Here is the second of four messages I'm bringing on financial freedom. Free copies of this message are available on CD in the main foyer if you missed it. As we think about debt, I'm reminded of an old Lending Tree commercial that came out a few years back. I was going to use this commercial in my message Sunday, but I had some technical problems with the program we use to convert files into MPEG's. So, for your viewing pleasure, start out by watching Stanley Johnson who's in debt up to his eyeballs!
April 20, 2008
2 Kings 4:1-7
It’s amazing who can get a credit card these days. A 3-year-old girl from Rochester, New York, received an application for a platinum Visa card in the mail. This so amused Allesandra Scalise's mother that she filled it out, listing her daughter's occupation as "toddler," and leaving the income line blank. She also wrote on the application, "I'd like to have a credit card to buy some toys, but I'm only three and my mommy says no." The card arrived a few weeks later!
From the earliest of ages we are pulled into a culture of debt. A man named Nathan Dungan wrote a book called Prodigal Sons and Material Girls. He points out that in the last 10 years, the amount of credit card debt per cardholder has doubled. He went on the say that thirty percent of Americans believe that they will always be in debt. In other words, they have no real hope for ever being debt free. He compared that to the fact that seventy percent of college freshmen said that being well off was essential. Finally, he made an interesting statement: “Living within your means today is counter-cultural.”
As you know, we are in the midst of a series of messages on the topic of financial freedom. You cannot talk about financial freedom without talking about freedom from debt. And the Bible, as we’re going to see, has a lot to say about debt. But it would seem that most Christians have either ignored these instructions and these warnings or they simply never heard them. Many Christians remind me of that old saying that there are three types of people: The haves, the have-nots, and the have-not-paid-for-what-they-haves. Many Christians are like the pro-golfer Doug Sanders who said, “I am working as hard as I can to get my life and my cash to run out at the same time. If I can die right after lunch on Tuesday, everything will be fine!”
This morning, we are going to read in the Word of God the true story of a woman who was trapped by debt and how she was freed from it. Now we are going to look at a number of verses this morning, but I want us to focus in 2 Kings 4. I believe that in this passage we learn three practical things that we must do to be free from the bondage of debt.
1) UNDERSTAND the DANGER of ACCUMULATING debt.
Look with me in verse 1. “The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.’” Elisha was the prophet of God, the main mouthpiece to God’s people. Elisha also had what is called “the company of the prophets.” This was a school of prophets, for those who proclaimed God’s Word to the people. You might call this the first ever seminary. Anyone who has ever been to seminary knows that seminary students are known for not having any money! And apparently one of the seminary students died. We aren’t told how, only that he died. Not long after, here comes the widow. And the Bible says she “cried out.” Can you see her desperation? She “cried out” to Elisha and she had a confession to make. She said, “Elisha, you know that my husband was a godly man, he revered the Lord, but he had one problem: debt.” Now in case you didn’t know, many Christians who love God and are serving God are burdened by debt. That was the case here. But this woman had forgotten one small thing. She’d forgotten that David said in Psalm 37:21, “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;” Her husband may have revered the Lord, but he borrowed and did not repay. And he got caught by the same trap that catches many believers even today. It is the trap of presumption. He borrowed because he presumed that he would be able to pay it back. He must have had a job and he must have had a little income, so he told himself, “I’m going to pay it back little by little and everything will be fine.” He had no idea that soon he’d be dead. Beware the trap of presumption that says, “It’s okay for me to borrow recklessly because I’ll make the money tomorrow to pay what I borrow today.” Proverbs 27:1 says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” If that principle is true anywhere, it’s true in the area of borrowing and debt. Don’t presume that you’ll be able to do what you may not be able to do.
This man did just that and as a result the creditor was coming to take her two boys as slaves. In ancient days, if I man had a debt and did not pay that debt, the lender could claim that man’s children as collateral. She’s already lost her husband, but now she’s about to lose her sons. And don’t you just know that for it to come to this, this poor woman has already sold every possession she had? I imagine the furniture was gone. The beds were gone. Everything of value was gone and it was not enough to pay the debt.
Now the Bible does not come right out and say “Thou shall not borrow.” What the Bible does do is warn us about the danger of debt. Listen to what the Bible says in Proverbs 22:7. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” That word “servant” could also be translated “slave.” In other words, you can’t do what you want to do because you debt tells you what you have to do.
Imagine a man who is gets reckless financially, and he spends and he spends and he spends and one day he wakes up and debt has a stranglehold on his life. He can’t give what he wants to give because debt won’t let him. He’d like to better himself by going back to school. But debt won’t let him. He can’t spend time with his family, because debt won’t let him. He has to work two jobs from early in the morning to late at night to pay it off. He’s a stranger to his own children. Do you know what the Bible calls this man? A slave.
Likewise, there are some Christians who are called to go on that next mission trip, but they can’t because debt won’t let them. There are Christian moms who feel that God is leading them to stay at home, but debt won’t let them. When you become burdened by debt, you don’t have freedom. You don’t have the freedom to give as you’d like to give, to help who you’d like to help or to do what you’d like to do.
