Yesterday’s devotion was about materialism and because of materialism we often take on the burden of debt.
As noted in yesterday’s reading, the enemy tries his best to convince us that the only way to curb the fear felt by a void we have in our soul is by filling it with material things from the world.
The devil’s ways are cunning, baffling and powerful. He knows if we continue to need ‘things’ to fill our void we will eventually become over-extended and be up to our ears in debt.
The feeling of being up to our ears in debt triggers more fear and we medicate this fear by buying more things. Hmm, this sounds like a bad habit turning into an addiction.
Debt in America is a huge problem as statistics show the average American holds 50% more debt today than they did a decade ago and the number continues to rise.
When I crashed and burned at the age of 28 my wife (not her fault) and I were carrying significant debt and actually lived off of credit cards for the first couple of years of my sobriety while we got our feet back under us.
A key part of my recovery included getting out of debt because the fears associated with debt were dangerous to my sobriety.
Once I was able to work again, my wife and I decided our first step in getting out of debt was to begin giving 10% of our earnings back to our church and others in need. I know this doesn’t make sense, but I’ve found God doesn’t always make sense. If you want to grow your faith try doing all the “nonsensical” things God tells you to do.
If you want to grow your wealth try giving it away to help others.
After faithfully tithing (giving at least 10% of our earnings to God and His people) and reducing our debt over a twenty year period, the feeling I had when my wife and I said good-bye to debt forever was better than any feeling any drug ever gave me back during my addiction days.
The bondage to debt is a horrible feeling and the devil wants us to feel horrible. Tick off the devil and stop the debt cycle TODAY!
If you don’t know where to start, try this:
- Give 10% of your income to God, whether it be a church or a cause which helps His people. DO THIS FIRST.
- Write down all your expenses and then compare them to your income.
- You will need to reduce your expenses and/or increase your income so that your expenses make up no more than 80% of your income.
- Take 10% of what is left over and save it for a rainy day.
- But most importantly begin filling the void in your soul with God through prayer instead of things.
- Also, check out www.crown.org
Luke 14:28 (NIV), “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it.”
Reflection:
What beliefs, thoughts and actions cause you to struggle with debt?
Additional Scripture to read and reflect upon: Proverbs 22:7, Romans 13:8, 1 Timothy 6:10
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
