This past week correspondent for the Indianapolis Star – Holly Johnson - wrote something that caught my eye: My husband and I used to buy cars more often than new underwear – as in, every few years. Since hindsight’s 20/20, I now realize we were stressed, unhappy and desperate to fill our empty hearts. It was far too easy to bury our feelings in zero percent financing offers and fresh-cut leather, so that’s what we did. If our new ride was nicer and more expensive, we were on top of the world. But underneath the façade, our financial situation wasn’t what it seemed.
· we were terrible with money
· we never saved and struggled to pay off student loans and other debt
AND…
· we were full of anxiety
Full of anxiety. That is the 3-word description of so many…too many…people when it comes to money and finances.
· Sweat inducing, throat tightening, panic generating anxiety that saps your energy and stunts your fruitfulness.
· It is a 3rd soil kind of life
Today we are wrapping up our mini-series Well Spent as we try to understand the concept of good, life giving, fruitful, God motivated, financial stewardship.
We’ve been camping out in one of Jesus’ most famous stories. So…one last time, lets read the story together…
Mark 4: 1-9 page 832
(Reminder of Hockey Game)
The key to interpreting this story is in determining which soil am I? Clearly the best soil…the most desirable soul... is the 4th soil…the productive, fruitful life. Does that look like your life?
The fruit of a 4th soil kind of life:
The people you influence.
The impact you make. (the footprint you leave that heals brokenness)
The attitudes you display. Love , Joy ,Peacefulness ,Patience ,Kindness ,Goodness ,Dependability ,Meekness ,Self-control
If you want to be fruitful you must steward your own soul. …specifically…If you want to be fruitful you must become good stewards of your finances.
And becoming a good steward requires you to make a series of good decisions:
4 decisions you must make to become good financial stewards:
1. I choose to believe that God owns it all.
2. I will treat God’s kingdom as more important than my financial state.
3. I will make a vow of simplicity and learn how to be content.
Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently reorients our lives
so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without
destroying us. Richard Foster
4. I will seek to give God joy!
There’s one more decision you are going to have to make if you want to become a 4th soil person. This decision will go a long way to reducing your anxiety…it revolves around the 3rd soil: look again at V 18-19
The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, 19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. Mark 4:18-19
· crowded out = press against or to choke
o This choking is caused by “worries” (anxiety – Lit. to be fractured into parts or go to pieces)
o this anxiety is produced by a lie (lure V 19 = delusion of wealth)
§ The lie that wealth can make you happy
§ The Fake News that affluence or abundance produces joy
The fact is that 3rd soil people feel trapped and never satisfied. And it becomes a constant spiral down.
Let's explore this deep financial anxiety further…
Deep financial anxiety can come from two very different directions:
Ø When we are under resourced.
Ø When we are overextended.
Some of you go to bed every night not sure how you will meet your most basic needs. You live pay check to pay check or worse…with NO paycheck. You do not know how you will feed your family, deal with health issues or keep your car on the road. You are severally under resourced. (…and likely through little fault of your own. You have been dealt a very bad hand)
If you find yourself under resourced… what you need to get from 3rd soil living to 4th soil fruitfulness is to be loved. You need a hand up. I want you to hear how we want to offer that through this church.
Interview Marcus Casteel, Assoc. Pastor of our Care Center
· What is the Care Center and what do we offer our friends?
· What would you say to the people who are embarrassed to engage?
Let us help reduce your anxiety with love!
Deep financial anxiety can come from two very different directions:
Ø When we are under resourced.
Ø When we are overextended.
Some of you have an anxiety rooted not from being under resourced but from being over extended.
· You actually make a living wage. But….you have made more financial commitments than you have the resources to match.
· You are choking in debt.
You just HAD to have something. You could not wait to save for it. Or…It had to be bigger than you could afford. It had to be newer and shinier than you could pay for in cash…so you borrowed the money for it and now you are stuck with debt. And that debt is calling all your financial shots. You are backed into a corner. You're trapped and filled with anxiety.
Now what? What is good stewardship when it comes to debt?
What is debt?
Debt is an obligation that is created by borrowing. The type of debt I’m primarily referring to is consumer debt…debt that is used to fund consumption rather than investment.
- Consumer debt = Credit cards, store financed consumer purchases, car loans, etc.
- Not referring to business debt or investment debt
o Debatable is home mortgages or school loans
Why does debt it create such anxiety?
· There is a slavishness to Debt. If you are not paying it down it seems to grow like a cancer. It multiplies many times over the price of things.
"Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"--but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Cor. 6:12
Debt masters us. Debt is claustrophobic. Debt can put life on hold. Debt chokes out fruitfulness.
So, what do you do if you are struggling with the anxiety of debt. What is good stewardship when you are full of debt anxiety?
What to do about debt:
1. Determine to live more simply and contentedly
And so it is that when a man walks along a road, the lighter
he travels, the happier he is; equally, on this journey of life,
a man is more blessed if he does not pant beneath a burden
of riches. Tertullian, 200 AD
2. Seek help especially if you are overwhelmed and not sure what to do. I’ll touch on this at the end.
3. Begin eliminating your debt.
· make a budget and stick to it
· consider living cash only
· start making payments bigger than the minimum
o ladder method – highest interest
o or snowball method – do the same but start with your smallest balance
Tell two stories of young couples who approached me last weekend with their stories of debt reduction.
Remember Holly Johnson from the Indy star: When we were finally ready to change, our first objective was eliminating the biggest drains on our income – including our ridiculous car payments. So, that’s exactly what we did. We paid off my minivan and my husband’s car, annihilated around $21,000 in student loans, decimated $10,000 in credit card bills, cut our spending and never looked back. Do you want a new car, or do you want something better – the freedom to live life on your own terms? As always, the choice is yours.
The choice is yours.
1st soil life immune to God’s truth about finances.
2nd soil life…thin financial life with no margin due to materialism and overspending
3rd soil life of deep financial anxiety
4th soil life…content, free and fruitful
The choice is yours.
Some recommendations:
1. Books in our bookstore – God Owns It All, Ron Blue
2. Young Adults – 3 week interest group
3. Watch for new resources from Shane and his team
4. in the mean time feel free to contact Shane Whybrew
Let me pray for you.