The Reality Series
05/30/2004 - Money
Americans have a problem with money. Americans have a big problem with money. For the second year in a row America got a "D" on the Financial Literacy Survey. According to the survey Americans are in "debt denial." We're basically unwilling to admit that we have a problem with credit. We're living way beyond our means and are enslaved by our overwhelming financial obligations, spending more than we make year after year after year and the stress is killing us. Literally.
The survey, conducted by bankrate.com, measures whether Americans know about and act upon a dozen concepts that are basic to financial health and well-being, concepts like paying bills on time, following a monthly budget, reading bank statements, contributing to a retirement account, keeping an emergency fund of at least three months' living expenses, and preparing a will.
Most Americans aren't doing those things, which is why 80% of us have more debt than assets. The number of personal bankruptcies increases every single year, as does the average credit card bill, which is up 270% since 1990. The only thing that's decreasing is the amount of money we're saving, which is at its lowest rate since 1933. The statistics are frightening.
Somebody has described the typical American as a person who drives a bank-financed car over a bond-financed highway on credit card gas to open a charge account at a department store, so he or she can fill up their savings & loan-financed home with furniture purchased on the installment plan. Someone else said, "When you think no one cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments. Then the phone will start ringing!"
Part of the reason Americans have such trouble with managing money is because nobody talks about it. Marian Friestad, a marketing professor and past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology says, "In the United States, talking about money is harder than talking about sex." It's the last thing we want people to know about us.
Hal Edwards, vice president of a firm that does financial counseling says, "People try to hide the fact they are having money problems. There's still a stigma attached to not paying bills or to owing creditors. People won't discuss it with even their closest friends or relatives. They don't feel comfortable saying, 'I have this problem.' And like any problem, you have to admit you have it before you can address it."
He then goes on to say, "Personal financial knowledge is very sketchy. It's not really taught anywhere. Some people learn traits like frugality from their parents. But if you don't have it at home, where do you learn it? Not in the schools. Some people don't get the tools and the knowledge early on, and if you don't have it, it's hard to catch up."
Well this morning we're going to play catch up when it comes to managing our money. For some of us this will be a tune up, but for others this might be the very first time you've ever been instructed on how to manage your finances. You didn't learn it home or at school or at church, but let me assure you its not too late. Money is the topic today as we continue our new series called The Reality Series .
You might be surprised to discover that the Bible has a lot to say about money. In fact, next to idolatry, the subject of money is the most dominant theme in the Bible. Two thousand separate biblical passages address the issue of finances and possessions. Jesus spoke more often about money than he did about heaven or hell, sexual immorality or violence. One-sixth of his recorded statements in the New Testament deal with money.
Why? Because Jesus knew that money is more than just a means of exchange. Money is more than just paper and coins. Money, while it can accomplish great good and do wonderful things can also cause devastating destruction and tyrannize our lives. It can enslave us. It can become the money monster.
Money is not a god worthy of our worship. It can tempt us to want things we don't need and to pay for pleasures that don't satisfy. It makes promises it can't keep and never allows us to be content. The strange thing about money is the more we get, the more we want, until we're never satisfied. Which is why Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "You cannot serve both God and money."
Randy Alcorn, who wrote The Treasure Principle says, "Affluenza is a strange malady that affects the children of well-to-do parents. Though having everything money can buy, the children show all the symptoms of abject poverty ... depression, anxiety, loss of meaning and despair for the future."
Jesus taught that the two most tangible indicators of our spiritual life are not how much we read the Bible and pray, as good as those things are, the two most tangible indicators of the condition of our heart, according to Jesus, are the words that come out of our mouth, and the way we handle our money.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:21, For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In Matthew 12:34 he said, For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Our mouth and our money, our words and our wallet reveal more about what's in our hearts than anything else. Why? Because we talk about and we spend our money on the things that matter most to us.
So what I'd like to do today is share with the four key concepts to financial literacy found in God's Word the Bible. These are true, time tested concepts that can help you master your money and set you free financially. These concepts are the basis to our financial health and well-being.
Many people think that the key to solving their financial problems is just to make more money, get a better job, get a second job, get a raise, get a bonus. But in most cases that's not the solution at all. Instead, the solution is to buy into God's plan for mastering our money.