I want you to remember something this morning. When it comes to financial freedom, the real issue is not debt, but bondage. If you let a real estate agent talk you into buying a home that requires 40% or more of two incomes to pay it, that is bondage. That debt is going to dictate to you how you must live your life. If you are paying thousands of dollars a year in credit card debt, and most of that going to finance charges, that’s bondage. The issue is bondage. Many Christians would never get trapped in debt if they only understood the real danger. Understand the danger of accumulating debt. Secondly…
2) FOLLOW God’s INSTRUCTIONS for ELIMINATING debt.
Look at verse two. “Elisha replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’ ‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a little oil.’" Now I want you to notice what Elisha did not do. He did not write her a check or give her cash. Now there are times when a person has a need and it is the appropriate response to give to meet that need. We see this in the early church in the book of Acts. But he did not do that here. I believe that he didn’t do it because the need was a result of reckless debt and he’s going to teach her a lesson. He didn’t give her fish, so to speak, he’s going to teach her how to fish.
Verses three and four say, “Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’" All she had left was a little bit of oil in a jar. This was probably anointing oil that the prophets used. It was probably the last possession she owned that reminded her of her husband. And Elisha said, “Gather as many empty oil jars as you can, not just a few, take them inside, shut the door and start pouring. Now this made no sense whatsoever. How would pouring a little bit of oil from one jar into another help her get out of debt? How is that going to pay her bills? How is that going to keep the creditor from taking her boys away? Listen, it did not make sense and I think that was exactly the point. For her, it was a simple matter of obedience.
You see, God is going to work on her behalf to eliminate the debt, but only if she’s obedient to what God has told her to do through the prophet. God will perform the miracle, but Elisha has her preparing for that miracle. God is going to fill the jars, but she has to gather the jars. And you know, that’s always the way it works in the Bible. The same God who flooded the earth could have made his own ark, but he put Noah to work. The same God who sent fire from heaven at Mt. Carmel when Elijah faced off against the prophets of Baal could have built his own altar, but He told Elijah to build it. The same Jesus who turned water into wine could have filled the jars himself. But he told the servants to do it. God involves us in His supernatural work. And once again, God is going to perform a miracle, but He first asks her to be faithful in doing what He’s told her to do.
Look at what happened in verses five and six. “She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.” Can you imagine the look on her face as she holds up the first jar and begins to pour it out, and the oil keeps pouring. And she thinks, “Sure seems like that oil would have poured out by now.” So she looks in the bottom of that jar, and there’s a little more oil than before she started pouring it out. Like the little boy’s lunch when Jesus fed the 5,000, God just multiplied her oil. If you’re here this morning and you are a slave to debt and you don’t know how you’ll ever get out, the same God who worked on behalf of this widow will work on your behalf. He’s more than able to take that little oil in your jar or that little money in your wallet help you to become free from debt. But listen carefully…God will only work on your behalf as you are faithful and obedient to the principles of God’s Word regarding money. Too many Christians seem to think that God is only concerned with the ten percent and He really doesn’t care how we spend the other ninety percent. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He does care. His word is full of principles regarding the ninety percent. And the starting point for breaking free from debt and financial bondage is being faithful to those principles where you are with what you have. You may not be where you want to be, but you can be faithful where you are. Let me give you some examples.
Here’s a biblical principle. Only borrow for items that appreciate in value or generate revenue, and then only when your budget can manage it. Don’t borrow for Christmas presents or for vacation. This is called consumer debt. Let me tell you why I believe that this is a Biblical principle. There are two reasons. For one, the Bible says in Proverbs 27:23, “Be diligent to know the state of your flocks.” Now for those of you who are not shepherds, that means know your financial statement. Know what you’re earning and know where that money is going to go. Have a spending plan. But if you’re using a credit card to pay for items that will not appreciate in value or generate revenue, there’s a reason. It’s because you DON’T KNOW the state of your flocks and you’re using a credit card to mask your lack of self control! That is not biblical. God isn’t going to bless that. That’s not “being faithful” with the ninety percent. And let me give you some personal advice along those lines. If you have a credit card, but you let it get out of hand and a single month goes by in which you aren’t able to pay off the balance, here’s what you do. There’s this new invention. It’s called scissors. Take your card and cut it to pieces. You’ve just fixed a major problem. But let me tell you another reason to avoid consumer debt. If you never borrow or use credit for anything that does not appreciate in value or generate revenue, you’ll never have to worry about being the Psalm 37:21 man I talked about earlier who borrows and doesn’t repay. Even if hard times come, you’ll be able to free yourself from that obligation. So these are biblical arguments that I believe we can make for avoiding consumer debt, any borrowing that doesn’t appreciate or generate revenue.
