Money Part 2

Thanks for checking back in with me on the matter of becoming debt free! In the first part of this message, I talked about our starting point in this journey as well as my biblical findings on God's view of debt and giving. In this segment, I want to get practical and talk about where the Lord has convicted us and what we are to do with this information.

"Apply yourself to instruction and listen to the words of knowledge." Proverbs 23:12

It is always a good idea to do what the Bible says. The Lord is so faithful to guide us into godliness when we ask for His help. These are the five big steps that He gave me about stewarding His gifts and finances well.

1. ACKNOWLEDGE:
   a. We are sinners who need a savior. We need the Great Shepherd to guide us, the sheep, from wandering from His way.
   b. He DID save us! He DOES guide us! Thank you, Jesus!
   c. We are abundantly blessed by Him, especially as believers, regardless of our financial situation.
   d. We have earthly debt and we must work hard to free ourselves from it so that we can give freely in His name in order to bless others. Therefore, in loving our neighbors we honor God.

2. ACCEPT:
   a. God's grace. He forgave our spiritual debts. He is faithful, kind and loving.
   b. Paying debt on earth requires that we work. It requires sacrifice, though far less sacrifice than the one Christ paid to free us of our spiritual debt.
   c. We can do this! Realistically, we are not "suffering" as we pay off debts. Saying no to excess is practicing self-control. Rarely is it convenient or fun, but much of what we consider "needs" as Americans are luxuries simply for which we are no longer thankful.

3. ATTITUDE:
   a. It is not ultimately about the money. Money is a gift and a tool in which we can serve the Lord and care for each other.
   "Don't wear yourself out to get rich; stop giving our attention to it. As soon as your eyes fly to it, it disappears, for it makes wings for itself and flies like an eagle to the sky." Proverbs 23:4-5
   "Make your own attitude that of Jesus Christ." Philippians 2:5
   "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, whatever you do, do everything for God's glory." 1 Corinthians 10:31
   "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21
   "But godliness with contentment is of great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
   "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." 1 Timothy 6:10
   "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise, dwell on these things." Philippians 3:8

4. ACCOUNTABILITY:
   a. The Lord is for you. We can lean on Him for strength, support and guidance.
   "In my distress, I called to the Lord and He answered me." Psalm 120:1
   "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected." Proverbs 18:10
   b. Confide in your spouse and/or a trusted friend.
   "Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts." Ecclesiastes 4:9
   "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

5. ACTION!
   There are several things to consider as you get real about your money, debt, stewardship habits and your readiness to succeed. These are reflections that my husband and I discussed in great detail as we plunged into our debt free journey.
   a. What is your current income? (How much do you make?)
   b. What do you need? (How much do you need to spend?)
   c. How can we give? (Tithes and offerings)
   d. How much debt do we actually have? (Confession)
   e. What will it take to pay it off? (Where am I spending unnecessarily? Time to cut it! Repentance)
   f. Are you ready to get serious about your debt? At this point, this may be an obvious observation but you have to repeat it to yourself, out loud if you must, and stick with it!
   g. What kind of giving will you be free to share when you are no longer in the bondage of debt? What will you be free to do when you have no more debts to pay?
   h. Is that motivating? How?! This represents your goals and how big of a deal that they are to you!
   i. Choose your accountability and choose them well .I want you to know something. We still have debt. We are aggressively working on it and are so close to being finished with it forever! I'll say we, but I am going to credit my husband's hard work especially, have worked so very hard. It feels so good to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to see the real possibility of our debt free goals coming to life and especially to just not have those extra payments each month! Getting started was the worst part because it required confession and repentance. More debt meant more work. It is always hard to admit something imperfect of ourselves, to recognize and surrender our weaknesses to the Almighty and each other, but God is so good, y'all! He is quick to forgive and help us to holiness. I am excited for every one of you reading this that is getting ready to embark on a debt free journey. I've mentioned Dave Ramsey and Financial Peace University in Part 1 of this post but I'll mention him again because I love this quote of his. "If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else." It is so normal to be consumed by debt in this country and to be constantly at war with money. Sometimes, not being normal is the better thing.