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Series Code: IIWSS
Program Code: IIWSS230005S
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00:00 (uplifting theme music)
00:12 (music ends) 00:14 >>Welcome to "Sabbath School," 00:16 brought to you by It Is Written. 00:18 We're delighted that you could join us again this week 00:20 as we continue to look at 00:22 "Managing for the Master Till He Comes." 00:25 This week we are looking at lesson number five, 00:28 which is "Dealing With Debt," 00:30 a fascinating subject, and we're gonna take a look at it 00:33 over the course of the next 30 minutes. 00:36 With me this week is, once again, 00:38 the author of this quarter's Sabbath school lesson, Ed Reid. 00:41 He is an ordained minister, he is also a licensed attorney, 00:45 and he has been speaking on and writing about stewardship, 00:50 managing money God's way, for decades. 00:54 And today we're going to get some additional insights, 00:56 especially on this subject of debt. 00:59 Before we dive in, let's have prayer. 01:02 Father, we want to ask that, once again, You will be with us 01:05 as we continue our journey through this quarter's lesson. 01:08 Help us to understand the significance of debt, 01:11 what role it plays, and how we can move forward 01:14 in the direction that You would have us go. 01:16 We thank You in Jesus' name. Amen. 01:20 Ed, welcome back once again. 01:21 >>Well, thank you, it's a pleasure to be here. 01:23 >>So we have a really fascinating subject 01:25 that we're going to be looking at this week. 01:27 It's called "Dealing With Debt." 01:29 And I wanna read the memory text for this week 01:32 because I think it'll give us a good start 01:34 on where we're going. 01:35 I'm gonna quote here from the New King James Version. 01:37 This is Proverbs 22, verse 7, which says, 01:40 "The rich rules over the poor, 01:43 and the borrower is servant to the lender." 01:47 Now, if I'm not mistaken, I think the King James says 01:49 the borrower is "slave" to the lender. 01:51 Neither of those sound very good, though. 01:53 >>It's really quite interesting 01:54 that the Bible mentions being in debt, 01:57 26 different references; all of them are negative. 02:01 It doesn't say it's a sin to be in debt, 02:02 but it always discourages us to be in debt. 02:05 And today we have people 02:06 more and more filing for bankruptcy protection, 02:09 even in our country, 02:10 the land of the free and the home of the brave. 02:11 You see that over and over again, thousands every week. 02:14 The interesting part about all of this 02:16 is that not just people, but also governments and cities 02:19 and states are filing for bankruptcy protection 02:22 around the world because they're overspending 02:25 and going in debt for various reasons. 02:28 So what we're gonna talk about here is 02:30 what we can do about the debt for our own selves. 02:34 >>So we may not be able to change the world, 02:37 but there are some things that we can do ourselves 02:39 to make sure that we end up on the right side of things. 02:42 On Sunday's lesson, you talk about the problems 02:45 that there are inherent in debt. 02:47 I wanna read a passage here from 1 Timothy, chapter 6: 02:51 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. 02:55 "For we brought nothing into this world, 02:57 "and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 03:00 "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 03:04 "But they that will be rich fall into temptation 03:07 "and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, 03:11 "which drown men in destruction and perdition. 03:14 "For the love of money is the root of all evil: 03:18 "which while some coveted after, 03:20 "they have erred from the faith, 03:22 and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 03:27 So the counsel that God gives us here in His Word about debt 03:30 is to avoid it. That's the short answer. 03:34 But why does so many people--why do so many families 03:38 find themselves falling into debt 03:41 if God has given us counsel to steer clear of it? 03:44 >>Well, Eric, that's a good question, 03:45 because the Bible does give good counsel about that. 03:48 But I've found in my talking with people 03:50 and studying over the years that there's three basic reasons 03:53 that people get in debt. The first one is ignorance. 