Participants: Yvonne Lewis (Host), Ryan Mack
Series Code: DAS
Program Code: DAS000014S
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00:26 We are back with another episode of Dollars and Sense,
00:31 and I am so excited! 00:33 My name is Yvonne Lewis. 00:34 I'm the co-host for this program, 00:36 and our primary host is Ryan Mack. 00:38 And Ryan is a Financial Literacy expert. 00:42 And we have just been getting some incredible information. 00:46 This is Part 2 actually of the Financial Predators Episodes. 00:52 This is Part 2, and Part 1 was incredible. 00:56 So if you didn't get to see it, make sure you order the DVD, 01:00 because you don't want to miss it. 01:02 Ryan, you gave us such great information. 01:04 Can we do like a little recap from Part 1 01:08 and then go on to Part 2? 01:09 Yeah, well the bottom line is that we have a 360 billion 01:13 dollar industry that is attacking our communities. 01:17 360 billion dollars! 01:19 360 billion dollars and they are attacking our communities. 01:21 And they are essentially exploiting what we don't know. 01:26 They are exploiting ignorance. 01:27 I always like to say there's nothing wrong with being 01:29 ignorant, but there is something wrong with staying ignorant. 01:31 So we must address, especially about those things that we 01:35 are not savvy about. 01:37 So I have a Scripture here at Proverbs 15:14 01:41 that says directly to that: 01:53 So, again, we are having in our communities... 01:56 Again, this is not a black, or brown, or white thing, 01:58 this is a green thing. 02:00 And these organizations are going into rural America, 02:04 Appalachia, urban America, outside of Veteran bases, 02:09 and they are putting up check cashing places, 02:12 payday loans, cash advances, title loans, 02:15 refund anticipations loans; everything that individuals are 02:19 trying to do on praying on the undeserved. 02:21 And they have a vested interest at 360 billion dollars. 02:24 That money is made because essentially individuals who are 02:28 using check cashing places, that are donating, essentially, 02:32 going through their fees, 1 to 5% of all their money 02:35 to these check cashing facilities. 02:36 They don't know that they can open up a bank account. 02:39 Those people using payday loans who might say, you know, 02:42 who are donating 2 to 300% interest, 02:45 who are living check to Tuesday. 02:47 And I say donating, because they really are 02:49 giving their money away. 02:50 That's incredible! When I hear about the amount of interest 02:54 that people are paying; that just, it blows me away! 02:58 Right. I mean these, the fees rack up. 03:01 And they are really savvy about being able to navigate 03:04 themselves around usury laws, or paying the right politician 03:07 to make sure they can turn a blind eye to usury laws. 03:10 And so what happens is that now it's almost a free for all. 03:13 Rent to Rim stores, Rent to Own stores. 03:16 There's a Rent to Rim store on Eight Mile in Detroit where 03:19 people can go and rent rims. 03:21 Where... and let me tell you the step further than that. Wow! 03:25 You can rent hair weave. No! 03:27 Yes, you can! Are you serious? 03:29 Oh, you can finance hair weaves. 03:31 Yes, you can finance. 03:33 They have a hair weave financing physicality where people are 03:36 financing hair weaves. 03:38 Well, you know why? 03:39 Because hair weave is expensive. Right. 03:41 It might be a thousand dollars to get a really good job done. 03:45 Uh huh. And so... You've got to have your weave. 03:47 You've got to have your weave. 03:50 You know, we're not knocking it now... you know, some folks, 03:54 we don't want to call it weave, extension, whatever. 03:56 If you want your weave, have your weave. 03:58 But if you have to finance your weave, you don't need the weave. 04:00 Right. That's right; that's true. 04:02 If you have to finance it, and they... 04:04 I went to St. Lucia, and I was there on a mission trip. Uh huh. 04:11 And I'm always picking fights. 04:14 So everywhere I go I pick a fight. 04:16 And I found out that they have this thing called Jump, 04:19 where you, it's a carnival, and you have essentially it's this 04:23 carnival, and there's a huge history in St. Lucia around it. 04:26 And you go, and the people are, they dance in this carnival. 04:29 And there's a huge festival. 04:30 But then before that you have to get the costumes, 04:34 and you have to do all these things. 