I once heard poverty described as living on the edge of a financial cliff, not knowing from day to day if you will fall over it and be destroyed.
This fear and uncertainty can grip the heart of anyone who is living from paycheck to paycheck, juggling the stress of paying debt that is spiraling out of control, or losing a job with absolutely no margin to survive between jobs. All of these are forms of poverty; they are also bondage, which prevents you from achieving your God-given purpose.
Proverbs 28:19 says, “ Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.”
Focus
Solomon is advising us to do one thing and stop doing another. First, he says work your land. This is an admonition to get focused on what is at hand that will produce an income. The second part of his advice is to stop doing what is a waste of your time.
Have you done this time of analysis in your own life? Ask yourself what is the best area of focus for you to have income. After you have answered that question, get about the hard work of doing your job well.
Use time wisely
Next, ask yourself where you are pursing things that are worthless that are eating up your time? It could be a dreamy idea of making easy money in a get-rich-quick plan that is causing you to be distracted, or simply a lifestyle preoccupied with leisure and entertainment.
If you are living on the financial edge, stop doing those things that waste your time. An example in my life was 20 years ago I decided to stop watching TV and use my time more wisely.
I hope you will take Proverbs 28:19 to heart today, and move off that cliff!
I came across a fascinating article called When Work is Punished: The Ongoing Tragedy of America’s Welfare State. Essentially, here is what I learned.
“Gary Alexander, Secretary of Public Welfare, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania pointed out that ‘the single mom [on government welfare] is better off with gross income of $29,000 with $57,327 in net income & [government] benefits than to earn gross income of $69,000 [in the private sector] with net income and benefits of $57,045.’ She loses about $300 total income and benefits to leave welfare and take a job paying $69,000 a year.”
The moral of this story is that the American “welfare system punishes work and incentivizes dependency.”
The author went on,
“At issue is the so-called ‘welfare cliff’ beyond which families will literally become poorer the higher their wages, as the drop off in entitlements more than offsets the increase in earnings.
“A study by the Illinois Policy Institute shows just how dramatic the effect of “falling off the cliff” (so to speak) can be. In one of the most startling findings for instance, if a single mother raising two children were to accept a pay raise from $12 to $18 per hour, her total resources would fall by nearly 33 %.”
The Bible makes it clear that those who are able to work should work and the church should take care of widows, orphans, aliens, and the sick who cannot work.
Work brings dignity and purpose. It reminds us that the man builds the house, but the house also builds the man. By taking away the incentive to work, we destroy our most valuable asset, our people.
We need an overhaul in our welfare system to incentivize work and break dependency. It is better for the poor, the taxpayer, and the nation.
We know that we are not to sue fellow brothers and sisters in the body of Christ, but what about non-Christians?
The Bible is not quite as specific, but just because God didn’t make it a “thou shalt not” doesn’t mean you or I should ever sue non-Christians.
In Luke 6:30 we learn that our attitude toward all people should be one of a willingness to give. Listen carefully:
“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.”
Did you catch that? Everyone – that includes Christians and non-Christians. It also is talking about theft here. When someone steals your possessions, do not demand them back. I see a lawsuit as a legal demand.
I’m not saying that we are to let people come and steal from us or that you should not expect people to obey the law, but our heart attitude should be that we don’t own anything and therefore we don’t fight to hang on to it.
A friend of mine, a Christian, filed a lawsuit against a non-Christian over a business loss. He felt he had every right to demand the non-Christian make up for his losses. The lawsuit dragged on and on and on and became so expensive that it was a threat to the survival of both companies! The lawyers had instructed both clients not to talk to the other party in the lawsuit.
One day, my Christian friend ignored the advice of his lawyer and went to visit the non-Christian man he had sued. To the non-Christian’s shock, my friend walked into his office, got on his knees in front of the man’s desk, and asked for his forgiveness.
The lawsuit was dropped and the men were reconciled. We should put Luke 6:30 into practice when our rights have been violated.
America is home to 80 percent of the lawyers in the world who handle 15 million civil lawsuits that are filed each year! Doctors now live as targets of endless lawsuits for malpractice, and frivolous suits are filed for outrageous claims.
A Florida minister and his wife sued a guide-dog school after a blind man being led by one of the dogs stepped on the woman’s toe in a mall. They sought $160,000 as compensation, but due to the national ridicule they received, the suit never made it to court. We have all heard of these ridiculous stories, but they never seem to end.