03:56 Ignorance doesn't mean you're stupid 03:58 or don't have good aptitude; 03:59 it just means you've never been taught the information. 04:01 So there's lots of people out there in our churches 04:03 and in society who've never had the biblical principles 04:05 of money management taught to them, 04:07 and they've never even had the secular principles 04:09 taught to them. There's hope for these people, of course, 04:12 but they need to get the information and study it. 04:15 It's easier to get your driver's license 04:17 than some of the things that people do about debt, 04:20 like a credit card and so on, pretty amazing. 04:23 The second reason, and this is one you just read about 04:26 in the Scriptures, where you said, 04:27 "Godliness with contentment is great gain." 04:29 The second reason is that people have greed in their hearts, 04:33 and they live selfish lives. 04:35 I'll give you some examples here. 04:37 They simply live beyond their means, 04:39 which means they're not willing to live in or to drive 04:43 or to wear what they can really afford. 04:45 So they're borrowing money to get these things. 04:48 And credit card debt, of course, is a big deal. 04:50 A lot of people have--I've talked to people that were-- 04:52 I talked to one man 04:54 that was over 300,000 in debt in credit cards. 04:56 In fact, it was taking him all of his monthly income 04:59 just to pay the interest each month. 05:00 So from his perspective, when he talked to me, 05:02 there was no hope to get out of debt. 05:05 The third reason is that people have personal misfortune. 05:10 They may have a health crisis; for example, 05:13 frequently today in Western society, 05:16 man and wife are both working. 05:18 If one gets sick and can't work, 05:19 then they only have half the income, for example, 05:21 to take care of all their expenses, 05:23 and some people don't have adequate health insurance, 05:27 and, of course, things cost a lot today, 05:28 as far as that's concerned. 05:30 There's another one, and that is people that are abandoned 05:33 by a spendthrift marriage partner; 05:35 somebody, you know, spends a lot of debts 05:37 and then ditches the marriage and goes away. 05:39 I would also say this, Eric, which is interesting; 05:41 studies show that more than 80% of families who divorced 05:46 point to financial difficulties 05:47 as one of the major factors in their divorce. 05:50 In other words, they're arguing about money. 05:53 And this is interesting. 05:54 A natural disaster may wipe out their property without-- 05:58 maybe they were in a flood zone or something, 06:00 or maybe they were by the sea coast 06:01 where a big hurricane came in, 06:03 and many of these people have to start almost from scratch, 06:05 no matter how old they are. 06:07 So, there's one final one; some people are raised 06:11 in abject poverty. Now, people like in my generation, 06:14 a lot of us worked very hard to get our education and so on, 06:17 but some people don't have the ability or the opportunity, 06:21 I would say, to do what we did, even though it was hard. 06:25 So these people, there's hope for them, 06:27 but they need to change their habits as well. 06:29 And I would say for the people 06:31 in the middle category of greed, 06:34 study the Bible and pray for counsel 06:36 and know what to do about that 06:38 because God really wants to get people out of debt. 06:42 It's interesting that many people in the Bible 06:43 were actually sold for slavery 06:45 because of their debts, or they sold their children. 06:48 So it's not a good deal, for sure. 06:50 And so Paul says, "Owe no man any thing, 06:52 [except] to love one another." 06:54 >>So he's giving us some good counsel there; 06:56 Paul certainly does. 06:58 And the Bible continues to give us good counsel. 07:01 Monday's lesson talks exactly about that, 07:03 "Following Godly Counsel." 07:04 One of the reasons that you mentioned people go into debt 07:06 is because of ignorance. 07:08 And again, that's not necessarily meant in a derogatory way, 07:11 but just unawareness 07:13 of the situation. >>Yes. 07:16 >>So, obviously the Bible gives us counsel 07:19 in many different areas. 07:21 I suspect it gives us some good counsel 07:23 in this area as well. >>It does indeed. 07:26 In fact, the Bible talks more about money 07:27 than any other subject, money and our attitude toward it. 07:31 And we'll talk about that in another session. 