04:35 But you have to spend money o all this stuff. 04:37 Um! And so as you're in this carnival, becomes extravagant, 04:41 people are actually getting out payday type loans 04:45 to jump in carnival. Wow! 04:49 And I'd never seen it. 04:50 And again, this is to the tune of 2 to 300% interest rate. 04:53 People are taking out these loans so they can buy this 04:56 equipment so they can dance for a month. 04:58 And they have to get their wristband. 05:00 And they can go to any party they want. 05:02 And they can drink and have all this fun. 05:04 And they're getting in debt. 05:05 So when they come out of debt they're drunk, 05:07 they're tired, and they're broke. 05:08 And it's like, Wait a minute! 05:10 So, you are in poverty before, but you took out this loan, 05:14 so you can jump in this carnival? 05:15 I mean this is not just in the U. S. 05:18 This is around the world. 05:20 It's international. 05:21 Where we are financing, essentially financing either 05:27 wicked behavior, we're financing all of this behavior that is 05:32 irresponsible, ungodly. 05:33 Yes, ungodly! And so, and they're making tons 05:37 of money off of it. 05:38 They're making tons of money off of it. 05:40 That's the thing, because it's probably being promoted, 05:43 you know, by get this, get that, get this, get that. 05:46 And people are going into debt just like people do 05:50 around Christmastime; going into debt for this one event. 05:54 And then you're just stuck with paying 2 to 300% interest. 05:59 That is crazy! And there's a vested interest 06:03 in keeping people poor. 06:06 Yes! They want to keep you poor, 06:09 because it's pricy to be poor, as long as they can continue to 06:12 just nickel and dime you with these fees. 06:14 They might not be making a lot of money off of you, 06:17 but if they can do this, what they're doing to an entire 06:19 community, then they're making miss. 06:21 We talked about last week. 06:23 In the check cashing facility we saw one we estimated makes 06:26 a half a million dollars a year just off fees alone 06:29 from cashing checks. 06:30 Not the produce, and the foods, and the bread and what not, 06:33 but they make a half million dollars a year 06:35 off of check cashing. 06:37 And this is because individuals, and most of them will say, 06:40 I just don't know any other way. 06:41 Why do you use a check cashing as opposed to using a bank? 06:44 I just don't know any other way. 06:45 So payday loans, check cashing places, title loans, 06:48 cash advances, Rent to Own, Rent to Rim, 06:51 prepaid debit cards, all of these type of establishments, 06:54 the prepaid debit card, check this out, Why do we find it 06:59 appropriate to spend money? 07:01 Okay now, we might pay money on a bottle of water. 07:04 So we're spending money for water. 07:05 Alright, we wish we wouldn't have to spend money on water. 07:08 But, hey, you might have to spend money on air nowadays. 07:11 Do you remember you used to go to the gas station and you'd get 07:12 your tire pumped up? 07:14 It used to be free. It used to be free. 07:16 But now you have to pay money for air. Right. 07:18 So what an oxymoron that is. 07:20 You have to... It's no longer free air any longer. 07:22 Okay. You're paying money for water. 07:24 You're paying money for air. 07:25 But now we've got to pay money for money. 07:27 Because the prepaid debit card is just money. 07:29 It's money transferred onto this vehicle, 07:32 which is another money essentially. 07:33 Put money on this card. 07:35 You pay money to put money on this card. 07:37 It doesn't build your credit. 07:38 It's not tied in to creditors. 07:40 And you spend it at various stores that accept 07:43 Visa and Master Card. 07:44 And they say, Well, this is the only way that we can use 07:45 to empower you, and we help your budget, and we help build 07:48 your credit, which is a lie. 07:49 They don't! And you spend money to use your own money, 07:52 which is the epitome of foolishness. 07:54 I'm just, my mouth is open because with the prepaid card, 07:59 what they're feeding you is really a lie. Right, exactly. 08:04 Because you're not... It's your money. 08:07 It's not a secured card. No, it's not. 08:09 It's a prepaid. Let's talk about the difference, because I think 08:12 people need to understand that this is... You can't build your 08:16 credit with a prepaid card. 08:18 So really, you get that card and you're 08:21 making somebody else rich. 08:22 Right. Well, I was very proud of I was able to help lead a 08:26 movement to make sure that Suzie Ormond's Approve card 08:28 was not successful. 