If
we were to gather several couples together and ask them "What is your
major area of dispute? What is the issue over which you have the most
disagreement?” What do you think it would be? Probably,
their #1 issue would be-- Money, Finances, Spending. Survey after
survey tells us that a high percentage of all families argue over
money.
Our Old Testament lesson read to us earlier tells us not to spend money
on that which is not bread. Instead we are to come to God and listen to
him, that our souls may be fed.
This morning, I would like to turn to an ancient book of wisdom and
listen to God speak to us about money from the Book of
Proverbs.
King Solomon wrote most of the Proverbs. He was considered the wisest
man of his time. He was also the wealthiest man of his time.
.
But more than that he wrote with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
So Solomon-- the wisest man, the wealthiest man, the inspired man is
speaking to us about this very practical matter of money. He
offers five action steps to get us on The Path to Financial Freedom
—
1. The first step is to Know Your Assets (Outline insert in
Bulletin)
Proverbs 27:23 says, Riches can disappear fast . . . [All of us can
agree to that!] so watch your business interests closely.(LB)
Pr. 27:23 (NIV) -- Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give
careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever.
In those days “business interests” meant flocks of sheep,
herds of cattle. Flocks and herds represented assets. Soloman
is
saying, "Know what you have. Keep track of it.”
You hear people say, "I don't know where my money
goes!” They say it jokingly. But many really don't
know where their money goes. And Soloman would say,
“That’s a big mistake! His advice is to “ Get
the facts at any price. Get the truth” (Pr. 23:23).
Shortly after Carol and I were married, I was in a graduate program and
Carol was working as an Assistant Dean of the Student Body at Azusa
Pacific College. We had to watch every penny to live on the meager
salary the school was giving her. How did we do it? We agreed to write
down every expenditure-- no matter how small. I wish we had keep those
3/5 cards. It would be interesting to see what a cup of coffee and
cheesecake cost way back then. (That’s what we allowed ourselves
to get on our Friday night date.)
Not only did that plan -- of writing down every expenditure
--
help us pay our bills, but the process built a lot of trust between
us. I realized that I had married a very responsible and
thrifty
woman. But also one who was very generous when it came to giving. No
matter how little we had, Carol wanted to give ten percent to the
church. I would see her small pay check and say, “We don’t
have to be legalistic about the tithe.” But she wanted to honor
the Lord with the income she was making. I admired her for that.
2. The Second Action Step is Plan Your Spending
(This is the principle of budgeting.)
Pr. 21:5 -- Plan carefully and you will have plenty; if you act too
quickly, you will never have enough.
A study was done at Univ. of Southern California and it was determined
that 9 of 10 U. S. citizens shop impulsively. The average person spends
six hours a week shopping. That's a lot of impulsive buying.
Here's how it works: "I see it," "I like it," "I want it now!
Especially since it’s on sale!-- Look at how much you save,
--from the sale!”
Soloman is not impressed. In Pr. 21:20 he says, . . . stupid
people spend their money as fast as they get it . My mother-in-law, who
trained Carol so well, had a favorite saying: "A fool and his money are
soon parted." Another of her favorite sayings was this: "He
spends his money like a drunken sailor." I was in the Navy for years,
and I often wondered whether she was aiming that one at me.
If you are an impulsive buyer, you may turn into a compulsive buyer. If
you do, there is help for you. I would urge you to check out a support
group. We have one that meets at our church on Saturday evenings.
It’s called Debtor’s Anonymous. It is a very fine
12-step program for debtors trying to recover from money problems and
compulsive debt.
I heard about a compulsive buyer who kept her credit cards in a bowl of
water and then put the bowl of water with credit cards in her freezer.
If she got the urge to go out and buy something, she had to wait until
the ice melted, and by then the urge to shop went away.
One day she got tired of waiting. She borrowed money, bought a
microwave, and melted the bowl of ice in three
minutes.
Let me give you three tips on how to break the habit of compulsive
buying: (1) cut your credit cards in half, (2) join
a
support group, and (3) develop a budget. Proverbs 21:5 says Plan
carefully and you will have plenty. A budget puts you in
control.
You decide where your money goes, rather than wondering where it
went.
3. The Third Action Step Tells us to Save for the Future
I read that in Japan, the average person saves 20% of his income, In
Europe 12%, In the U. S. 5%. Americans are a --
live for
today -- society. "I want it all, and I want it now."
As one American said, "Let us all be happy and live within our means --
even if we have to borrow money to do it."
Pr. 21:20a --The wise man saves for the future . . . (LB)
If you save for the future, how much should you
save?
Pr. 13:11 Says, He grows rich who accumulates little by little.
Save 5% of your income--that would be good. Better yet, save
10%
of your income. That would be very good. When should you start
saving? Start while your earnings are small. A general rule
is
this: the more you earn, the harder it is to save.
That seems strange doesn’t it? Why is that? Some would say
it’s because the more you have the more the envy monster is at
work. "She has PRADA shoes and mine are from J C PENNEYs. Her clothes
are from GUCCI and mine are from GAP.”
We check out what other people are wearing at cocktail parties, in the
office, at church, in the board rooms-- people
compare
themselves with others and end up buying more just to keep up.
4. If you are going to save any money, you need action step
#4 : Enjoy What You Already Have
Heb 13:5 --Be content with what you have . . . .
This is one of the secrets of a happy life.
In the Scripture lesson, Jesus says, “Do not work for the food
that spoils, but for the food that endures to eternal life.”
Unfortunately our kids are brain washed to seek after the food that
spoils. By the time young people graduate from high school, they have
watched hundreds of thousands of commercials. They have been
conditioned to want more and more. You may have noticed.