The Bible has a solution, which could change much of the out-of-control lawsuits we are experiencing. First Corinthians 6:1 says, “Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous?”
The Apostle Paul gave this advice over 2,000 years ago. He said it is better to be defrauded and lose everything you have than to take a fellow Christian to court.
Here is a better alternative that was often shared by our late co-founder, Larry Burkett:
First, God cannot bless us until we forgive the ones we feel like we have the right to sue. No matter what wrong they have done, we must forgive first and seek to see them restored as people.
Next, go to the guilty party and confront their wrong face to face. If they are Christians and do not repent, then you are to take them before the church to seek a resolution within the body of Christ. With millions of believers in America, if we follow this pattern, the amount of lawsuits should drop considerably.
According to Heather Gilmore, a writer for The Dollar Stretcher,
“Emotions can lead to the desire to shop or, on the other hand, shopping can lead to emotions. Shopping can be prompted by sadness, grief, loss, insecurity, guilt, and excitement.”
Shopping can create a pleasurable experience making people want to experience the “high” again.
The after-shopping experience can involve positive or negative emotions that can affect future decisions about shopping. A person might feel guilt over having spent more money than what they had set aside in their budget. This may then create an unsettling feeling during future shopping experiences. It may create an aversion toward shopping (a feeling like a person should not purchase needed things), which might make future spending less likely, or create such an increased feeling of guilt or shame that there is no desire to purchase anything in the future.
Experts understand this, so merchants from grocery stores to furniture marts to car dealerships are marketing to your emotions. By learning to separate your identity from those things you buy, you will spend far less money in the hopes of making yourself feel good.
We can’t take it with us.
That is why God’s Word makes it clear that we enter the world naked, we leave naked, and naked has no pockets. We should recognize we are not going to take any of those purchases with us. Hopefully, that will help us remain emotionally neutral towards our spending choices.
If you have found yourself in a situation where you are overwhelmed with unsecured debt, there is help. Christian Credit Counselors is a non-profit credit-counseling agency. Their mission is to help families eliminate credit card debt.
Yahoo Finance recently carried a story of a young couple that was able to retire by age 30.
After a mere 10 years of working as software engineers, Peter Adeney and his wife Simi had enough money to retire comfortably and debt free. By being frugal, he was able to save two-thirds of their combined take-home pay. He thinks 50 percent is doable for everyone.
“It really boils down to spending. Most people spend a lot more than they can afford while thinking they can afford it,” he explained.
I like a lot about this story. It should encourage us that we are able to achieve our financial goals by being faithful and disciplined. However, I question why anyone would want to retire at age 30. My goal is to work all of my life. While I enjoy down time, vacations, and some recreation just like the rest of the world, I want to use the time I have on earth to make a difference, not to use my time exclusively on myself.
I think a biblical term would be to “re-purpose” rather than “retire.” If you want to leave a job or work that is not as missional or fulfilling as you prefer, then get to a point where you have saved enough money to go wherever the Lord leads. Or, move to a job where you want to work until you die. Life is short, so don’t waste it in frustration just doing a job that leaves you empty.
Seventy-seven percent of middle-income American families are living paycheck to paycheck. If you have found yourself in a situation where you are overwhelmed with unsecured debt, there is help. Christian Credit Counseling is a 501(c)3 non-profit credit counseling agency. Their mission is to educate and empower families to become financially free by eliminating credit card debt.
“When a car dealer offers to loan you the money to buy a car at zero percent interest, it gets your attention,” says Dee Ann Durbin, Auto Writer for the Associated Press.
It sounds like a great deal, but a little research shows that it might not be the best deal.
Durbin continues, “Dealers can offer zero-percent financing through automakers’ finance companies because, unlike banks, they make money on the sale of the car and don’t need to rake in interest payments. Although zero-percent financing offers have been common in the last four years, that doesn’t mean that everyone will qualify. Zero-percent financing is generally reserved for those with the very best credit. Experian Automotive, which tracks auto loans, says 7 percent of new car loans had an interest rate of 1 percent or lower in the first quarter of this year. By comparison, 29 percent of new car loans had interest rates of 2.05 percent and below.
