Our nation is in a financial crisis. The national
Debt is almost 20 trillion dollars; some say this number could go as high as
$200 trillion dollars. What should
concern every Christian is this national attitude toward debt has impacted the
mission of the Church and the spiritual life of the believers.
The
number of congregations around the United States with significant debt is
growing every day. Too often this debt
hampers the church from paying its staff properly, maintaining its buildings
adequately, or funding its programming sufficiently. Church debt is nothing
more than making the work of the LORD slave to the lender.
The problem is many Christians are not aware of the serious
consequences that follows when churches and we as individual Christians go into
debt. We are culturally so accustomed to debt that we feel no resistance to
getting a loan for a house, a new car, a new washer,
and dryer, or a new TV set. Everywhere in the world around us are people taking
out loans. Our whole economy would collapse without credit. Government is
borrowing, industrial corporations are borrowing, and private individuals are
borrowing. Credit has been used in this country to the extent that the USA, the
richest country in the world, is now the biggest debtor among all nations.
Because of our cultural background, we find it quite natural to borrow money.
If we lack the funds for a certain project, we believe that it is not wrong to
get a loan, as long as we can make the monthly payments. This is what the
financial institutions have told us all along.
Most churches, unfortunately, have no different attitude
towards debt. In this matter, even “Bible believing churches” go with the
cultural flow. Church leaders think that they do God’s will when they finance
building projects through loans. Usually, church members do not question this
practice, because the individual members have taken out loans themselves to buy
a house or a car. There is certainly no economic advantage to a
congregation servicing indebtedness.
Debt
does not glorify the LORD. Debt does not
grow our Faith. Debt does not provide Freedom to do the work of the LORD. It is time to show Christians how to have
freedom from debt.
The Bible has a lot to say about money. Of the 38
recorded parables of Jesus, 16 deals with money or possessions. In the Gospels,
one out of ten verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The
Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but more than 2,000
verses on money and possessions.
Perhaps the
reason the Bible puts such an emphasis on money is because, in Jesus’ words,
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt. 6:21 Your heart
follows your treasure. If you put your treasure in the things of this world,
your heart will be in this world. If you put your treasure in the kingdom of
God, your heart will be there. Since your heart and your money are so intimately
bound together, it is crucial to your spiritual life to study what Scripture
teaches about money.
The teachings
of the Bible are in opposition to the world’s perspective:
Freedom (from
bondage to greed and debt). The world says, “I want more, and I’ll go in debt to get it.” The Jesus said Take no thought what you will
eat, wear, or your shelter; I will
provide.
Integrity.
The world winks at cheating and dishonesty.
Faithfulness.
The world is marked by irresponsibility.
Generosity.
The world says, “Hang onto it!” Give, and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give
into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.
Because your
attitudes toward money are closely tied in with your heart, I’ll probably
offend you at some point in this series! If I do, before you get mad, please
stop and consider that: (1) This stuff applies to me as well as to you. (2) It may be God, not me, stepping on your
toes. If it’s just me, I apologize. Feel free to disagree with me. But if I’m
true to Scripture, please don’t shrug it off. God calls us all to be doers of
the Word, and there are few of us who need to grow on this important topic.
This morning
I want to speak about debt both financial and spiritual. The Bible speaks about
the importance of staying out of debt.
Paul's charge to us in Romans 13:8
to owe nothing but love is a powerful reminder of God's distaste for all forms
of debt that are not being paid in a timely manner (see also Psalm 37:21). At the same
time, the Bible does not explicitly command against all forms of debt. The
Bible warns against debt, and extols the virtue of not going into debt, but
does not forbid debt it is a free choice. In the process of deciding
whether or not to go into debt, to borrow or not to borrow is not the question;
rather, the real question is: whom do I want to choose as my master, Jesus or
the lender? Why?
1. Because
the lender is our master (Proverbs 22:7); and
2. We can
serve only one master, Jesus or the lender (Matthew 6:24).
So, the
adverse spiritual impact of choosing to borrow is to choose the lender as our
master rather than Jesus Christ. Now,
this does not mean that Jesus is not our Savior if we borrow. We could borrow
all of the money in the world, and it would not divest Jesus of being our
Savior.