07:33 But I will just tell you, importantly, 07:35 I would encourage people to start reading the Bible. 07:38 The book of Proverbs is a good place to start. 07:41 Proverbs is 31 chapters, 07:42 you can read one a day, and it's a book of wisdom 07:45 and foolishness, you know, contrasted. 07:48 So, you'll find a lot of good counsel 07:50 in the book of Proverbs. 07:51 But Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, again in that section, 07:55 in the heart of the Sermon on the Mount, 07:57 "No man can serve two masters: 07:58 "...he will [either] hate the one, and love the other; 08:00 "or else he will hold to...one, and despise the other. 08:02 [You] cannot serve God and mammon." 08:05 And I thought to myself when I first read that, 08:07 I'm not serving mammon; I don't even know who he is. 08:10 But the bottom line is mammon is wealth or riches. 08:13 People always have this fantasy of what they could do 08:15 or what they could be or where they could live 08:17 or where they could go on vacation 08:19 if they just had more money. But the Bible says you can't-- 08:21 it's not just difficult to serve God and money; 08:23 it says it can't be done. 08:25 A second verse that I'll mention is 1 John 2:15, 08:29 and following there, 08:30 "Love not the world, neither the things...in the world. 08:33 "If any man loves the world, 08:34 the love of the Father is not in him." 08:37 So you just need to, we just need to pray. 08:39 I tell people--this is not boasting or nothing, 08:42 but my wife and I read the Bible through 08:43 out loud together every year. 08:45 We use different versions some years and so on, 08:47 but we do it, we've done it for many years, 08:49 and you just find these principles over and over again. 08:52 For example, Psalm 50, verse 14 and 15 says, 08:57 "Offer [to] God thanksgiving; 09:00 "and pay [your] vows unto the Most High: 09:03 "...call upon me in the day of trouble: 09:04 [and] I will deliver [you], and thou shalt glorify me." 09:07 God says if we're faithful with Him-- 09:09 and I think of the vows, when we take our baptismal vows, 09:13 we're asked the question, 09:14 "Do you believe that the Seventh-day Adventist Church," 09:16 for example, "is the remnant church of Bible prophecy?" 09:18 "Will you support it with your tithes and offerings?" 09:20 That's in the baptismal vow. 09:21 God says if you pay your vows, He'll take care of you. 09:24 "Call on me in the day of trouble, 09:26 "and I'll take care of you, 09:27 I'll deliver you, and you'll glorify me." 09:30 So I would also suggest 09:31 that---not your people that think just like you, 09:35 but people who maybe don't know you very well, 09:37 so they can be really bold with you-- 09:39 talk to counselors that can help you. 09:41 Your friends may not be the one to say, 09:42 "Stop living like you're living," 09:44 or, "Be content with what you have," those kind of things. 09:47 But godly counselors can help you. 09:50 And also, we talked earlier, one of our lessons, 09:53 to make a covenant with God that as He blesses you, 09:55 you'll pay off your debts and so on. 09:57 So that's really interesting, and I hope that we can, 09:59 in this lesson this week, give you some practical counsel 10:03 of how to get out of debt and what to avoid. 10:05 >>So I think there are lots of people 10:07 who are looking for exactly that practical counsel 10:11 on how to get outta debt 10:12 and how to avoid it in the first place. 10:14 It's one thing to get out of it, if you find yourself in it, 10:17 but far better to just avoid it from the get-go 10:20 so that you don't ever have to worry about 10:22 having to get out of it 10:23 and what that's gonna look like and the steps. 10:25 But for those who find themselves in debt, 10:28 some practical, simple steps about how to get out of debt, 10:34 and Tuesday's lesson really talks about that. 10:38 Now, we're gonna take a break in just a moment, 10:40 but let's start looking at how to get out of debt. 10:44 Let's take a step or two. 10:46 And again, this is something that millions of people, 10:50 maybe billions of people, are dealing with right now, 10:54 and they're looking for hope. 10:55 And some of them may feel like this fellow 10:57 you were talking about just a moment ago, 10:59 as if they're just overwhelmed 11:01 and it's an impossible weight to get off their shoulders. 