Read at beginning of service:
Luke 16:10-13 (NIV)
10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? 13 “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”
INTRODUCTION
For six weeks we?ve been in this series on “Clear Thinking”. We?ve been looking at clear thinking about your problems, your relationships, about change, about sex, about stress. But there?s one area that causes more confused thinking than almost any other area and that is the area of finances. There are more divorces over finance than there are over sex. Fifty-one percent of all divorces occur over financial tension. It?s like, “?Til debt do us part.” Making a lot of money is no guarantee that you know how to manage it. Somebody once wrote this: “When I started working, I used to dream of the day when I might earn the salary that I’m now starving on.”
This is a subject ? finances ? that is so important for me to talk about and for us to hear and practice in our lives. The Bible says that the way that you handle your money determines how much God can bless your life. Jesus said it. The Bible says that the way that you handle your money is the evidence of your spiritual maturity. And if you don?t manage your money well, if you?re not responsible with your finances, the Bible says that God is not going to trust you with the responsibility of true spiritual blessings. Do you take issue with that statement? If so, then it?s good that I?m beginning with what Jesus said in Luke 16:11, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealthy, who will trust you with true riches?” Your personal responsibility with your finances determines how much God can bless your life. Your finances are tests of your character.
The wisest man in the world was also the richest man in the world. His name was Solomon. He wrote down God?s financial principles in a book called Proverbs. Today I want us to go back and review the five most important financial principles. It?s like God?s pentathlon. Like the pentathlon in the Olympics ? five things you?ve got to do in order to win. It?s true with these too. Just because, for instance, you may be saving, doesn?t mean you?re doing the others. Or you may be tithing but you may not be doing the others. The issue is you?ve got to do all five things in order for your finances to be in the way God wants them to be and you to be financially free.
They are habits ? they are something you?ve got to ingrain. You don?t just do them once and that?s it. You?ve got to make them a part of your lifestyle. What are they? If you?re in debt today, if you?re stressed out by your finances you picked a good day to come. Today I?m going to show you how you can get out of debt.
1. Earn an honest living. The principle of WORK.
The Bible says we were created to work, the very first command of God is go to work, we?re made in God?s image and God is a worker. Work is mentioned in one of the Ten Commandments. Also, 2 Thessalonians 3, “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we appeal to people ? no, we command them: settle down and get to work. Earn your own living.” Circle “earn”. The first principle of financial freedom is you?ve got to earn a living.
Every once in a while I meet some of these passive but super spiritual types that say, “I’m just waiting on God to provide for me.” I want to say, “Buddy! Get a job!” God provided for you when He gave you a brain, when He gave you two hands and a back and feet to get to work. Energy. Don?t just wait around. God gave you what He wants you to have in order to provide for yourself.
Every once in a while I get these entrepreneur types who come and they?re sitting around waiting for the next big deal to happen, “I’m waiting for my ship to come in.” Swim out to it! Don?t wait for it. Just get to work.
In fact the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10, “If a man won?t work, he shouldn?t eat.” That doesn?t say if he can?t work because sometimes you can?t. It says if he won?t work. If it?s a matter of character, you?re just lazy. The Bible says you shouldn?t eat. God wants us to earn an honest living.
I could tell you a lot more about this but this church is full of workaholics and you?ve got this one down.
2. PLAN YOUR SPENDING. This is the principle of Budgeting.
You?ve got to set some financial goals and stick with them. Don’t go through this next 5 years the way you went through the last five ? just fumbling around in the dark, drifting around, spending, guessing, not really knowing where your money is or where it?s going.
Proverbs 27:23-24 says, “Riches can disappear fast. So watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and herds.” When Solomon wrote this almost everybody had their assets tied up in flocks, in sheep, in cattle, in goats. They were shepherds and ranchers, so he?s saying know where your assets are. Know the state of your flocks. Today Solomon would say, “Know the state of your financial health. Know where you?ve put your money. Know where it?s going.”
Here?s the starting point: Keep good records. You?ve got to keep track of your finances. You?ve got to be aware of how you use your money. Have you ever said, “I just don’t know where it all goes.” If you?re saying that, that should be a warning light ? a great big red warning light that says you?re not keeping good records. People say, “Money talks.” It doesn?t talk; it just quietly slips away. And it doesn?t leave any forwarding address. And if you don?t keep good records you?re going to get to the end of the month asking, “Where did it all go? I have no idea where it went.”