Many parents are overextended financially because they are working for
the food that spoils. They struggle to pay bills. Both husband and wife
have to work. Sometimes even a second job. Family
relationships
suffer. In the evening, everyone is irritable, cranky, drained,
exhausted. The kids don’t get time with the parents.
"Well I know we are shortchanging the kids now,” you say, “but that's
only temporary."
Says who? You know the saying, “Your yearnings will always exceed your
earnings.”
Pr. 21:17 says -- Indulging in luxuries, wine and rich food,
will
never make you wealthy. and I might add it won't make you
happy,
either.
We need to learn to be content with what we have.
There is one more step that is the most important of all.
5. The fifth Action Step is to Give back to God
We are into our stewardship campaign for 2008, and you will be
receiving or have already received a Stewardship packet at your home.
Stewardship embraces the three-fold areas of Time, Talent, and Treasure.
Our Stewardship motto this year, is, “May the Lord Multiply Our
Gifts to His glory.” Our gifts are all three -- our time,
our talents in service to him and our treasure. Truly, all that we have
is from God. We are only offering back what is his and doing it for his
glory.
This morning I am focusing on treasure, but I want you to know that I
have the utmost love and respect for so many of you who give so
generously -- with so much dedication -- of your time and
talent.
I don’t think I have met a group of leaders and workers anywhere
in all my 45 years of being a Pastor who are more dedicated than the
people here who have worked on the 150th anniversary celebration and
all of the other things that we do in our ministry here-- so time and
talent, I am not taking for granted, but this morning I am talking
about treasure.
All through the Old Testament we are taught that we are to give ten
percent back to God. We call it a tithe. Pr. 3:9-10 -- Honor
the
Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income, and He will fill
your barns . . . to overflow!
Notice that it’s right off the top. Honor the Lord
by
giving Him the first part of all your income. We shouldn’t wait
to see whether there is anything left and then drop that into the
offering plate. God wants to come first in your life, and first, also,
in your giving. And if we’ll do that, He promises to reward us in
an overflowing way!
At the American church in Paris, the congregational giving for the
annual budget is 33 percent of the total. Where does the rest come
from? Rentals, weddings, ads, and the AFCU, made up largely of former
members of this church. This year, our stewardship committee would like
to see this congregation increase its giving so that we move upward
from 33 percent of our budget to 37 percent of our budget for
2008. That is an increase of four percentage points, which
seems
to me to be a very achievable goal.
What would it take to increase by four percent, to go from 33 % of our
annual budget to 37 % of our budget? It could be done by adding an
additional 20 families or individuals who will make a pledge of 10
euros a week to the church. Would you be willing to be one of those?
Additionally, the 110 families and individuals who are on record as
having made a pledge in 2007 would have to increase their pledge for
next year by 10 euros a week. Would you be willing to do that? I was
thinking the other night, instead of 110 people making pledges,
wouldn’t it be wonderful if 200 or 300 were pledging to this
marvelous church? Why not? This is where you meet Christ. Where you
receive spiritual sustenance. That means a great deal, I
know, to
so many of you.
Some of you might say, "I have so little, I can't afford to
give." I can sympathize with that concern. But let me speak
to
you as an older brother, or as your pastor. The truth is you can't
afford not to give. Everybody can give something. We’re dealing
here with a basic principle. If you want God's help in
getting
your life together, you must put God first. If you'll do that. He
promises to help you with your life and your finances.
I know that some of you would like to tithe but can’t. You
can’t make that kind of a commitment at this time. What can
you do? You can begin working toward a tithe. Are you giving one
percent this year, that’s fine. Give what you can -- let God be
your guide. But see if you can increase that amount. If you
are
giving one percent of your income this year, determine to give two
percent next year. If you are giving 5 percent this year, go for 6 next
year. And tell the Lord you intend to move all the way up to
ten
percent and beyond as soon as you can.
Malachi 3:9 says, Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there
may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord
Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of
heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room
for it.”
What a spectacular promise from God. Give generously, and God
will pour out so much blessing [upon you] that you will not have enough
room for it. You can’t out-give God. Give and it will be poured
out on you.
And in addition the church will benefit as well. That’s what Pr.
10:16 says -- The good man's earnings advance the cause of
righteousness.
Through our donations, we educate our children and young people in the
Christian faith, provide bible studies and retreats, send
people
off on mission projects. We provide fellowship opportunities like the
upcoming Thanksgiving Dinner. We will be collecting “Love
in a Box” during our Christmas services and conducting Refugee
Ministry Outreach. The list goes on and on.
I believe that good people will give when they are made aware of a real
need. Let me share with you what I consider to be a critical need in
this church. Do you know that this magnificent, world-class
church has one secretary at ¾ time for four pastors and ten
committees. May I say to you in all kindness, your pastors and your
committee chair persons who do so much of the work would be able to be
far more efficient in the use of their time and talent if they had the
staff support that this great church could and should
provide.
To do that, to achieve an adequate support staff, to expand the
additional ministries and services that this church could and should
provide, you and I have to take action steps. You and I have
to
take the initiative. You and I have to give back to God. You
and
I have to fill out a pledge card. These cards will be in your
stewardship packet that was mailed to you last week, or you can pick
one up at the Stewardship table in the Theatre.
For those of you who live in France, this country makes it so easy to
give. If you make your gift in euros, 2/3 of your
contribution
can be deducted from your French income tax payable. It’s
incredible. Give 90 euros and you get 60 deducted from your French
income tax payable. What a deal! Give 900 and 600 is deductible. Give
9,000 and 6,000 is deductible. What a tremendous
encouragement to
give.
So what’s the path to financial freedom?
1. Know your Assets
2. Plan your spending
3. Save for the Future
4. Enjoy what you have
5. Give Back to God
Take these steps and you will be entering into the doorway of financial
and spiritual freedom. May the Lord multiply our gifts for His
glory. Amen.