08:30 And I have no problem with calling folks out. 08:31 I've called them out on CNN and FOX many times before. 08:34 And I'll continue to do so, because I do not like people 08:37 pimping on poor people. 08:38 We have to stop this. 08:39 We have to stop this exploitation. 08:41 But when Suze Orman came out with her Approved card, 08:44 I assumed that it was a secured card. 08:46 A secured card essentially is just that. 08:48 If I want to borrow some money from you, right? 08:53 And you give me, if I give you a $100, 08:57 and you put that $100 in your pocket, and then I say, Hey, 09:01 you know what, can I borrow another $100? 09:04 Now I gave you $100 of my money. 09:05 You put it in your pocket. 09:07 And then you give me 100 different dollars 09:10 that I can go and spend. 09:11 You'll feel comfortable doing that because you still have 09:14 my $100 in your pocket. Right. 09:16 And that's why, because you feel secure that that 09:19 money is in your pocket. Right. 09:20 That's what the bank is doing. 09:21 The bank is saying, I'll be happy to allow you to use this 09:25 credit card, but give me some money as collateral. 09:27 We'll take this money, $2, $300, $400, $500, put it into an 09:30 account, a secured account. 09:32 It becomes secure. Now you can use this card freely 09:35 up to the amount in which you've secured in the account. 09:38 And you can then, it's attached to it, but we have to ask. 09:40 We need to make sure that every time we get a secured card we 09:43 ask, Is this attached to a line of credit? 09:45 We should make sure that question is very clear. 09:47 Most banks will say yes, but there are a few banks that may 09:51 not be under the FDIC regulation, 09:53 or may be unregulated; that don't have a 09:55 secured line of credit. 09:57 Because using a secured card, if it's not attached to a line 09:59 of credit: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion. 10:01 It's no point. There's no point. 10:03 So we want to make sure we ask the question, Is it secured? 10:06 Is it attached to a line of credit? 10:08 Because when I use a secured card and I pay it back, 10:10 we talked in another episode, 35% of your FICO Score, 10:13 paying your bills on time. 10:15 As you pay your bills on time, use a secured card, 10:17 it builds your credit. Right. 10:19 It builds a credit history. 10:21 It builds length of credit history. 10:22 It's 15% of your FICO Score. 10:24 30% of your FICO Score is your balance to 10:26 lending limit ratios. 10:27 So as you spend and pay back it also impacts your credit. 10:31 So all of these things... The secured card is a great way for 10:34 individuals who don't have a lot of... who have credit issues. 10:37 I urge all of them to go. 10:40 If you have credit issues go to a credit union. 10:42 Go to a bank that has a secured card access. 10:45 And please, just do the research. 10:47 On bankrate. com is a great site that gives a listing of 10:50 different secured cards. 10:51 I advocate for no fee secured cards. 10:54 But you might be able to know of a bank or relationship within 10:57 your area that might have one. 10:58 But the prepaid debit card is not that. 11:00 Where the secured card is attached to a line of credit, 11:03 the prepaid debit card, which I thought the approved card was, 11:07 was just like a prepaid debit card. 11:08 Fees attached to it. 11:09 Every time you use it you have to pay. 11:11 Putting money into an account. 11:14 You have to pay money if you have to pay a bill. 11:18 You pay a monthly fee, monthly maintenance fee. 11:20 If you lose it you have to pay to get it turned back on again. 11:23 Where like my debit card that I have 11:26 I've never paid any fees on. 11:28 It's a fee free card, because I've done the research. 11:32 I've learned about how to budget my account and make sure I have 11:35 enough money in my account. 11:36 And you can use that money for free. 11:38 With a prepaid debit card you have to pay. 11:40 So that's what... And so they'll say, the fees that they've 11:43 charged is not as much as the fees that the bank could charge. 11:46 And that's the key. 11:48 Because if you're using the bank wisely, you won't ever have to 11:51 pay any fees attached to them. 11:52 So these are some things that... 11:54 It frustrates me when we have this lack of knowledge. 