11:04 Give us some practical steps on how to get out of debt. 11:08 How is it possible, 11:09 regardless of how much debt you may find yourself in? 11:13 >>Well, that's a good question, Eric. 11:14 And really there's no mountain too big. 11:16 I think I've helped lots of people get out of debt 11:18 that thought there was no hope for them. 11:21 But I'll just tell you that I have found in my study 11:24 and research that there's three basic steps 11:26 that you can take. 11:28 But there's a basic premise that you take before that, 11:31 and this is important to understand. 11:33 There's three steps, and we'll talk about what they are 11:35 maybe after the break. 11:36 But the basic premise is put God first-- 11:39 "Seek...first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; 11:41 and all these things [will] be added unto you." 11:43 And if you honor God with the firstfruits, 11:45 then God's gonna bless you; 11:47 that's, over and over again that's told. 11:49 I counseled with a family one time 11:50 that were in serious debt, and I said to them, 11:53 "Have you folks been tithing?" 11:55 What do you think they said? "We can't afford to tithe." 11:59 So I said, "Well, how do you expect God to bless you 12:01 if you're robbing Him every time you get paid?" 12:04 The bottom line is this basic premise: 12:06 Put God first and establish the tithe for a regular basis. 12:10 And then you know that God will bless you, 12:11 and you're in a position that He will bless you. 12:14 So I can just say, put God first, establish the tithe, 12:18 pay your vows to God, 12:19 and then you can call on Him to help you, 12:21 and He will help you. We don't think God wants us in debt, 12:24 so if we make this promise to God 12:26 that we'll be faithful with Him 12:28 and accept that tithe covenant that we've talked about, 12:30 then you'll understand how important it is. 12:33 >>You know, Ed, as you mentioned, 12:34 we're gonna be looking at these three steps 12:35 to getting out of debt in just a moment. 12:37 But I've found the very same thing. 12:38 I've talked with some very successful, 12:40 very wealthy people over the years, and I often ask them, 12:44 "Why is it that you've been so successful?" 12:46 And often they'll tell me, 12:48 "One of the first things that we do is we make sure 12:50 that we return that tithe to God." 12:52 But we're gonna go back through those three steps here 12:54 in just a moment. 12:55 If you are joining us for the first time or the 50th time, 12:59 I wanna make sure that you know about 13:00 this additional resource that is available. 13:02 If you're interested in this subject 13:04 and want to dig more deeply into it, 13:06 "Managing for the Master" is the title of the companion book 13:10 that goes with this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 13:12 It goes into greater detail 13:14 on exactly what we're talking about, 13:16 and you will learn much, much more on this subject 13:19 if you pick up a copy of this book, 13:21 of course, by Ed Reid. 13:22 It's called "Managing for the Master," 13:24 and you can find it 13:25 at itiswritten.shop. 13:27 Again, that's itiswritten.shop. 13:29 Look for the companion book 13:30 to this quarter's Sabbath school lesson. 13:32 It is called, again, 13:33 "Managing for the Master" by Ed Reid. 13:35 When we come back in just a moment, 13:37 Ed is going to share with us those three steps 13:40 to getting out of debt. 13:42 We'll see you back in just a moment. 13:44 (uplifting music swells and ends) 13:48 >>[John Bradshaw] You can't live without it, 13:49 but it can be a challenge to live with it. 13:52 The Bible says a lot about it, 13:55 and there are people everywhere who haven't handled it well. 13:59 Most of us think that if we only had more money, 14:01 our problems would be over. 14:03 But in many cases, more money means 14:06 your problems have only just begun. 14:09 Your blessings can easily become a curse. 14:13 Don't miss "The Love of Money," featuring author, teacher, 14:17 and financial expert Julian Archer. 14:20 "The Love of Money," exploring issues of finance 14:24 and faith in God, 14:25 finding the balance between relying on dollars and cents 14:29 and relying on the God who provides blessing. 14:32 You can have enough, and you don't have to lose focus 14:36 on what's really important. 