in debt by age 30… then he’d declare bankruptcy and start all over again. He was well on his way to attaining that goal when he became a Christian. Then he began to realize that, as a Christian, he couldn’t continue to allow himself to go further in debt. In fact, he sensed it was his obligation to pay off the debt he’d already accumulated. By the time he’d joined our Bible study he had already paid down the majority of his past obligations.
Why did pay off his debt? Because he realized that ignoring that debt would hurt his witness for Christ and he wasn’t willing to have that happen.
III. Why do people end up in debt?
1. Many times debt is based on circumstances beyond our control:
Times when a husband or wife is left with financial disaster after their spouse divorces them
Times when a family have physical difficulties that lead to overwhelming hospital bills or high priced prescription drugs
Times when a natural disaster (like Katrina) comes along and destroys all of their possessions
Times when a person loses their job or their business fails
ILLUS: Dennis was a young man I met while serving at our first church. It was during the small recession the US experienced during the 1980’s and our congregation had decided it would be worthwhile to help out some of the struggling families in our small community. They set aside $100 a month to give to some needy family. Someone told us Dennis and his wife Robin had just moved into a dilapidated house on the highway and they thought this family could use the help. I stopped by and walked into a home that had plaster peeling off the walls and the only heat seemed to come from a wood burning stove in the living room. I explained that our church had authorized me to give them a check for $100 to help them out.
Dennis was an “aw-shucks” kind of guy and he responded “Gee, I don’t really need $100. But we could use $89.90 for our electric bill… and we’ll pay that back.”
I explained that whether he paid it back or not wasn’t critical. That was between them and God, but we weren’t going to worry about it. Then I asked if they had a church home and they said they hadn’t. They started coming to church and were eventually baptized into Christ and became leaders in that congregation.
What was interesting to me was how Dennis had ended up in his situation. Apparently he had been a farmer up in Michigan. His major income came from his herds of cattle and pigs. One day, his cattle caught a terrible disease that required him to have them destroyed. The next year, another disease caused him to have his pigs put down. He had to sell the farm to pay off most of his debts and he was still struggling under the remaining debts of his past.
So sometimes debt is caused by things you and I can not control.
2. But, sometimes debt is created by a “false theology”
ILLUS: At our last church, I met a local businessman named Gary. Over a period of time I taught Gary and his girlfriend about Christ, baptized both of them and eventually they became heavily involved in church. About a year after he was baptized, however, Gary shared with me about his heavy debt load. He could hardly afford to make ends meet. But as he was telling me about this I recalled that he had a habit of buying a brand new TransAm every 2 or 3 years. He was thousands of dollars in debt and yet he felt compelled to buy this new car. I asked him about it and he looked at me wide eyed astonishment as explained: “Well, God wants me to have the best doesn’t He?”
We had a long talk about that one. And we had long talk about his attitude toward debt.
But his comment revealed to me that much of his debt was based upon a “false theology.” He had grown up believing in the worldly view that possessions are the mark of accomplishment. And that is a view that can infect even the best Christians.
ILLUS: A missionary in Africa had been witnessing faithfully to a certain individual. Following their conversation one day, he was somewhat surprised when the African placed a small statue and a silver coin on the table before him. Then he took two slips of paper and wrote something on each.
Putting one beside the image and the other with the money, he turned to the Christian worker and said, "Please read this." On the note by the idol were written the words, "Heathen god."
The sheet next to the coin bore the inscription, "Christian god."
That native African was resisting the message about Jesus because he had observed the lives of many of the "Christian" merchants around him and had concluded that money and possessions were actually their gods.
There are people who go into debt because purchasing new things gives them a feeling of power and control over their lives. It gives them a good feeling because they have the security of possessions. There’s a bumper sticker that sums up this kind of thinking: “He that dies with the most toys wins.”
But God has always warned people against this kind of thinking.
In Prov. 11:28 God tells us “Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.”
In 1 Timothy 6:17 Paul taught us: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”
Job (31:24-28) put it this way
"If I have put my trust in gold or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,’ if I have rejoiced over my great wealth, the fortune my hands had gained… then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.”
Jesus was very clear on this: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
We must not seek our security in earthly possessions and we must not allow “easy credit” to create that false sense of security.
IV. So, let’s assume that we are in debt. How should we deal with it?
1st we need to take stock of the riches God has already given us. People often get into debt because they aren’t satisfied with what they have. They need more and more new things and possessions to feel fulfilled.
ILLUS: William Boice, once wrote this prayer
Dear Lord, I have been re-reading the record of the rich young ruler and his obviously wrong choice. But it has set me thinking. No matter how much wealth he had, he could not -
ride in a car,
have any surgery,
turn on a light,
buy penicillin,
watch TV,
wash dishes in running water,
type a letter,
mow a lawn,
fly in an airplane,
sleep on an innerspring mattress,
or talk on the phone.
if he was rich, then what am I?