11:58 Our people suffer for lack of knowledge. 12:00 And we talked about that in Hosea. 12:01 So we have to really understand and have wisdom with every 12:06 financial decision. 12:07 Because if we don't there's somebody out there who's 12:08 going to profit off of everything that we don't know. 12:11 Right. And I think again, we have to learn 12:15 to defer gratification. Yes. 12:17 You, you might say, I want a credit card. 12:20 I want it now. Well, if you don't have the money to have 12:22 a secured card, you get that money. 12:25 And then you have a secured card, and you work from there 12:30 instead of getting one of these celebrity linked prepaid debit 12:36 cards that are making them rich, and off of you, 12:40 because you're paying to use it. 12:41 Russell Simmons makes tons of money on his RushCard. 12:44 Suze Orman tried it, but failed at it with her Approved card. 12:46 Justin Bieber had the Believer card. 12:48 We called the Lil Wayne card the Ratchet card last week. 12:52 And I think... That just kills me. 12:54 It was, it is actually the Young Money card. 12:56 Uh huh. We have the Mango card. 12:58 It was George Lopez for those who are Hispanic. 13:00 We have the Reach card for Tom Joiner, for those in 13:04 the urban community. 13:05 We have the BET controlled card. 13:08 We have the... There's a few other different cards out there. 13:12 And the Kim Kardashian's card. 13:14 I forgot what her card, what their card was. 13:15 But that card didn't last that long. 13:17 A lot of folks, including myself, fought against that 13:20 introduction of that brand new card. 13:22 But those cards are not really sustainable because of the 13:24 public outlash; quite right. 13:26 Thank God that the public is now starting to say, Listen, we will 13:30 not take this exploitation any longer, 13:32 which I urge everyone to do. 13:33 Say, Listen, we don't want these products. 13:35 And this is great that you are speaking out 13:38 against these products. 13:39 But it's better, it's much, much better if we listens to the will 13:42 and the Spirit of God when He talks about it in His Word, 13:44 and implement the principles in our lives that makes these 13:48 products; whether it be prepaid debit, Rent a Center, 13:51 Rent to Own, Rent a Rim. Rent a Rim? 13:54 They're renting rims. 13:55 They're putting these rims on their cars. 13:57 And they have it in there spinning, 14:00 and they're spinning, and spinning. 14:02 And I said, What is this? 14:03 And they cost so much. 14:05 And you're going into debt. 14:07 You can't afford it. 14:08 And you're going deep into debt just to look good. 14:10 Yep, I mean it's not funny. 14:12 The image of it just kind of made me chuckle. 14:16 But it's not funny, 14:18 It's pathetic in that you can barely feed yourself or your 14:22 family, and you're renting rims. 14:24 It's like there's something wrong with that. 14:26 There's a disconnect here. 14:27 Our money... I mean our people suffer for lack of knowledge. 14:30 For lack of knowledge. 14:31 And we need it, and we need it. 14:33 So now I have a few stories to share for lottery. Yeah, yeah. 14:37 Now, again, because lottery is in the 14:38 70 billion dollar industry. 14:40 We talked about it last week. 14:42 People putting more faith in luck than people put in what 14:45 God has given them to be successful. 14:47 We have to get beyond this. 14:49 So a few stories, and I also want to quote a Scripture that I 14:52 think is just so pointed to... 14:53 See the word talks about everything. Everything! 14:57 There's nothing that the word does not cover. 14:59 So you see, for every dollar that's spent across the country 15:04 you get about a 67 cent return, okay? 15:07 So that means you lose 33 cents. 15:09 From the lottery? Yes. Okay. 15:10 So you spend a dollar. 15:11 You get back 67 cents. 15:14 You're losing 33 cents on every single dollar you spend. 15:16 So essentially you're giving money away. 15:18 And it's a great revenue industry for, you know, 15:22 for the different states. 15:23 And they make tons of money off of it. 15:25 And as the Powerball gets bigger and bigger, 15:27 people's hearts start dreaming about all the things they can 15:29 do with this Powerball. 15:30 Well, here's some winners of various lotteries. Oh, okay. 15:34 So William "Bud" Post, okay? 15:37 William "Bud" Post... And these are people you've never heard of 15:39 because they're broke. 