Here’s another principle for you. Make repaying the debt your highest financial priority. Proverbs 3:28 says, “Do not say to your neighbor, ‘Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow’—when you now have it with you.” When you owe someone money and you have a choice between paying them now or doing something else with that money, pay the debt now! If you have significant credit card debt, for example, you don’t need a plasma TV! You don’t need a vacation to Tahiti. The Bible says pay the debt.
Another principle is this: Avoid obligating yourself to pay someone else’s debt. Today we call this cosigning. Proverbs 17:18 says “A man lacking in judgment strikes hands in pledge and puts up security for his neighbor.” Proverbs 6:1-4 says…
“My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
if you have struck hands in pledge for another,
if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
then do this, my son, to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!
Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.”
Now when the Bible talks about putting up security for a neighbor, it’s talking about cosigning. The Bible says that this is unwise.
Remember, God wants you to be faithful where you are, and as you are faithful, He’ll work on your behalf to help you overcome debt, perhaps in ways you could have never imagined. But if you’re robbing God of the tithe, that’s not being faithful. If you’re using credit cards to pay for nonessentials, that isn’t being faithful. If there is no attempt at having a spending plan, to know the state of your flocks, that’s not being faithful. So follow God’s instructions for eliminating debt. Finally…
3) LEARN the SECRETS to AVOIDING debt.
All too often, you’ll see someone finally get out of debt, only to get right back in debt again. Well I want you to notice what Elisha said to this woman in verse seven. “She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’" Now remember from the previous verse that God did not give this woman a never ending supply of oil. When the last jar was full, the Bible says that the miraculous supply of oil stopped flowing. You see, the point was not for her to become rich. The point was for her to be free. So Elisha told her to do two things. “Pay your debts.” In other words, you can sell this oil now and there are any number of things that you can do with that money, but pay your debts. Secondly he said, “Live on what is left.” Now remember, what her problem was…debt. So it’s no accident that the last words Elisha speaks to her are “Live on what you have.” Five powerful words that can help almost everyone overcome debt. “Live on what you have.” Start now. There is a myth that many Christians fall for. Most money problems are not because someone doesn’t make enough money. It’s because they don’t manage the money that they have. Do you know how much money Mike Tyson made in the nine years before he filed for bankruptcy? He made $300,000,000! Does anyone here think that if only he’d had $400 million, he would have been okay? He had plenty of money, but he didn’t know how to manage it. Now here’s the secret to avoiding debt. It’s living within your means. But let’s take it a step further. But do you know what the secret to living within your means is? Contentment.
There’s a wonderful statement in 1 Timothy 6:8. “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” “If food and clothing is all I have,” Paul said, “I’ll be content.” Contentment. Hear this: Contentment is one of the greatest weapons that you will use to do battle against debt. A content person will not be pressured by the world to spend money they don’t have on things they don’t need to impress people they don’t like. Someone once said that there are two ways to be rich in life. You can be rich by how much you have or by how little you want. I would argue that the latter person is the one who is truly rich. Now I said that the secret to avoiding debt is living within your means. The secret to living within your means is contentment. But let’s go one more step back. But do you know what the secret to contentment is? It’s giving thanks!
Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” When we give thanks to God, the people of God fills our hearts. And it’s no coincidence that just a few verses later, Paul said, “I have learned how in every state to be content. If I’m hungry or full, I am content.”
When we understand the dangers of accumulating debt and we following God’s principles for eliminating debt and learn the secrets to avoiding debt, do you know what happens? When we’re free from financial debt, we’re suddenly able to devote our lives to the good kind of debt. Did you know that there is a good debt? I’m not talking about monetary debts. I’m talking about spiritual debts. For example, in Romans 1:14, “I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks.” That means I am a debtor. To whom? To the lost. Paul said that I am indebted to preach the gospel to them. If you know Christ as Savior and Lord, you owe a spiritual debt towards every lost person, to bring them the gospel of Christ. Paul later said in Romans 8:12 “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.” We owe a debt to God to live holy and pure lives. Finally, in Romans 13:8, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” We owe each other a debt of love within the body of Christ. And only when I am free from financial debt can I dedicate my life fully to my debts to God, to the lost and to my Christian family. Those are the debts I want to spend my life paying.
Some of you are here and debt had no grip on your life, or your family. Praise the Lord! But some of you are here and you’ve made some mistakes and as a result, it’s crystal clear what God wants you to do. He wants you to start being faithful right now where you are and with what you have. He wants you to commit yourself to following the guidelines in God’s Word for the handling of money. He wants you to commit to live within your means, to give thanks and be content. And as you do these things, I believe that God will work on your behalf to free you from debt.
But there is one debt that you’ll never be able to pay on your own. That is the sin debt that you owe before God. When I was growing up, we used to sing a chorus. “He paid a debt, he did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.” That’s why Jesus died on the cross: to pay your debt. You couldn’t pay it on your own. Only the death of the sinless, perfect Son of God upon the cross could pay it. And the Bible says that you will call on the Lord right now and ask Him to be your Savior and Lord, the debt will be gone.
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