You have to plan your spending but in order to plan your spending you have to keep good records. If you don?t, it?s like a river with no banks. It just spread out all over and it?s diverted and divested and all gone ? quickly! Proverbs 23:23 “Get the facts at any price.” You need to be realistic about your finances. You need to ask, “How are we really doing?”
Let me give you a simple equation: Ignorance plus easy credit equals disaster. If you don?t know where you?re headed in your finances you?re not keeping good records and you?ve got credit cards, you?re already in trouble. You?re putting debt on that you can?t afford and you don?t even know you can?t afford it. You?re going further and further behind. Ignorance plus easy credit equals disaster. You have to be up on where your money is going. You have to plan your spending.
There are four things you need to know:
First you need to know “What I own.” That?s your assets. You need to make an inventory, a list of all the things you own. You need to know what you own.
Second, you need to know “What I owe.” That?s your liabilities, your debts. Get them all out on the table and figure out how much in debt you really are.
Third you need to know, “What I earn.” It?s amazing how many people don?t even know exactly what they earn.
Fourth, you need to know, “Where it?s going.”
Most marriage counselors I know of or have read about make the observation that that a lot of marriage problems occur because one spouse is kept in the dark about these four things: What we own, What we owe, What we earn, and Where it?s all going. You need to write it all down, keep a log. There?s a lot of computer programs today like Quicken and Microsoft Money. I don?t care how you do it. Just keep a little journal and write it down.
You say, “I don’t have time to do all that. I don?t have time to write it all down.” Do you have time to worry about your finances? If you?ve got time to worry, you?ve got time to write it down. If you?d write it down, you?d have a whole lot less to worry about. This is a principle that?s in God?s word. First, earn an honest living. Second, plan your spending and keep good records.
Proverbs 21:5, “Plan carefully and you will have plenty. If you act too quickly, you will never have enough.” If you don’t get anything else, get what I say right now. Financial freedom is not determined by how much you make. It is determined by how you spend it. If you don?t have a plan, your yearning will always exceed your earning and you?re always going to be in debt. No matter how much money you make, your expenses always rise with income. They always do! I know people who can?t live on a hundred, a hundred-fifty grand a year. Their yearning exceeds their earning. What you need to do is write it down and get a plan.
You know often when you go shopping, you fall prey to a very important trap. “Plan carefully and you?ll have plenty. If you act too quickly [circle "act too quickly"] you?ll never have enough.” This is referring to impulse buying. Impulse buying is, “I see it, I?ve got to have it! It?s in the window, it?s in the catalog, on the television. You see the sizzle of the steak, you smell it, you look at the car?” Every advertisement is made to encourage impulse buying. They don’t want you to think about it. They don’t want you to plan your spending because when you plan it you realize you can?t afford it now. Or ever. So what they want you to do is not think. They want you to make a decision based on emotion. They stir up your emotions by the lighting and the color and all the sex appeal and everything in it just to make you have impulse buying. Have you ever bought something that you later regretted buying? Yes. We?ve all done it. You say, “Why did I buy this? I can?t afford it. I can?t make the payments. I can?t do the upkeep.” You made it on an impulse.
Advertisers know that there is one word that causes impulse buying more than any other word. Some of you cannot resist this word. When you see this word, you immediately put your car in reverse, pull out of your driveway, do not pass go and go straight to that store. Because the word is almost irresistible. You?re addicted to it. The word is “Sale”. Some of you can?t stand to miss a sale. “I have to buy it now! Look how much I’m saving!” You couldn?t afford it in the first place but look how much you?re “saving”! or “If I don’t buy it now, it will cost more later!” You can?t afford it later or now so don?t buy it either time. Thinking that you?re saving money by buying something now is a real faulty kind of logic. The Bible says if you don’t plan your spending you?re going to give into this impulse buying.
Proverbs 21:20 is God?s IQ test. “Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.” The Bible says if I spend my money as soon as I get it, I’m a fool! I’m stupid, dumb. I’m acting in a very foolish manner. Stupid people spend their money as fast as they get it.
Spending can be an addiction like any other addiction. You say, “I can handle it!” Some people are actually shopping addicts. There are actually support groups called Shopper Stoppers and Debtors Anonymous. One lady figured out a creative way to stop it. She takes her credit cards and freezes them in ice so that when she has the urge to spend she had to wait until it melts. Some of you are already thinking, “Microwave!” I heard about a guy one time who said when he heard that story about the lady putting her credit cards in ice? he took his wife?s credit cards and buried them in the cement of their new room addition and on the card he wrote, “Because ice melts.”