15:41 So, but William "Bud" Post won 16.2 million dollars 15:47 in the Pennsylvania Lottery, but now lives entirely 15:49 on Social Security; blew all of it 1988. 15:52 1993 Suzanne Mullins won 4.2 million in the lottery. 15:56 But now she's deeply in debt to a company that lent her money 15:58 using the winnings and collateral. 16:00 Ken Proxmire was a machinist. 16:02 He won a million dollars in lottery. 16:04 He moved to California. 16:05 Went into the car business with his brothers. 16:07 Within five years he was totally bankrupt. 16:08 Willie Hurt of Lansing, 3.1 million in 1989, 16:12 3.1 million in lottery. 16:13 Two years later he was broke and charged with murder. 16:16 His lawyer says he spent his fortune on a 16:21 divorce and crack cocaine, okay? 16:23 Missourian, Janite Lee, 18 million dollars in 1993, 16:27 was generous, was giving her money away. 16:29 But according to published reports, eight years after 16:31 winning Lee had filed for bankruptcy, and only $700 left 16:34 in two bank accounts, okay? 16:36 So now you read all of that, right? 16:38 And you say, How can all these individuals 16:40 waste all this money? 16:41 But then you see what Proverbs 17:16 says. It says: 16:49 So the word is saying... 16:52 Now is that not a perfect verse? 16:53 Exactly! So the word is saying, You're chasing this money, 16:56 but you're chasing the wrong thing. 16:57 You need to be chasing wisdom, knowledge, understanding. 17:00 Because peace beyond all understanding. 17:02 You'll get peace. You'll get tranquility. 17:05 You'll get everything from just knowledge and wisdom, 17:07 which the word is encouraging us to go out and get. 17:10 But if you get the money first without the knowledge, 17:12 and understanding, you end up with charged with 17:15 murder, crack cocaine. 17:16 All of these evil things come just because we just 17:19 didn't understand it. Uh huh. 17:21 And with this, and I look at Luke 15:11-24 and I think it's 17:27 such a pointed verse, because to me it really just lays out 17:31 perfectly, and it says: And he said, There was a man who had 17:34 two sons, and the younger of them said to his father... 17:37 You know, and so this man has two sons. 17:39 So the youngest son, I'm just imagining him saying, 17:41 Hey, Pop, you know, and he says, Father, give me the share 17:44 of property that is coming to me. 17:46 So that younger son, you can just tell, 17:48 I just want the property. Right. 17:49 I'm owed this property. 17:51 I want this property. 17:52 And the father was compliant. 17:54 And he divided his property between them. 17:56 Not many days later the younger son gathered all he had and took 18:02 a journey into a far country, so the younger son 18:05 just wants this money. 18:07 He's asking for money, begging for money. 18:08 He gets the money, and gets the property, and he takes it and 18:10 he goes on a journey. 18:12 And there he squandered his property in 18:15 reckless living, okay? 18:16 And when he had spent everything a severe famine arose in that 18:20 country, and he began to be in need. 18:22 So now he was not prepared. 18:23 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that 18:27 country who sent him into his field to feed the pigs. 18:30 So here we have this son, and this is such a poignant story, 18:35 because it relates to every single story of people who won 18:38 the lottery, and squandered the money. 18:40 Most people who've won lotteries when they get the money they 18:42 squander it, because they have not been educated to save it. 18:44 So he goes out, he gets the money, squanders his money. 18:48 A famine hits; he's not prepared. 18:50 Because he should have been prepared. 18:51 Now he's from a wealthy family, a wealthy father 18:54 who gave him a legacy. 18:55 The father did what he had to do for him. 18:57 You know, it almost relates to what God is doing for us. 19:00 Absolutely. God is blessing us. 19:01 But because we're doing the wrong things, and squandering 19:04 things in reckless living, all of a sudden we're out here 19:06 feeding pigs and thinking, Well, how come 19:08 I didn't... I want more. 19:10 There's more in store for me than feeding pigs. 19:13 Then why did you squander the blessings 19:14 that God has given you? 19:16 So we have to ask these questions to ourselves. 