Why hasn't anyone posted warning signs about debt to protect us as we travel the road of life? Why didn't our parents teach us the dangers of debt? Why do our high schools and colleges not have classes on how to stay out of debt? Well, that's just not how the world's system operates now.
Prior to World War II, only 2% of Americans had a mortgage. For people that lived through the depression of the 20s debt was not in their vocabulary. When World War II was over and the GIs were coming home the US Government decided that they should honor their servicemen by helping them and their families by guaranteeing the soldier homeowners loans.
The housing market became big business. These GIs were owning better homes than they had ever lived in before. Now the standard of living was increasing and it caused the Jones to believe that they deserved a better house. Ever since then, we've been trying to keep up with the Jones.
What has happened is somehow it just became expected for you to go into debt to buy a house or a car. Before World War II you were considered a low person if you were in debt. In the late '50s, 60s, and into the 70s if you didn't go into debt to live in a certain kind of house and you didn't drive certain kinds of cars you were considered lower than everyone else. The other kids made fun of you if you were considered poor.
A snobbish attitude developed and debt became the status quo of success. There are these unwritten laws that we "keep up with the Jones", or appear to be more successful than we really are, or to put it simply live beyond our means.
OK! We know we are in debt. We know we should have managed our money correctly. How do we get out of this mess?
It’s God’s money we’ve mismanaged - Confess to God that you have screwed up and quit blaming God and everyone else. 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Make a commitment that you will not go back into Egypt (slavery to debt).
Forgive - one of the biggest hindrances to God moving in the lives of His children is unforgiveness. Read the model prayer that Jesus gave us in Matthew 6:9-13. Notice verse 12 - "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." We probably owe God thousands of dollars in giving that we haven't paid. We probably owe God a lot more than what other people owe us or have stolen from us. If God can forgive our debts should we forgive those who have wronged us financially? Read also Matthew 18:23-35.
Develop a plan to pay your debts and stick with it until you do get totally out of debt. You'll never be able to do this until you just get "sick and tired" of Satan stealing from you. You'll never be able to do this until you get fighting mad, take a stand, and put up a fight.
It is sad to say that many of you who are reading this manual do not have what it takes to take a stand and resist what the devil is doing to you. Many of you will lie down in the middle of the highway of life and give up as the world runs over you. Satan will make "Road Kill Stew" with your carcass.
Stop thinking of yourself as being in debt, poor, broke, sick, or in poverty. "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he: . . ." Proverbs 23:7 Your Heavenly Father knows what you have need of and He owns it all. He has angels standing by ready and willing to help you and deliver you but the angels are standing there with their hands behind their backs as if their hands are tied behind their backs. They cannot do anything to help us out of bondage or protect us as long as our words are nothing more than fear, doubt, and unbelief.
As long as we talk about how broke we are we will always be broke. You start talking words of faith and standing on God's word that he has already met your needs (calleth those things which be not as though they were) Romans 4:17. Take a stand. Stand on the word. Refuse to doubt - Don't talk about your lack - Say what the word says that you have in Christ Jesus.
The enemy seduces us with all kinds of material things (STUFF) into snares that choke our ability to serve and please God. That's why he works so hard to trap us. He knows that if he can keep us burdened down with debt and trick us into blaming God for our difficulties then he makes us ineffective witnesses for Christ. Aren't you getting tired of being used? Aren't you getting tired of being tricked? Are you getting mad yet? Are you mad enough to fight yet?
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus taught us to overcome the world and the lusts thereof. This world offers a little pleasure but it is so little compared to the pleasures that wait for the believers in the millennium and heaven. O my friend, if I could teach you one thing it would be to not get wrapped in your life here on this earth and the pleasures herein.
God allowed the devil to tempt Jesus as we are tempted. He tempted Jesus first when He was hungry and Jesus quoted the word back to him. Then Satan tried to get Jesus to tempt God and again Jesus quoted the word back to Satan. The last temptation was material wealth and power. I would dare say that Satan uses all three of these on us in subtle ways that we aren't even aware of. But, I believe today he is using the third one the hardest. He is using famous speakers and authors with the gift of gab that seduces us into focusing on gaining material wealth. The bookstores are full of these books that teach us to become more self-oriented.
These books seem like they are good for us on the surface because they teach us to achieve our full potential, to be all that we can be, and to be the best that we can be. Along the way, we can become so driven that the ones we love take second place.
We can become so driven that we run over other people that get in our way. Self-motivation in itself is not bad. It becomes bad when it makes us selfish, self-centered, envious, covetous, greedy, proud, and deceitful.
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit real life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:7-9
"Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:6-8
Jesus teaches us to not think about our lives or worry about what we don't have. He says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will take care of our daily needs. (Matthew 6:25-34)
Warning Signs
Is it the 15th already? This month's bills are coming in before you've cleared the last month's. You meant to get to them, but you got caught up in other things. You're surprised to find that the phone bill is still there. Somehow you didn't get to the rent or send the dentist his check. You're frustrated when you begin to write the checks. There are more bills than you thought. It seems you are always behind.
You know what past-due notices look like. Your bank has been informed that you haven't paid your property taxes yet. Your American Express bill shows a balance from last month and reminds you that payment in full is required upon receipt. The hardware store sends a letter demanding that you send a check at once.