You need to plan your spending. How do you break the habit of impulse buying? How do you spell relief? BUDGET! What is a budget? A budget is simply planned spending. A budget is telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went. You?re saying, I want it to be spent this way. If you don?t do that, it?s just going to go all over the place. If you want to control impulse buying, you?ve got to nip it in the budget.
Here?s your homework: I want you to go home and make a little, crude budget, if you don?t have one. First, put down how much you pay for rent or house payments, how much you pay for utilities, how much you pay for gas and food? You get to the end and how much do you have left over? Nothing. Because you?re spending more than you really make most likely. Then you go back and start cutting. It?s never any fun. But if you want to get to financial freedom and enjoy the fruits of financial success, you?re going to have to learn to live on a budget. That?s your homework!
There?s a third principle of financial freedom.
3. SAVE FOR THE FUTURE. This is the principle of INVESTING.
Proverbs 21:20, “The wise man saves for the future.” The Bible says it is wise to save. But not many of people have a handle on this important principle.
Proverbs 13:11, “Money that comes easily disappears quickly. But money that is gathered little by little will grow.” What?s little by little? By saving it.
It?s important to set three kinds of financial goals: Saving goals, spending goals, giving goals. You need to know those and be clear about them.
The Bible has a lot to say about investing, far more than we can cover today. In Proverbs 6 it says, “Go study little ants. They store up food in the summer so when the winter comes they?ll be well taken care of.” The reason we don?t do that is we want everything now.
Earn an honest living (that?s the Principle of Work), Plan your spending (that?s the Principle of Budgeting), Save for the future (that?s the Principle of Investing)
4. RETURN TEN PERCENT BACK TO GOD. That?s the principle of TITHING.
You know about this. I?ve talked about tithing before. God says the first ten percent of all that I make goes back to Him to honor Him as number one in my life. Most of you understand this but maybe some of you are new. In Malachi 3:10, God says, “Bring to My storehouse a full tenth of what you earn.” Tithing means ten percent. It doesn?t mean five percent, two percent, twelve percent. It means ten. That?s what tithing is. “Bring to My storehouse a full tenth of what you earn. Test me in this,” says the Lord. “And I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour out all the blessing that you need.” Circle “test Me”. This is God?s Pepsi Challenge verse. This is the only place in the Bible where God says, “I dare you!” Only one place in the Bible does God say, “This is how you can prove that I exist. You can prove it by tithing. You put Me first in your money, give Me the first ten percent back, and see if I don’t bless your life. Test Me. I dare you. Try it out!”
Why did God say ten percent? I haven?t the slightest idea. He could have said twenty percent. He could have said fifty. He could have said, “Give Me ninety percent and you live on ten,” because the truth is He owns it all. We don’t really own anything. You get to use it for sixty, eighty, ninety years and then you give it back. You didn?t bring any money into this world and you?re not taking any out. You only get to use God?s money while you?re here and then somebody else will get to use it and God will let them use it. You don?t really own anything. Everything you have comes from God.
So why do I tithe? The Bible says three reasons:
1. Out of gratitude for my past. Every time I give ten percent back to God ? that means if I make a hundred bucks, ten bucks go to God. If I make a thousand bucks, the first hundred bucks go back to God. God obviously doesn?t need my money. He doesn?t need your money. So why does God say do it. Because He wants what it represents. Your heart. People are more selfish about money than anything else. We get real nervous when we talk about giving. Some of you are real nervous right now. The most sensitive nerve in the body goes from the heart to the pocketbook. God says, “I know that you spend most of your life revolved around money ? thinking about it, spending it, saving it, earning it, using it, investing it, worrying about it, paying it, repaying it.” So He says, “I want to be number one in this primary area of your life. So ten percent comes right back to Me.”
When I give my tithe to God, I’m saying, “God, I realize that I wouldn?t have anything if it weren?t for You. You gave me my mind. You gave me my health. You gave me my body. You gave me the clothes on my back. I’m just saying here?s ten percent back to You out of gratitude but I know that it all came from You in the first place.”
2. It?s a priority statement in the present where it says, “God, it proves that You?re number one.” You can say that God is number one in your life but if you?re not tithing, you?re kidding yourself. God says, “I want to be number one in your time, your money, your relationships.” I can do lip service, saying, “Jesus is number one in my life.” But if I’m not tithing I really don?t trust Him. I don?t believe He?ll do what He says. So it?s saying in priorities, “God, You?re number one. I give you the first day of every week (Sunday), I give You the first part of my day, I give you the first part of my money.”