“Before biting on the zero-percent financing, check for other deals such as cash-back offers. Fiat Chrysler, for example, currently has two offers for the 2015 Jeep Cherokee SUV: zero-percent financing for 60 months or a $2,000 rebate. Edmunds recommends taking the cash to reduce your total loan amount from $27,000 to $25,000. Even with a 2-percent interest rate, you’ll wind up paying $12 per month less than the zero percent financing offer. ($440 per month with the cash deal. That compares to $452 per month with zero-percent financing.) ”
By taking the cash, you save $723 over the next 5 years.
Even better, save up and pay cash for your next vehicle, preferably a used one. By buying a good, used car you can save thousands of dollars in depreciation and interest.
77 percent of middle-income American families are living paycheck to paycheck. Christian Credit Counselors is a 501(c)3 non-profit credit counseling agency whose mission is to educate and empower families to become financially free by eliminating credit card debt.
The Daily Treasury Statement for March 13, 2015 was the first to show the federal debt closing the day at $18,112,975,000,000.
Listen carefully. Every Daily Treasury Statement since then has reported the same thing: the debt closing the day at $18,112,975,000,000. That is about $25 million below the current legal debt limit set by Congress. In other words, the United States has “frozen” its legal debt limit.
On March 13, 2015, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and other congressional leaders informing them that he was planning to declare a “debt issuance suspension period.”
A “debt issuance suspension period,” Lew said in his letter, was necessary because in 2014 Congress enacted legislation that “suspended” the debt limit until March 15, 2015 and then reinstated it on that date at whatever level the debt had reached by then.” It is gamesmanship of the worst kind.
The U.S. government is on track to reach 20 trillion dollars in debt by the year 2020. But unfortunately for all of us, it will mean it cannot be repaid. It will just hang over the heads of our children and grandchildren for generations to come.
Did you know that 77 percent of middle-income American families are living paycheck to paycheck? This is not good news either.
If you have found yourself in a situation where you are overwhelmed with unsecured debt, there is help. Christian Credit Counselors is built for people, not for profit. Crown wants to help families out of a debt trap.
By Chuck Bentley
Strongholds are false beliefs and bad philosophies. These happen frequently when it comes to money. Worry is a financial stronghold that affects every single one of us, and certainly some more than others.
Worry is a feeling of anxiety or unease about future uncertainties. It is that feeling you get when your mind is taken over by fear and doubt. You with me?
Worry is actually rooted in a lack of confidence in God. That is why we are taken captive by worry because it keeps us from fully trusting God.
A friend of mine lost all of his worldly possessions in the collapse of the economy in Zimbabwe. Today, he explains to me that the worry about losing everything was far worse than the experience itself. After his worst nightmare did in fact happen, he realized how much of his life had been lost in grinding worry and anxiety and that it was far worse than the real event.
Satan wants to keep you bound up by worry, especially about money. That is why in Matthew 6, Jesus says that we resemble pagans when we worry. He also promises that he will provide our daily needs. This doesn’t say we shouldn’t work but clearly that we should not worry.
Let’s get practical. When you worry, use it as a reminder immediately to cast your fears and doubts upon Jesus. He is in charge of your future; you are not. Resign as master of the universe. He asked you to be set free of anything to do with tomorrow and to live one day at a time. I hope you are feeling better already!
Originally posted 8/27/16.
By Chuck Bentley
Strongholds are false beliefs and bad philosophies. These happen frequently when it comes to money.
Envy is a financial stronghold that is tucked far away for no one to see. Don’t think you have it? Envy is a feeling of discontentment or a resentful longing triggered by someone else’s possessions. It is that yucky attitude you have when you think of all the better things your neighbor has than you. We may not want their things for ourselves, but we are not happy with what they have! Usually considered one of the 7 deadly sins, it is a form of self-Idolatry.
Dante defined envy as “a desire to deprive other men of theirs”. In Dante’s Purgatory, the punishment for the envious is to have their eyes sewn shut with wire because they have gained sinful pleasure from seeing others brought low. Aquinas described envy as “sorrow for another’s good.”
Let’s get practical. Envy is when you can’t be happy for what others have. You keep this attitude private because we know it is so ugly to think we are resentful that your brother or sister or boss or neighbor or worst enemy has something better or nicer than you. To get freedom from this stronghold, learn to thank God for what He has provided for you and for others. Repent of your envy when others prosper. Learn to be content with what God has entrusted to you. You will escape this dark prison.
Originally posted 8/26/15. Click here for part 4.