These things rarely surprise you. You don't slap your forehead and say, "Oh my gosh, how could I have forgotten?" You avoid opening letters for fear of new bills or trouble with a creditor. The only mail you're truly comfortable with is from friends or relatives - unless you owe them money too. Bills and letters from creditors get put in an ever-increasing pile on a corner of your desk or dumped into a drawer.
You rarely keep a running balance in your checkbook. These are just a few of the common warning signs of a serious problem with debt. Do any apply to you? Obviously, no one wants to admit that they have a problem with debt and practically everyone's first response is to deny it or attempt to justify it somehow. That's only natural. Debt can be extremely painful.
Your debts, whether you believe it or not, at this point are not crushing or hopeless. They are simply a problem - and one for which there is a solution. But no one ever eliminated a problem until they recognized, and admitted, that there was a problem. You can put your debts behind you forever by working the system outlined in this FINANCIAL BATTLE PLAN. You have already begun when you started reading this manual. I hope that you started at Chapter 1 and that you haven't skipped any chapters.
Why Am I In Debt?
Many books on the subject of debt management will lead you to believe that the reason you are in debt is that you mismanaged your money. This may be only a small part of the problem. Because of inflation, your household income is actually worth less this year than it was last year. Recent tax increases and reductions in deductible expenses have only served to compound this problem.
Years ago when a housewife went to work it was to bring extra money into the household. Today a housewife works to bring in the necessary money just to meet the monthly bills. More and more households are doing without just so they can pay the bills, and it's not all due to fiscal mismanagement. These days you simply need a larger monthly income to make ends meet.
The Bible is full of warnings about the snares of the devil. Satan is actively trying to steal, kill and destroy Christians and Non-Christians alike. Debt is a major stronghold that he has on America today. He knows that he can render Christians virtually ineffective. When Christians are spending all of their time worrying about how they are going to meet their bills, having to hold down two jobs, and their relationship with their spouse is not what is used to be then Satan has us right where he wants us.
The First Step to Reducing Your Debt
There are only two logical approaches to reducing debt. They are:
1. Cut Spending, and/or 2. Increase income.
When you are overweight you have to go on a diet to reduce calories for weight loss. When you are “over debt” you have to reduce spending for debt loss. Cutting spending is like needing surgery. You know it's going to hurt, but you will die if you don't go through with it. Putting your finances under the knife is no fun... until the healing begins.
As your finances heal so do your attitude, your marriage, your emotions, and your sense of humor. You must keep your eyes (and your checkbook) on the end result. You must always remember that your goal is financial freedom and, when the surgery is over, you can start to enjoy the good life without sacrificing your last dime just to have some quality family (or personal) time. You will finally be able to enjoy yourself without feeling guilty about spending money.
Stop using debt to acquire consumer products. Never, never, never purchase a stereo or any other consumer product on credit. Consumer products decrease in value and only keep you a slave to your creditor. By the time it is paid for a consumer product will be worth only a fraction of the original purchase price (not to mention the interest you paid). For example, a $1,500 stereo would be worth only about $750 after 17 months of $100 payments. By purchasing the stereo on credit you will incur a net loss of $1,051. That money could have been working for you, helping you increase your income.
If you had invested those monthly payments in a well-known investment vehicle your investment could be worth $2,641 after the same 17 months. By investing the same money into a lesser-known investment vehicle you would earn a net profit of $941!
Start putting your money to work for you instead of buying a lot of consumer products that will lose both their value and appeal over time. Begin investing your money with a good investment broker that you are familiar with. Every time you put money into this type of investment you increase your income and profitability.
Make a commitment to take the first step toward gaining control of your finances. Starting today you will never purchase consumer products on credit again. This is the beginning of the kind of financial thinking that will get you out of debt fast!
If you are really dying to have that stereo then start saving for it. Don't use a credit card. Save the money by investing it in a safe investment. When your fund reaches the price of the stereo, then buy it if you still want it. Chances are, however, that when your investment fund balance reaches $1,500 you will be so thrilled with the extra income you are earning (without any extra labor), that you will realize the stereo can wait until it won't take your last dime to buy it.
Consumer products are fun, and they do add pleasure to our lives, but if you can do without them for a few months or years, you will eventually have enough money to buy the best stereo on the market without any financial strain. Then the cost will be pocket change compared to your growing financial position.
Once you see your money accumulating in your mutual fund "Stuff" doesn't seem as important.
Every person who is financially free knows and practices these principles. If you are to become financially free you must become financially minded. You must make your purchasing decisions based on long-term financial goals. The reason rich people have money is that they know and practice simple financial principles like these.
Thanks to Christian men like Larry Burkett, Ron Blue, and others we are having a wake-up call to the reality that we don't have to put up with Satan's lies anymore. Christians, and Non-Christians, alike are waking up to the reality that debt is slavery and many have worked their way out of debt while many more have developed a plan and are working their way out of debt.
This manual is designed to help you to break out of the bondage of debt and to learn what real financial peace is. I like what Dave Ramsey say's, "You can't know financial peace until you know The Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.
I trust that this manual will not only help you to overcome financially but will also help you to get to know my Lord and Savior in a personal way if you don't already know him.
If you do already know him my prayer is that you will grow stronger in faith and become a doer of the word and not just a hearer only. (James 1:22)
One last thing I want to say to you. This is my ministry and its purpose is to help others overcome the bondage of debt. My ministry is simple and easy to understand.
My purpose is not to make money or charge a fee for helping those that are hurting financially. It's NOT ALL ABOUT MAKING MONEY OR GETTING RICH!
It is about our purpose: Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-45,
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
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