3. It is a statement of faith. Every time I tithe, I’m saying, “God, I believe Your promise. I believe that You will take care of me, that somehow You?ll figure out how I can live on 90% better than if I had all 100%. So I’m going to trust. If I trust You enough to save me and get me into heaven, I?ll trust You enough to take care of my finances.”
When Kerryanne and I got married 8 years ago, we made two commitments that we?ve never broken. One of them was we will never get divorced. And that forced us to work on issues, forced us to develop a relationship to grow instead of walking out on those days when we felt this isn?t working. We said this is not an option. We closed the escape hatch and threw away the key. We will never divorce.
The other commitment we made was right at the start of our marriage was to tithe. And we?ve always done that.
You say, “I’m in debt! You?re telling me to pay God first before other people.” That?s exactly what I’m telling you! I’m saying put Him first. Because you want His blessing on your life.
I will be honest with you. There have been times in my life when I?ve thought, “I sure could use that other ten percent.” There?s been times when I?ve been barely making enough money to pay my bills. There?s been times when we?ve had major crises in our lives like our car die or we?d have a major medical bill or something happens and I?d think, “If I could just have that other ten percent?” But I didn?t want to rob God of His money because He said, “That?s Mine.” I want to stand before you today and say, God is faithful. Because I have applied this principle God has blessed my life. God has blessed my life because I have followed all these financial principles He gives us in His word.
Some of you are saying, “I’m broke. I can?t afford to tithe!” Can I respectfully submit to you that you can?t afford not to? You need God?s blessing in your life to get out of debt. The best time to start tithing is when you?re in debt. It?s either you?re going to figure it out on your own or you?re going to do it God?s way. Which one do you think God?s going to bless? Which one do you think God?s going to honor? Which one do you think God?s going to help you the most with? It really comes down to a matter of “Do I really trust God? Do I believe He?ll do what He says?” Test Me in this, He says.
When do I do it? “On every Lord?s day [Sunday, when you go to worship] you should put aside something from what you have earned during the week and use it for the offering. The amount depends on how much the Lord has helped you earn.” Tithing is an act of worship. You give it when you worship. Tithing is an act of worship where ten percent of my money goes to God as an act of worship. If you want God?s blessing on your finances, you need to put Him first.
Here?s the principle: whatever you want God to bless in your life, put Him first in it. You want God to bless your relationships? Put Him first in your relationships. You want God to bless your time? Put Him first in your time. You want God to bless your money? Put Him first in your money.
In the last generation the Bill Gates of the previous era was a guy named John D. Rockefeller. He was the billionaire of his day who invented and built Standard Oil. Many times John D. Rockefeller who was the wealthiest man in the world at that time was asked, “How did you amass your wealth?” His famous equation was what he called the 10-10-80 rule. If you?re not on any financial plan right now, this is where you need to start. He said, “I give the first 10% back to God. I put the second 10% in savings. And I live on the rest.”
That?s a pretty good plan first you pay God ? 10% goes back to God. Second, you pay yourself 10%. Ten percent to God, ten percent into savings and then you live on the rest.
If you?re not tithing ten percent and you?re not saving ten percent, you?re living above your means. You?re spending way too much money. You need to go back and get on a budget.
There are more promises related to giving in the Bible than any other subject. Why? Because God wants you to learn to be like Him and God is a giver. Let me give you one: Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord by giving Him?” the leftovers of all your income? “Honor the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income and He will fill your barns to overflow.” Circle “first part.” That means right off the top. I?ve discovered that if I pay all my bills first and then put God last instead of first, there isn?t any money left. There?s too much month left over at the end of the money. Have you noticed your money runs out before the month does? So I say, Right off the top.
I could talk about this a long time. But I need to say this, some of you are tithing but you?re saying, “I’m not seeing God?s blessing in my life.” You?ve got to do all five of these principles. All five! You?ve got to earn an honest living. You?ve got to plan your spending. You?ve got to save for the future. You?ve got to give ten percent back to God and then the fifth principles is very important?
5. ENJOY WHAT I HAVE. That?s the Principle of Contentment.
Ecclesiastes 6:9, says “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to always be wanting something else.? Would you agree that that verse is being violated every day? We are not satisfied with what we have, we always want something else. People are so busy getting more and more they don?t have any time to enjoy what they?ve got.