We must
recognize that Jesus wants to take us far beyond just being our Savior. He
wants us to make Him, and not the lender, our Master. If we do not think the
lender is our master, just miss a payment or two!
As Christians, we have been given the promise by
Jesus, But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you. Matt. 6:33. The things He is talking about are
food, clothing and shelter, the necessities of life.
Many have failed
to understand that money will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food
but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but
not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion
but not salvation; a passport to everywhere but heaven.
Debt is about
much more than money. Being in debt can lead to a number of other
emotional, psychological and spiritual issues.
The average
American has $15,950 in credit card debt, and 39% of Americans carry credit
card debt month to month, according to CreditCards.com. Meanwhile, the average
college student will graduate with a whopping $40,000 in student loans — and
those who pursued graduate or higher degrees, switched majors, or went back to
school may owe significantly more. In fact, about one in five borrowers
owes $50,000 or more in student loans (and 5.6% owe more
than $100,000), according to a Federal Reserve Board survey.
Round it out
with car loans, mortgages, medical debt, personal loans, and other obligations,
and it’s safe to assume that most Americans carry some kind of debt. That
debt affects different people in different ways. There is no common
tolerance of debt. While one person may suffer anxiety over just $1,000 of
credit card debt, someone else may not have thought twice about his
debt until he saw his student loan and credit card
balance top $200,000. Regardless of the type of debt or the amount, here
are some of the common issues associated with debt straight from the devil’s
toolbox. Not only do these apply to
financial debt they also apply to our spiritual life.
Depression
and Anxiety-
Research has
shown a correlation between carrying debt and any depression and anxiety
associated with it. Studies have found that those who struggle to pay off
their debts and loans are more than twice as likely to experience a host of
spiritual and emotional problems, including depression and severe anxiety.
Jesus tells
us not to worry, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what
ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life
more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air:
for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one
cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they
spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
Anxious
feelings can arise with an array of triggers, such as constant worry about
money, experiencing immense feelings of being overwhelmed with no end in sight,
and hopelessness. Studies also indicated that 29% of people with high debt
stress also report severe anxiety. High amounts
of debt are associated with higher rates of stress and depression. Men and women with higher risk credit
behavior were more likely to report depression symptoms. This is an indication that you are not walking
by faith. You have put your trust in
your own abilities rather than letting God supply your needs.
Bitterness
Bitterness is
known in the Bible as spiritual poison,
and a means by which many are defiled (Hebrews 12:15). It is the source of
countless spiritual and physical problems in millions of lives today. The Bible
tells us that MANY are defiled by the means of bitterness. Bitterness can be
tricky to recognize because it's not a symptom or visible on the surface like
anger usually is. Many, claim that they aren't an angry or hateful person, but
that's not what bitterness is all about. Bitterness is an underlying problem
that doesn't always manifest on the outside
but dwells in that person's system.
Bitterness
is a root!
Hebrews
12:15, "Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any
root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled."
Debt is rough
on anyone — especially when it encroaches on your marriage, or
family and is a means for the root of bitterness to start to grow. A spouse may
resent the other as a way of coping with debt. It isn’t uncommon to blame your
spouse for coming into the relationship with more debt, losing a job,
or not making enough money, or spending habits that may have led to debt.
In fact,
arguments about money are the top predictor of divorce. Large amounts of debt
have severe effects on a household’s spiritual well-being.
It’s not just
our spouse that become targets of bitterness.
You might also resent your employer for not paying you enough money or
not giving you a raise. You might resent family members or friends that are
financially dependent on you or are
otherwise affecting your financial health. If you’re a young college graduate,
you might start to blame counselors and parents for not fully explaining the
effects of student loans.
And in
reality, many opt to resent themselves and the decisions they made that led
them into debt. Whether it was excessive spending, opting out of health
insurance, a poor career decision, or something else, it isn’t uncommon to look
back with regret. This attitude hinders
your spiritual growth.
Denial
No, it’s not just a river in Africa.
It’s a way of fiscal life in Washington D.C., where politicians have let almost
$20 trillion in national debt pile up and seem to think the bill will never
come due.