If we take stock of the blessings we already have we’ll be less inclined to seek satisfaction by gaining more and more possessions.
Next we must become good stewards of the money God has already given us.
The Bible tells us that all we possess BELONGS to God and what we have is FROM God. We don’t own anything in this world.
Paul put it this way: “… we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” (1 Timothy 6:7)
Someone else has observed: “You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.”
We don’t own anything we possess. It all belongs to God, so we must learn to be good stewards of God’s possessions. Thus, as good stewards we need to know that it is not God’s will for us to be in debt. Therefore we should do whatever is necessary to get out of debt.
One expert gave 7 steps he found useful in his life:
1st –commit yourself to removing debt from your life – don’t accept debt as normal.
We should regard this as a kind of “Debtors Anonymous”. In AA, what is the first thing an alcoholic needs to do in order to take control of his problem? That’s right: he needs to acknowledge that he has a problem. Likewise, in order for us to gain control of our debt, we need to believe that debt is not acceptable for God’s people.
2nd –make a commitment not to take on any more debt. This isn’t always possible, but that should be our goal.
3rd – develop a written plan on how to retire your debt (a budget). Our youth minister has a unique budget you might call the “envelope plan”. He and his wife label different envelopes that represent their various monthly bills. Then, every week they put money in those envelopes so that at the end of the month they have the money they need instead of trying to scrounge it up at the last minute.
4th – put God 1st in your budget plan (as a Christian we believe God is our 1st obligation).
5th – Set a reasonable time frame to retire your debt – the Bible set a 7 year cycle. In Deuteronomy 15:1God commanded His people: “At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. The author of the book I read attained his goal in 2 years but he was able to do that because he had the resources to generate the income to meet that deadline. Meeting your goal of being debt free might even take longer than 7 years, but the idea is to set a “goal” to aim toward.
6th - Adjust your lifestyle to meet your objectives
Don’t eat out as much
Don’t subscribe to cable TV
Turn down your heat
Don’t drive anyplace you don’t have to
A lot of times, we buy “things” that we really don’t need. And we subscribe to services we actually could live without.
7th - Begin to pay debts off – small ones 1st. The logic here is that with every debt that is paid off, we gain confidence that we can actually meet our objectives.
Lastly, lay hold of the tools God has given us to deal with life. What are the tools God’s given us?
1. Be faithful in Prayer
James 4:2 says “You want something but don’t get it…You do not have, because you do not ask God.”
2. Be faithful in your tithe. That may seem counter-intuitive but God tells us it works. In Malachi 3:10 God declares: “’Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”
3. Be faithful in the Church
When Dennis became part of our congregation at that 1st church I served, the people there saw his faith and his earnestness in serving God. Thus, the congregation felt safe about doing little things to help him and his family out. They helped him find a good job. They gave him money when they could. And when he was selected as an elder 3 yrs later somebody noticed that the best clothes Dennis had were bib overhauls. They approached him privately and asked if he would be offended if they bought him a new suit. Of course it wasn’t… and he wore that suit faithfully every Sunday afterward.
The church is here to help you out as best they can. The church was created by God so that we’d have a place where we can lean on each other and help each other out as much as possible. One of the things I’m so pleased with about this congregation is that there are so many who do that very thing. Whenever there is a need they don’t even bother to ask the permission of the Elders or myself (not that they need to) – they just go out and help.
But in order for us Christians to be able to minister as we should, we need to get control of our finances. This church is so committed to that we are going to hold a financial seminar next month. If you’re interested there is a sign up sheet in the back.
CLOSE: As important as it is for us to have our earthly finances in order, we must never forget that it is more important that we set establish and maintain our heavenly bank account.
ILLUS: A tax assessor came one day to a poor Christian to determine the amount of taxes he would have to pay. The following conversation took place:
"What property do you possess?" asked the assessor.
"I am a very wealthy man," replied the Christian.
"List your possessions, please," the assessor instructed.
The Christian said:
"First, I have everlasting life, John 3:16
Second, I have a mansion in heaven, John 14:2
Third, I have peace that passes all understanding, Philippians 4:7
Fourth, I have joy unspeakable, 1 Peter 1:8
Fifth, I have divine love which never fails, 1 Corinthians 13:8
Sixth, I have a faithful pious wife, Proverbs 31:10
Seventh, I have healthy, happy obedient children, Exodus 20:12
Eighth, I have true, loyal friends, Proverbs 18:24
Ninth, I have songs in the night, Psalms 42:8
Tenth, I have a crown of life, James 1:12
The tax assessor closed his book, and said, "Truly you are a very rich man, but your property is not subject to taxation."
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES
The Attitude of Ownership - 1 Chronicles 29:1-29:20
The Bondage of Debt - Deuteronomy 28:1-28:14
The Power Of Choice - Malachi 3:7-3:12
The Decision and The Promise - Genesis 22:1-22:19