14:38 Don't miss "The Love of Money" on It Is Written TV. 14:42 (light instrumental music swells and ends) 14:48 You know that at It Is Written we are serious 14:51 about studying the Word of God, 14:52 and we encourage you to be serious as well. 14:55 Well, here's what you do 14:56 if you want to dig deeper into God's Word. 14:58 Go to itiswritten.study 15:00 for the It Is Written Bible Study Guides online, 15:03 25 in-depth Bible studies 15:05 that will take you through the major teachings of the Bible. 15:08 You'll be blessed, and it's something 15:10 you'll want to tell others about as well: 15:11 itiswritten.study. 15:13 Go further: itiswritten.study. 15:18 (uplifting theme music) 15:22 >>[Eric] Welcome back to "Sabbath School," brought to you 15:24 by It Is Written. 15:26 When we left a moment ago, we said we were going to talk 15:30 about how to get out of debt, three simple steps, 15:34 and that's what we're gonna do right now. 15:36 Ed, walk us through these three simple steps 15:39 that will help someone get out of debt, 15:41 regardless of how much debt they may be in, 15:44 because some people watching this right now 15:46 are in that debt, and other people know others 15:49 who are in that debt, and either way they can be helped. 15:52 Walk us through this three-step process. 15:54 >>Well, thank you, Eric. These are very practical steps, 15:56 and I'll just go through them real quickly. 15:58 The very first one is to declare a moratorium on debt, 16:03 on additional debt. 16:04 The bottom line is if you don't borrow money, 16:06 you can't get into debt; if you don't borrow any more money, 16:08 you can't get any further in debt. 16:09 So this is almost like telling people to stop breathing, 16:12 I know that, 16:13 but you just to say, "We're gonna live on porridge and rice 16:15 if we have to. We're not gonna borrow any more money." 16:19 So the first one is declare a moratorium on additional debt. 16:22 Now, these are in your quarterly and in the book as well, 16:24 but I'm gonna give you the basic outline 16:26 so you'll know what they are. 16:28 The second one is very interesting, 16:31 and that is make a covenant with God that from this point on 16:35 as He blesses you, you'll use the extra blessings 16:38 to pay on your debts. 16:40 Now, we know God doesn't want us in debt, 16:42 so do you think if you made the covenant, 16:43 God will bless you more? 16:44 Many people have told me God blessed them in ways 16:46 they had no idea this could ever happen. 16:49 So when He blesses you financially, 16:51 use the money to put on your debts. 16:53 Now, this is real critical, 16:54 because when most people get extra money-- 16:57 let's just say they got $1,000 somewhere-- 17:00 what do you think they would do with it? 17:02 Bottom line, they'd spend it. 17:05 I talked to a man in a church seminar at one time; he says, 17:08 "Well, I know that's true. 17:09 "We got $2,500 we weren't expecting. And I told my wife, 17:12 'How did God know we needed a new riding lawnmower?'" 17:14 And that's what he went out and got. 17:16 The bottom line is if you're in debt and God blessed you 17:18 with extra money, what should you do with it? 17:21 Put it on the debt. That's the second one. 17:25 The third one is very interesting also; 17:27 this is real hands-on and practical. 17:29 You make a list of all of your debts-- 17:32 and I say it's an upside-down triangle, 17:34 like a equilateral triangle--and make lines across it. 17:38 And the first thing you do is make a list of all your debts 17:40 from the largest one at the top 17:42 to the smallest one on the bottom in descending order. 17:46 For most folks, 17:47 the top line is their home mortgage probably. 17:49 And you can pay that off much quicker than you thought too, 17:52 once you get your other debts taken care of. 17:54 So you begin by making at least a minimum payment 17:57 on each of your debts. 17:59 Some people say, "Well, I'm gonna skip this one this month, 18:02 and I'll pay it next month." You don't do that. 18:05 You make the minimum payment on every debt you can, 18:07 and then you start at the bottom 18:09 and put any extra money on that one. 18:10 Let's just say it's a credit card that you owe $500 on. 18:13 When you save up, make the minimum payment; 18:15 add anything to it you can; pay it off. 18:18 Now, the interesting thing after that is that you can see 18:21 then you can put what you were on that one on the next one, 18:25 and pretty soon you've paid it off. 18:27 Bottom line, I'm gonna say on this one 18:29 it's very important, and that is you'll happily be surprised 18:32 how quick you go up the ladder. 