Consumers don’t have the luxury of
endless deficit spending, though many act as if they do. They spend
compulsively while ignoring their deteriorating condition. They put off dealing
with problems until some outside event – credit denied, threat of foreclosure,
legal action, harassing phone calls from debt collectors – forces a change.
Some of the symptoms of debt denial
are:
Underestimating how much you owe. I am not a bad person.
Leaving bills unopened or just
stuffing them in a drawer. Ignoring your
spiritual condition does not change your debt you owe to God.
Opening a new credit card when your
old one is maxed out. Making changes in
your life-style does not help. Turning over a new leaf will not pay the debt.
Telling yourself that everyone is in
the same situation. It is true all have sinned, but some have accepted the gift of
salvation.
Such behavior just leads to more debt
as interest charges and late fees pile up. But ignoring reality is a handy
defense mechanism for the brain. It’s a way to rationalize mistakes and protect
your ego. The problem is reality always sets in.
While some
people feel debt weighing on them like an albatross, others try to block it out
completely. It’s very common to be in denial about your debt, despite the
constant reminders and overdue notices you might receive. Unfortunately, even
if you’re able to ignore your debt completely,
it will only offer temporarily relief, if any — and it
often leads to more and more debt piling up.
The same is
true with the spiritual debt. We cannot
ignore what we owe to Jesus Christ for the price He paid for our
salvation. We owe a debt that we cannot
pay, but He was willing to pay the debt for us if we accept His gift.
Denial can
manifest itself in not opening bills and bank statements that come in the mail,
stuffing bills and late notices in a drawer and forgetting about them, not
answering the phone when you suspect it’s a creditor, or simply
choosing not to deal with the debt.
Again, when the Holy Spirit comes calling reminding us of the debt we
owe to God for the sins we have committed, that debt will not go away because
we ignore and refuse to answer the call.
Staying in
denial of your debt can also increase the amount you owe in a few
ways. Not paying or dealing with bills can result in late charges and
possible interest rate increases, and if you’re only making the minimum
payments on debts with interest, your balance may still grow higher as
interest accrues.
If you fail
to pay your spiritual debt to God, your
sins will continue to add to your debt.
You can deny the fact you owe a debt to God,
but the wages of sin shows the seriousness of your debt-eternal death.
Worse, denial
can lead you deeper into debt as it facilitates further spending. You may be in
denial about just how severe your debt really is, or look the other way to
rationalize purchases you can’t afford; debt-forming habits die
hard.
Stress
Debt and
stress go hand in hand. With a mountain of owed money weighing on your
mind, it’s natural to worry about how you’re going to deal with that debt
and whether you’ll ever get out from under it.
Having
substantial debt can also increase your stress level at work since a job loss would be even more catastrophic to your
financial position. And anytime you’re required to spend money, even on simple
things like food to eat or gas to get work;
it may cause further stress.
People
dealing with debt are more likely to report health problems. And it shouldn’t
come as a surprise, but studies also indicate that the higher
your debt-to-asset ratio is, the higher your likelihood is
of experiencing stress and depression.
Stress caused
by debt doesn’t just affect the way we work and our day-to-day activities.
That stress can also strip away the benefits of events that would normally be
positive. Stress that comes from debt
can eliminate all happiness you get from spending money. So, splurging on a new
pair of shoes, an electronic device, or a dinner with
friends — which ordinarily would increase your levels of
happiness — is actually replaced by more stress because of your debt.
When we are
stressed, we are not focused on the LORD but rather our debt and how to pay the
bills. This does not help us in our
spiritual growth.
Anger
and Frustration
Debt is hard
to accept regardless of our own personal journey into the red. However, it can
be especially frustrating and infuriating when it was somewhat beyond your
control.
It’s one
thing to be dealing with debts that were beyond your control. You may be dealing
with debt from credit card purchases that brought joy to your life, such as
vacations, shopping trips, and dinners out.
Deal with
debt from unforeseen events such as a job loss, divorce, identity theft, a
death in the family, major repair to a home or car, or unforeseen medical bills
creates frustration. In fact, 56 million adults are struggling to pay medical
bills, and these medical bills are the number one reason people file for
bankruptcy. What’s more, the debt
can weaken your spiritual life allowing the anger and frustration to drive you
away from the protection of the LORD.