These four concepts have been extremely helpful to me and to many others at Valley View . They are so important that we teach them regularly in our course called "Walking with Jesus" and we share them with every couple that goes through pre-marital counseling, because more divorces occur over the stress created by finances than over any other reason. These concepts work no matter how much or how little money you make, because they're not about amounts, they're about values and priorities.
And the first concept in our financial literacy is to honor God with our resources. From cover to cover the Bible makes it clear that our first financial obligation is to the Lord. Not because God wants our money, God doesn't need our money, God wants our heart. He wants us to trust him to take care of us. He doesn't what us trusting in ourselves, or in our stuff. He wants us to rest and find our contentment in him. And it's really contentment that we're all looking for, not more stuff to store in our garage.
And when we grasp this concept then we begin to discover what financial freedom is all about. It's not about getting more, because the more we get the more we want. No, it's about realizing that everything we have belongs to God. He owns it all and giving to him is the way we acknowledge that. It's the way we get God on our financial team.
Turn to Proverbs 3:9-10,Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
The key word in Proverbs 3:9-10 is the word "firstfruits." In Israel's agricultural economy "firstfruits" meant that you literally brought the firstfruits of your wheat harvest, your grapes, your olives, your figs, your sheep to the priest who lived off them. The priests in Israel were engaged in full-time ministry and didn't have the time to farm or earn any other income, so they relied on the firstfruits of the people for their livelihood. Giving to the priests, giving to the spiritual leaders, was like giving to God. It freed them up to serve the people.
In the New Testament the principle is the same. Turn to 2 Corinthians 9:6-7, Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
In this passage the emphasis is on our attitude in giving, not on the amount we give. This is one reason we don't pass an offering plate at Valley View . We don't want anyone to feel compelled to give, instead we want them to give willingly and cheerfully. That's what God honors. Paul uses the analogy of sowing and reaping to say that if you want to reap the blessings of God in abundance, then give abundantly.
It was astounding for me to discover that every passage of Scripture that commands us to give is attached with a promise that God will bless us. His blessings may come materially or they may come in some other way. Wouldn't it be nice to have "all that you need" and be content with that. That's God's promise to those who give cheerfully.
How does this apply to us? Well, if Valley View is your church home, the place where you are nurtured and cared for spiritually, then giving to Valley View is giving to God. He wants it to be your first financial priority. And God will bless you for that and move you towards contentment and together we'll see God do dramatic things around here like give us a building on 7 acres of property free of charge. That's just the latest of many stories.
If we obey this first key concept as a church we will always have plenty of resources around here to do what God wants us to do. We have a Community Care Fund that we use to help those in need and some of you designate an additional gift to that fund. That's also giving to God. Proverbs 19:17 says, He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.
Putting God first is the most important thing we can do to manage our money well and be released from the power it can have in our lives. When we give our money away we are saying that we are in control of it, it is not in control of us. Giving to God sets us free from the money monster more than anything else I know.
How much should we give? In the Old Testament, the amount was a tithe. The word "tithe" means "tenth." The Israelite was to give 10% of his income to the Lord each year. In the New Testament the word "tithe" doesn't appear. Instead, we're encouraged to give generously and proportionately to our income.
For some of us it may be 10%, for others who are just getting started it may be less than that, because you're just learning to trust God is this area and it's scary. And for others, who have found God to be faithful, it may be considerably more than 10%. But the first key to financial literacy is to honor God cheerfully with our resources, then watch him work.
The second key concept to financial literacy is paying our bills quickly. Turn to Proverbs 3:27-28, Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you.
Paying our bills includes paying our taxes too. Jesus said in Matthew 22:21, Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's. The apostle Paul says in Romans 13:7, Give everyone what you owe: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
From time to time I hear people joke about getting paid under the table. That's no joke. Don't be deceived. God won't bless you for that. Be honest. Report all your income, claim all your exemptions, take all your deductions, but pay all your taxes.
And then we need to pay our bills. And that's a big problem in our culture, because everyday we're encouraged to buy now and pay later. Everyday we're enticed to live above our means. And when we swallow that lie it's easy to get over extended. It's easy to get into deep debt. And when that happens we're trapped. Proverbs 22:7 says, The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Nothing enslaves our lives like debt. It can keep us from the flexibility we need to follow God.