18:33 This is like the snowball effect. 18:35 When you start rolling the snowball, 18:36 it gets bigger and bigger, 18:37 so you have more to put on the debt above it. 18:39 And that's the three-step in a simple statement. 18:43 >>So let's recap here. 18:45 Step number one is no more debt, 18:47 'cause if you don't take any more debt, 18:49 you're not increasing what you already have. 18:51 Step number two is to make that covenant with God 18:53 that if He blesses you financially, 18:56 that blessing, that extra money that you have, is gonna go 18:59 back on the debts that you currently have. 19:02 And the third step is that inverted triangle 19:04 where you're going to start paying off 19:07 the smallest amount of debt first 19:09 and then making minimum payments and keep rolling that up. 19:13 So three simple steps that will help a person, 19:16 regardless of how much debt they happen to be in, 19:19 to make strides, significant strides in the right direction 19:22 in order to get out of debt. 19:24 So Tuesday's lesson, a very, very practical lesson. 19:28 Let's take a look at Wednesday. 19:30 Wednesday is a fascinating subject. It says "Surety." 19:35 Now, surety is kind of a-- 19:37 well, "Surety and Get-Rich-Quick Schemes"-- 19:40 the word "surety" may or may not be a common word 19:45 in everybody's vocabulary. 19:47 What, in layman's terms, in simple English, 19:51 what does "surety mean," 19:54 and is it a good thing or a bad thing? 19:56 'Cause if I say I'm sure of something, that sounds good, 19:58 but here it sounds like surety may not be 20:00 the very best thing. 20:02 >>Well, Eric, that's a very good question. 20:03 There's something that really has a common practice 20:06 in society, and surety, in the layman's terms, 20:09 it's cosigning for someone else. 20:12 Someone will come up to you and say 20:13 that they're down on their luck, and they need some money 20:15 and would you cosign for the debt. 20:17 Surety typically occurs when a family seeks a loan 20:21 and the bank doesn't approve them. 20:23 And they will tell them, "Well, if you get your pastor 20:25 "or one of the church members to come and cosign for you, 20:29 "we'll make them responsible for the debt, 20:31 and you can have the money." 20:35 The Bible says--I'm gonna say this slowly and very loud-- 20:38 you should never cosign for anyone. This is very important. 20:42 So if someone comes to you and say, "Should you do this?" 20:44 you'll say, "Well, I'd be glad to help you, 20:46 "but I'm not gonna cosign for you 20:48 because the Bible says we should never do it." 20:50 The book of Proverbs alone has five different references 20:53 about dangers of surety, and one of them 20:57 I'll just mention is Proverbs, the 6th chapter, 1-5. 20:59 If you found that you've cosigned for somebody, 21:01 do your very best to get out from under the cosigning. 21:05 Let me just explain a little bit more about cosigning. 21:07 If you cosigned for someone's debt, 21:10 that debt is on your credit reference 21:12 until the debt is paid off. 21:15 And more than 75% of the time the person that cosigned 21:17 pays the debt off just to save their own credit. 21:21 I will add one more thing about cosigning, 21:24 and this is incredibly valuable. 21:26 The Bible talks about helping people; 21:28 we should be willing to help them; 21:29 that's what I wanted to tell you. 21:30 You should be willing to help anybody who needs your help, 21:32 but do not become responsible for their debts. 21:35 That's why you don't cosign. 21:37 Another one that I've mentioned in Wednesday's section 21:39 is get-rich-quick schemes. 21:41 Most of the time these happen in the winter. 21:44 This is interesting, 21:46 'cause the sun goes down early on Saturday night, 21:48 and it's like 5:30 or something, 21:49 and your friends tell you at vespers, 21:50 "Come over to our house. 21:52 "We've got something to tell you about. 21:53 You're gonna make money like crazy." 21:55 And these get-rich-quick schemes, typically there's a person 22:00 who thinks they're gonna get rich, 22:02 and that's by selling 22:03 or getting more other people involved in doing that. 22:06 But it causes problems, real serious problems. 22:09 It breaks up friendships. 22:10 People lose their shirt financially. 