19:18 If the young boy had just said, Well, you know what, as opposed 19:21 to chasing the gold, let me chase for knowledge and wisdom. 19:23 Uh huh. And then when he received the blessings from 19:25 his father he'd have been able to more prepared to go out. 19:28 And when the famine hit he'd be prepared. 19:30 He'd have his land. 19:32 He'd have everything laid out. 19:33 And this is what's happening with all these lottery winners. 19:35 and individuals who take out Payday loans, 19:38 who don't budget responsibly. 19:40 And individuals are exploiting them and making sure that again, 19:43 it's expensive to be very poor. 19:45 And it keeps you in that place. Right. 19:48 Because you can't... You're trying to do the 19:51 get rich quick thing. Exactly. 19:53 But you can't get past a certain place. 19:56 And so you just stop. 19:58 You feel stuck. And this is in no way condemning you. 20:03 This is really, this program is to offer you a way out. It is. 20:07 To give you the tools to get out from under the exploiters... 20:11 Right, exactly... the predators. 20:14 I mean people are making money pimping the poor. 20:17 That's really the bottom line. 20:20 I have a little exam for you. 20:23 Okay. Okay? Oh my goodness! 20:25 So this is the exam. Alright. 20:26 And so my name is now... 20:28 And we haven't prepared for this, right? 20:30 Just so they know. No, I, I no. 20:31 And they will see I haven't prepared. 20:34 We haven't prepared for this exam. 20:35 We haven't tested anything. 20:37 You don't know what I'm about to ask you at all? No. 20:40 Okay. So now, my name is no longer Ryan Mack. 20:43 My name is Ryan Mr. Conman, okay? Okay. 20:45 So my name is Mr. Conman, and I want to sell you 20:49 some life insurance. Okay. 20:51 So you're in my office, okay? 20:54 So I'm going to ask you some questions. Okay. 20:56 So just answer them honestly. Okay. 21:00 Is it important for you to leave a legacy for your family? Yes. 21:05 Okay. She said yes to that. 21:08 If you could leave a million dollars to your family, 21:15 would that be a good thing? Yeah! 21:18 Okay, that would be a great thing. Yeah, it would. 21:20 Okay. Do you think that it would be wise to make sure that 21:27 you're educated about all the ways to be able to leave money 21:32 to your family. Oh yeah! 21:34 That would be yes, right. Umhum. Okay. 21:36 So now we're in my office, I have this life insurance policy 21:41 and in this life insurance policy, I want you to sign it, 21:43 and I want you to get a million dollars' worth of life insurance 21:47 coverage. Can you sign it for me? 21:50 Now, are you asking me? I'm asking you. 21:54 I can't sign it unless I read it. 21:56 Ok, so let's say you read it. It's a good question. 21:58 Ok, so you passed the first test. Um hum. 22:01 So now you've read it and you've seen, it all checks out 22:05 I have the highest rating of any insurance agency 22:08 in the world. Hmm! And I'm the best insurance company 22:11 in the whole wide world. 22:12 And you see it and you say, ok now, and it all checks out 22:16 If you pass away, all your family gets a million dollars. 22:21 Ok. Do you sign it now? 22:24 Okay. NO. No, okay. 22:31 So, are you worried about the cost? 22:33 Well, how much is it going to cost? Okay. 22:36 Like what...And then to just... to sign it right then? 22:42 Um hum. Oh, I need to think about it. 22:45 Good answer. Well you just passed the test. 22:47 I did. Okay. Just passed the test. 22:49 Good. Cause the thing is this, the questions that I asked you, 22:52 and I did this for a reason. Check cashing, cash advances, 22:56 title loans, payday loans, rent a rim, rent to own, 22:59 rent a weave stores. 23:00 All these are financial predators that we know about 23:02 but there are many individuals within various industries 23:05 that are totally good industries, insurance, 23:07 real estate, but because they are intent is wrong, 23:10 they could also be predators as well. 23:12 Mmm. So what I just asked you was just something I hope that 23:15 we individuals have learned. 23:17 My job is to get you to just say yes. 23:19 Yeah. All of the questions were yes questions. 23:23 Yes questions. And now I want you to be very... 23:25 and so if you said...if you asked me about the costs, 23:27 my response is, "does it matter"? 23:29 Can you leave a price on leaving a legacy for your family? 23:32 So it's always...these are tricks and ploys, 23:36 that I just hope the viewers out there become familiar with. 23:39 Right. Because what you said was perfect. 