Debt is not a sin. The Bible doesn't prohibit debt. It's okay to take out a school loan or a car loan or a mortgage. Just be sure that you have the means to pay it off. But ongoing consumer debt is often the symptom of a deeper issue like greed, selfishness, impatience, fear, a poor self-esteem, lack of discipline or something else. So when we're tackling our debt we need to ask two questions. First, "how do I get out of it?" and then "why am I in this situation in the first place?"
This is when we need to do what most Americans don't do and that is talk to someone. The money monster thrives on secrecy. Find somebody you can trust and talk to them about your finances. You may start by talking to a good friend and then a financial adviser or counselor to help you devise a plan and to work on the real issues that put you into debt in the first place. This is where, as a community, we need to help each other.
The first key concept in financial literacy is to honor God. The second is to pay our bills. The third is to save for the future.
Turn to Proverbs 21:20, In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but fools devour all they have. I like how the Living Bible translates it, The wise person saves for the future, but the foolish person spends whatever he gets.
The Bible encourages a savings plan. Saving for the future whether it's for a car, a house, a child's education or retirement is a biblical priority. It's not in conflict at all with living by faith. Hoarding is discouraged in the Bible, because that's trusting in our stuff, but not savings.
The way we save will be different for all of us. Some of us may save by putting a little extra money in a savings account or in a money market. Some will use a CD. Some will invest in mutual funds or perhaps in the stock market if they know what they're doing and can stay current on what's happening. Some, like our kids, will save in a tin can.
Early on parents we need to teach our kids these key concepts of financially literacy. For our kids it started with a monthly allowance and three tin cans. So if it's an allowance of $3.00 a month, the first $1.00 goes into the Jesus can, the second $1.00 goes into the savings can, and the third $1.00 goes into the Avery can. The percentages or the amount aren't that important, but the principle is. Train your kids early to be financially literate. It is one of the best gifts we can give them in life.
Which brings us to the fourth key concept in financial literacy and that's living below our means. Turn to Proverbs 25:16 & 28, If you find honey, eat just enough-- too much of it, and you will vomit. 28 Like a city whose walls are broken down is a person who lacks self-control.
You may be thinking, "What does vomit have to do with money?" Well, a lot. The point is moderation. Self-control is so important if we're going to master our money and live within our means.
Christian financial expert Ron Blue, who wrote the book Master Your Money, says the key to financial success is to "spend less than you earn and do it for a long period of time." Sounds simple, but it takes self-control to do that, which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
Some experts suggest the formula of 10/10/80. Give 10%, save 10% and live on 80% of our income. Whatever, we need to discipline ourselves to live below our means if we're going to avoid the tyranny of the money monster.
Jim Tehan, spokesman for a nonprofit financial health center says, "One-quarter of the American population are 'money abusers' ... We've found that money problems aren't about money, but about other life issues. When people have debt problems, it's not that they have credit cards or a mortgage. They are spending money unconsciously, using money not as a tool, but to escape problems ... People don't take good control of their finances, so they don't always know what their situation is. People who have financial problems are often in denial until there's one event that kicks in, when they can't get that next credit card or loan. When they're up against a wall, that's when reality sets in."
But it doesn't have to be that way. We don't have to use money to escape our problems. That's what God's for. And if we are honoring him with our resources, paying our bills quickly and saving for the future we will find great contentment with life.
I love what the apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6-10, But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Is money evil? No. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Is it wrong to be rich? No. But a drive to be wealthy which puts money over God leads to ruin and destruction. Which is why Paul commands those who are rich to be generous and rich in good deeds.
Look at verses 17-19, Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Every penny given to God will be rewarded both here and in the hereafter. While it's true that you can't take it with you. It's also true that you can send it on ahead.
So there you have it. That's what the Bible has to say about financial literacy. How are you doing? Can we pull up the national average from a "D" to a "C" or even a "B"? Are you honoring God with your resources? Is he on your financial team? Are you paying your bills quickly? Are you saving for the future? And are you content to live below your means? That contentment, not more money, is what God wants to give us.