There?s a pattern that has emerged in western society that goes something like this: People go out and they get overextended. Their yearning exceeds their earning. They buy a house more than they can afford. They buy a car better than they can afford. They over spend, they get all kinds of credit debt. Then they have to go out ? both husband and wife have to work to hustle to make ends meet because they bought more than they could afford. There?s constant tension, constant frustration, constant fatigue because we?re always trying to keep up with everybody around us. Pretty soon we get real tired and relationships start to frazzle. We don?t have any time for each other, much less the kids because we?re always busy trying to earn the money to pay for all the things we?ve bought. Homes all over the land ? and in our community are filled with absentee parents.
Let me say this as clearly as I can say it: Kids don’t need things. Kids need parents. Kids don’t need things. Kids need attention. They don?t need quality time (which is a myth). They need quantity time. You ask your kids, “Would you rather have me spend one quality minute with you or hang out for the day?” No doubt about it! You don?t even have to be doing stuff ? just hanging out with him. I often wonder if by our lifestyle of hustle, hustle to make ends meet, we aren?t teaching our kids that more is better. And it?s not. It is not.
I heard about a guy getting a family picture and the photographer said, “Son, put your hand on your dad?s shoulder; it?ll look natural.” The father said, “Why don?t you have him put it in my pocket if you want it to look natural?”
I know we rationalize this and we say, “It?s only temporary. We?re hustling right now but it?s only temporary.” Who are you kidding? A temporary solution has become a permanent lifestyle. You say, “One of these days when things settle down.” They?re not going to settle down! They?re not going to settle down until you choose to settle them down. If you wait for them to settle down, by that time the kids will be gone and it?s too late.
The key to all this is Hebrews 13:5, “Be content with what you have.”
Now folks, about debt, you don?t get in debt overnight. You?re not going to get out overnight. But if you don?t do something it?s going to be worse next year. You need to take these principles and make them work. If you feel the pressure of finance in your life, if you find yourself arguing at home over bills, if you?re saving nothing and you?re spending all of it, this is a symptom. It?s a symptom of a much deeper problem than you think. Yes, you need financial principles and yes, it would be wise to see a financial planner to help you make this thing work. But you need more than that. Because unmanaged finances represent an unmanaged life. Out of control finances are a symptom of an out of control life. You don?t need just money management, you need a life manager. And His name is Jesus Christ.
Do these principles work? Absolutely. But two things: One, you have to do them all you can?t pick and choose. They work together. And two, you?ve got to do them in the right order.
Here is the world?s order, what most people do with their money:
1. First they earn it
2. Then they spend it all. They enjoy it.
3. If they have any left over, they repay it.
4. If they have any left over after that, they might save a little bit
5. If they have any left over after that, they might give some.
Here is the order that God blesses:
1. You earn it.
2. You tithe it. You put God first. “God, You?re number one in my finances.”
3. You save it. You pay God first, you pay yourself second. It?s your money that God has given you.
4. You repay. You set up a repayment plan so little by little get out of debt
5. You enjoy the results of that in your life.
The Bible says you will never ultimately be satisfied by things. Isaiah 55:2, “Why do you spend money on that which doesn?t satisfy?” The greatest things in life aren?t things. This is why you have to redecorate all the time. Things don?t change and we get bored with them. That?s why the car that you used to think was so cool, you?re bored with now. That?s why the decorations you thought were so great, you?re bored with now. That?s why the computer you bought last week is already out of date. Things don?t change and people do. So you?re never ultimately going to be satisfied by things. The root of peoples financial problem is really a matter of values and trust. What do I value and who do I trust?
There?s a saying I came across, “If I put my trust in money, if my happiness depends on wealth, it would mean that I denied the God of heaven.” Whatever I trust for my happiness is my god.
I?m committed to helping you succeed with your finances. I want to help you be financially free. That?s why every year you?ll hear preach on the financial principles found in God?s word. I?m also available if you want some help in setting up a budget or talk about your financial situation ? you can email me or call me through the week and I?d be happy to sit down with you and talk about your finances.
I want to close today by praying for those of you who are in financial difficulties, who are in financial stress. God wants to help you get out of debt. But you?ve got to do two things: One, you?ve got to do your part. Take the outline and do a little self-evaluation. Put a checkmark by each of the principles that you?re already doing. Then put a star by the ones that you?re going to start today or this week. It?s a waste of time if you don?t act on what the Bible tells us to do on how to get out of debt and be financially free.