LO$T- Quit Pretending

Are your finances a mess? Are you overwhelmed with debt? Do you keep getting yourself into financial trouble?

Lots of people in America are pretending to be rich. Many of us have chosen to have the nice homes, cars, and stuff and yet are in over our heads in debt and we have become what Solomon talks about “a slave to the lender.” It is often said there are two kinds of people “the have’s” and “the have not,” but the reality is there is a third group “the have not paid yet” people. Pretending to live a lifestyle they cannot afford. Proverbs 13:7 says “One man pretends to be rich, but in truth has nothing…”

Somehow we have bought the lie that debt is ok, when Proverbs tell us it is slavery (we are a slave to the lender). It is interesting to note that in 1929 only 2% of homes had a mortgage against them. Forty years later only 2% didn’t have a mortgage against them. What changed in our thinking?

We are asking wrong questions like:

“How much $ down is this going to take?”

“How much is it going to cost a month?”

“What is the most I can get for the least down?”

Instead we need to start asking ourselves the right questions. Is your marriage going to be stressed because you are fighting and worried about money? Are my kids going to miss out because we bought things we didn’t need, with money we didn’t have, to impress people we didn’t know. There is a hidden cost of unbiblical stewardship.

“Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.” (Proverbs 25:28)

Try doing this instead to reverse the consumption mentality and debt cycle. Next time you see that brand new coffee maker at Walmart and you think “my life has not been full without this coffee maker, and if I buy it today by opening up a new credit card I can save 10%.” Consider putting it back on the shelf (I know, I know…it’s hard but you will live). Then pray for three days and if you feel you still need it, buy it. As the amounts go up, give yourself some more time.

We have all heard the definition of insanity… “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting to get the same results.” We are trying new things over the month in our “LO$T- In Our Finances.” Hope you can come Sundays and also to our brand new small group series called “Finances God’s Way” through Crown Ministries…check the link out...

http://www.crown.org/Cart/Church/ManagingGodsWay.aspx