23:41 I need some time to go home and think about it. 23:43 I need some time to go and read this over. 23:46 That's the way we are supposed to respond. 23:48 I mean, there are certain things you are never supposed 23:50 to be afraid to say. 23:51 I need some help. I was wrong. I apologize. 23:54 I mean all of these are things we should never even... 23:56 and I need some time to ponder this over, so before you sign 23:59 anything, before any of these predators...take some time 24:02 and go over...ponder these over and get some guidance, 24:05 what the Word says from counselors and we will be fine. 24:08 This is some rich stuff, I am glad that I kind of 24:12 passed the test too. Absolutely. 24:14 I know you have a serious take away for us today. 24:16 Let's go to it. Right. 24:24 Humbly, I would like to speak to those who are poor. 24:29 There are many plagues within poverty, but five of them 24:32 I have often encountered in my work are: 24:35 Guilt, Shame, Worrying, Fear, and Low Self Esteem. 24:40 Let's talk about guilt. Romans 8:1 says: 24:44 "There is therefore now, no condemnation for those 24:48 who are in Christ Jesus". If you are in Christ, 24:51 whatever happened in the past, is the past. 24:54 I need you to eliminate all worry about who you were, 24:58 what mistakes you may have made and any important decisions 25:02 you have made to get to where you are today. 25:04 Remove this yoke of guilt from around your neck 25:07 and feel free to embrace the greatness God has put 25:10 within you, starting right now. 25:12 Let's talk about shame. Palm 34:45 says: 25:17 "Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall 25:21 never be ashamed." 25:23 If you are following Jesus Christ, you have no reason 25:26 to be ashamed. 25:27 There are many who share your circumstances, 25:30 and some even worse, the only time you have permission to feel 25:34 ashamed is if you lose all hope, and stop trying to improve 25:38 your current situation, only quitters should feel ashamed, 25:42 and in Jesus Christ, there is no need for quitting. 25:44 Quitting is the epitome of selfishness because 25:46 you are not only robbing yourself of success, 25:49 but you are robbing others of the blessings you will be 25:51 able to generate through Christ, through hard work 25:54 and persistence. 25:55 Let's talk about worrying. I Peter 5:7 says: 26:01 "Cast all of your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." 26:04 Although it can be hard to stop worrying, I'll admit, 26:07 understanding that worrying results in no tangible 26:11 forward momentum. 26:12 Worrying is only successful at causing ulcers. 26:15 Take your worries to the Lord and leave them right there. 26:19 Now let's talk about fear. II Timothy 1:7 said: 26:24 "For God gave a Spirit not of fear, but of power and love 26:29 and self-control." 26:31 Exchange this dose of fear for a double dose of faith. 26:35 Fear only inhibits your ability to be productive. 26:39 With fear, you will find that you are continuously 26:42 taking yourself out of performing viable solutions 26:45 for your situation because of fear of failure. 26:47 Faith in God enables you to put forth maximum effort 26:51 in any tough situation. 26:53 Let's talk about low self esteem. Psalm 20:8 says: 26:58 "They collapse and fall, but we, we rise and stand upright." 27:03 Philippines 4:13 says: "I can do all things through Christ 27:08 who strengthens me." 27:10 Your self-esteem may be low, but your God esteem, 27:14 that should always be high. 27:15 Check your pulse right now. Do you feel something? 27:20 If you still feel a pulse, you still have a purpose 27:25 on this world. The world needs you to fulfill that purpose. 27:30 It doesn't matter what your bank account says, 27:32 you have been crowned in God's favor. 27:34 It may feel like society has cast you aside, 27:38 but the Lord our God, will never leave you 27:41 nor forsake you. 27:42 This is the day the Lord has made for you, 27:45 so I dare you to be as great as the dreams 27:48 that God has given you. 27:49 As always, if Dollars and Sense can help you, 27:53 please email me at: dollarsandsense@3abn.org 27:56 or have a chat with us on the Dare 2 Dream Network 27:59 Facebook page. 28:00 Until next time, be the change you want to see 28:03 and remember the purpose of life, is a life of purpose. 28:06 Be Blessed! |
Revised 2021-05-11