According to Romans 13:8 we are to owe
no man anything but to love him. How can debt be pleasing to God when it causes
us to owe a man something other than to love him, and the lender to be our
master rather than Jesus? We cannot, but He still loves us regardless.
Jesus came to set us free. He does not
want us to be in bondage to other men, for then we will not be free to serve
Him. It is our relationship with the world, sinful impatience, and covetousness that cause us to deny our God ordained
heritage of freedom and make the lender
our master in the place of Jesus. We cannot serve both God and man (Matthew
6:24).
In the process of deciding
whether or not to go into debt, to borrow or not to borrow is not the question;
rather, the real question is: whom do I want to choose as my master, Jesus or
the lender? Why?
1. Because the lender is our
master(Proverbs 22:7); and
2. We can serve only one master, Jesus
or the lender(Matthew 6:24).
So, the adverse spiritual impact of
choosing to borrow is to choose the lender as our master rather than Jesus
Christ. Now, this does not mean that
Jesus is not our Savior if we borrow. We could borrow all of the money in the
world, and it would not divest Jesus of being our Savior.
We must recognize that Jesus wants to
take us far beyond just being our Savior. He wants us to make Him, and not the
lender, our Master. If we do not think the lender is our master, just miss a
payment or two!
It’s unclear who first said, “Money can’t buy happiness.” Whoever it
was, they probably weren’t staring at a tall stack of bills and an empty
checking account.
Money can’t buy happiness, but it is
the only thing that will pay those bills. Doing that may not trigger an
endorphin rush of happiness, but it sure beats the alternative.
It’s hard to imagine anyone feeling
joy over not paying their bills. Perhaps there is psychiatric condition that
causes people to enjoy bankruptcy proceedings, but nobody’s found it yet.
Having enough money to pay all our
bills allows us to provide for our families, plan for the future and enjoy our
leisure time.
Not having money restricts our choices
and wreaks emotional havoc on our psyche. Borrowing money to pay those bills
leads to debt, which can lead to all sorts of problems that have nothing to do
with accounting and everything to do with psychology.
Debt serve as
a constant, agonizing reminder of the negative events that brought it about in
the first place.
Regret
Looking at a pile of bills and seeing that total debt amount can,
without a doubt, lead to regret. You may have regret over the purchases you
made, not saving enough money, and other poor financial choices.
In the
spiritual side of this regret is not have accepted Jesus Christ’s offer to pay
your debt sooner. You may regret the
life you lived that now has consequences that will impact you the rest of your
life.
Shame and Embarrassment
Like it or not, money and material possessions are often associated with
success in our society. If you’re in debt, it’s no surprise if you feel
embarrassed or ashamed about it. You might feel embarrassed that you aren’t
making enough money, that you didn’t manage your money properly, or that your
compromised financial position is preventing you from living the life you want.
Debt is often a taboo topic, and most don’t want their family and friends
to know they’re struggling with debt.
Most Christians are hesitant to talk about their credit card debt. In
turn, this attitude can lead to more debt, since we may still try to
portray a debt-free image. We’ll say yes to expensive nights out, buy gifts for
friends and family that we can’t afford, and continue to try to keep up with
spending habits of others.
As Christian, we should encourage one another to
stay out of debt. We should not judge
success by acquiring material things but rather the simplicity of life without
debt.
Fear
You may grow to fear repercussions that sometimes accompany debt. If
you’re struggling to make payments toward your debt, you may fear eviction or
foreclosure on your home, bankruptcy, your utilities getting shut off, or
debts going into collections.
You may also fear losing your job,
or that some other unexpected twist, such as your car breaking down,
is going to destroy you financially.
Debt can also lead to other fears: fear of what happens next, fear of
never getting out of debt, and fear of how it will affect your relationships.
The joy of having our sin
debt paid in full is as important as having our financial debt paid in
full. It is important that our spiritual
life not be held in the bondage of financial debt. If we are to be free to carry out the work of
the LORD we need our lives to be free from the bondage of debt.
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