Render therefore
to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear
to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man any
thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the
law. (Romans 13:7-8)
God’s Word says in
Romans 13 that we are to pay our taxes, pay to whom we are in debt and
therefore ‘owe no man’. What a wonderful
concept to strive for in our lives. In America,
a vast majority of people use credit (instead of cash) in order to purchase
items, therefore owing many… much. This
causes a bondage that looms over a person and eventually leads to owing on
houses, vehicles, furniture, vacations along with odds and ends that are not necessary
and in the end, usually total up much more than the income can support. This sort of bondage is hard to break free
from but is not impossible if a person sets a plan and works hard at it. (Of course there is always the possibility of extenuating circumstances in which a person may never be free from but to strive for it is biblical.)
As born again
believers, we are to do our best to get ourselves in our rightful roles as husbands (providers)
and wives (keeper/manager of the home) and sometimes after coming out from the
world, we bring along a mess of debt, dependency on 2 incomes and a lifestyle
that quite often needs a lot of pruning and much change. This can be a somewhat difficult process but
a joyful one none the less because if a person is truly born again, they will
no longer desire the trappings of the world and will seek to be free from the
bondage it has caused.
Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the
love of the Father is not in him.
(1 John 2:15)
Let’s read the
following verse and see how that might encourage believers to work on a plan to
streamline their bills, pay off their debt and seek to simplify their lives so
that they may be set free to serve the Lord in great ways.
No man can serve two masters: for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the
one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24)
First of all a believer needs to
take a realistic look at their lives and be willing to kill their flesh in ways
they never thought they could; but keep in mind…
I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)
There are ‘Christian’
finance counselors that people can get assistance from but if a person uses God’s
Word, help from mature brothers and sisters and plain old common sense, there
would be no need to spend that extra money.
Here are just a few ideas that could help.
Before digging
into finances one must be brutally honest with themselves and their
family. In a world where most often two
are working there is usually ‘his’ and ‘her’ money that neither really knows
what each is spending on a regular basis. Be sure to come clean on ALL things even the
smallest amount as they all add up over time to a substantial amount.
Prayer is the
first step. Ask God to help your flesh
take on this task and kill any rebellion that will likely rear its head as you
make these life changing decisions. It
took years to get in the mess, it could likely take years to get out of it but
with prayer and perseverance, all things are possible!
The next step is
to devise a plan to bring the woman back into the home as soon as possible in
order that she may fulfill her role as Titus 2 and Proverbs 31 teaches. (See HERE for more details.) That is not to say a woman cannot have a job
outside the home but when there are dependent children and/or elderly; it is
imperative a husband and wife do all they can to get her into a position of
taking care of them as is her responsibility.
It is also the responsibility of the mother and father to rear the
children in the ways of the Lord and protect them from the dangers and temptations
of the world. (A woman’s FIRST job is to
manage and keep her home in an orderly, frugal and obedient way.)
And, ye fathers,
provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and
admonition of the Lord.
(Ephesians 6:4)
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this
day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them
diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine
house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when
thou risest up. (Deuteronomy
6:5-7)(Ephesians 6:4)
How does one
begin? Take stock of the debt, itemize
the monthly payments and the total pay off.
Is it possible that the wife can quit her job immediately? If so then do so. If not consider the wife streamlining from a
full time job to part time in the interim of the bills being taken care of or
finding work from home such as child care or using her skills. Take a look at the debt and see what can
be eliminated immediately such as downsizing from expensive cell phone plans,
eliminate cable tv, selling an extra vehicle or toy like motorcycle,
snowmobiles, four wheelers, have a garage sale or online sales of unnecessary
items etc. Quite often this can
eliminate some of the smaller debt therefore allowing that monthly payment to
be used on larger debt. Remember, there
will be a lot of flesh killing that has to be done so pray for strength. The carnality of the world that a person has
comes from is deep inside but through Christ it can be overcome.
Hundreds of
dollars each month are wasted on eating out, impulse buys (ex: the specialty
water or coffee and muffin at the convenience store) excess driving, brand new
purchases and convenience foods in the grocery store. Purchasing staple foods in bulk and cooking
from scratch not only saves a LARGE amount of money each month, it is extremely
healthy compared to the box/canned/frozen processed foods from the store. Growing
a garden (any size) can save a lot and also lead to much better health. If there is absolutely no yard then consider
visiting a produce auction or farmers market to stock up in bulk then learn how
to can and dehydrate it. Many grocery
stores will order cases of produce when asked and quite often it can be timed out
during a sale. Giving up the ‘habits’ or
‘addictions’ will save much money as well.
(Coffee, soda, unhealthy snacks etc.) The possibilities are endless when it comes to
cost savings in food and because it’s something we have the most control over,
it’s the most controllable expense there is.
In the meantime a
person should assess their housing situation because that seems to be another
huge debt factor that most have gotten in over their heads. Based on the mortgage of the home, the value
and whether or not a person truly ‘needs’ that sort of home, consider selling
and downsizing to a modest house or better yet a handyman special, then enlist
the aid of brothers and sisters to help with labor. If
renting, consider downsizing to lesser rent and closer to the husbands work to
save gas, if feasible.
One financial
burden we see in many people that belong to a denominational organization is
the tithe. We have heard of people who
cannot pay their bills yet they continue to tithe faithfully as it is pounded
into them (unbiblically of course) render unto God the tithe lest you rob Him. This is a terrible teaching as nowhere in the
New Testament is the tithe taught. For
the sake of keeping on the original subject see HERE for more info on the
unbiblical teaching of the tithe and HERE for the unbiblical teachings of denominational
organizations.
Perseverance and persistence,
prayer and hard work will eventually pay off if a born again believer works
heartily to clean up their past debt to owe no man. The freedom from the burden of debt is a
tremendous blessing and allows a follower of Jesus Christ more time to run an
orderly home, raise children in the admonition of the Lord, help any elderly in
their care and fulfill the great commission.
Continue to rejoice
in the Lord and to pray for guidance, direction, strength and peace throughout
the process. If you are fortunate enough
to have true born again, regenerated believers in your midst, do not hesitate
to ask for both spiritual help and physical help and quite possibly the Lord
may have blessed someone with the means to help financially as well.
Again, these are
just a few examples that can help overcome the burden of debt and we’d be happy
to help anyone as we were in that situation ourselves. Praise God through hard
work, sacrifice and much killing of the flesh, we are debt free.
Peace to you as
you venture on this journey and don’t hesitate to contact us any time.