22:14 I know two ministers I could name by name 22:16 who lost their ministry and their credentials 22:18 by getting their churches involved 22:19 in get-rich-quick schemes years ago. 22:21 So what I'm gonna tell you is avoid this. Do not cosign. 22:25 Well, people say, "Well, what about your kids?" 22:28 (clears throat) My son came to me, and he said, "Daddy, 22:32 "I'm wanting to get a car, 22:33 "but I'm just working at Taco Bell. 22:35 "Who's gonna give me a loan for a car? 22:36 If you'll give me a loan, I'll pay you back." 22:39 And he says, "You know I would." He was a hard worker. 22:40 And I said, "Andrew, I'm not gonna do that. 22:43 "Here's what the story is. I want you to have a car 22:45 'cause I don't want to come pick you up at midnight 22:47 "when you get off work, 22:48 "but I'm not gonna be responsible for your debt. 22:50 "I'll tell you what, you save up half the money, 22:52 and I will give you the other half." 22:55 So Andrew came back to me, and he said, "Daddy, 22:57 "I've saved up half the money, $1,500. This car costs 3000. 23:01 Where's your money?" 23:03 The bottom line is I'm willing to help 23:05 but not become responsible for the debt. 23:07 That's the bottom line of that one. 23:09 >>So that sounds like a healthy way to help 23:12 and also to have your ears up, your antenna up 23:17 about finding and locating these get-rich-quick schemes. 23:21 It sounds like Ponzi schemes-- >>Yes. 23:23 >>...is a term that I've often heard 23:26 attached to these as one type, 23:27 but there are quite a few different ones. 23:29 And you're right, they're out there, and so it's good 23:33 to keep our eyes and our ears open for them. 23:36 I wanna take a look at Thursday's lesson. 23:37 Thursday is also very practical. 23:39 It's called "Term Limits and Borrowing Points." 23:43 So, what about when you do take a loan, 23:48 if you do take a loan, what are some guidelines for 23:53 maybe safer--I don't know if that's quite the right word; 23:56 you can correct me on that term, if you prefer-- 23:59 safer ways to borrow and less safer ways to borrow, 24:03 appropriate or inappropriate. 24:05 Give us some guidance on term limits and borrowing points. 24:08 What kind of guidance does the Bible give on that? 24:11 >>It's really interesting; in Deuteronomy, 24:13 the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 15, verses 1 and 2, 24:16 there's some good counsel there. 24:18 It's in the book and the lesson as well, 24:19 but I'll just tell you that I'm gonna read it, 24:21 so you'll see. 24:22 People ask me, "Isn't bankruptcy in the Bible?" 24:26 Because you can file for bankruptcy how often? 24:28 Once every seven years. 24:30 By the way, if you do file for bankruptcy, 24:32 how long is it on your credit record? 24:33 For 10 years. How long can it adversely affect you? 24:37 For the rest of your life. 24:41 I took the bar exam in Georgia and came into Tennessee 24:43 with my license on reciprocity and a large payment. 24:47 The point I'm gonna make is they had a 36-page application, 24:50 and they ask in that application 24:52 to become a member of the Tennessee bar, 24:54 "Have you ever filed for bankruptcy protection?" 24:57 And I can't say "N/A," not applied. 25:00 I have to say "yes" or "no." 25:02 And if yes, why? What were the circumstances? 25:04 Because there's supposed to be 25:06 a code of professional responsibility. 25:09 The bottom line is--now, I wanna tell you 25:11 people think bankruptcy is in the Bible 25:12 because of Deuteronomy 15:1-2, and I'm gonna read that, 25:15 and then I'll explain it to you. 25:17 "At the end of every seven years 25:20 "you shall grant a release of debts. 25:22 "And this is the form of the release: 25:24 "Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor 25:26 "shall release it; 25:28 "he shall not require it of his neighbor 25:29 "[nor of] his brother, 25:31 because it is called the Lord's release." 25:33 This counsel is not given to the debtor; 25:36 it's given to the creditor. 25:39 For example, every seven years the debts were released. 25:42 So if somebody comes to me in year three and say, 25:46 "Would you loan me money?"--if I loaned them money, 25:50 how long would I let them pay for it? 25:52 Only the last four years that are on there, 25:54 'cause otherwise I have to grant a release of the debt. 25:57 It's just wiped off. 25:58 So this text is in the Bible to limit long-term indebtedness 26:02 to a span of seven years. 26:04 It is not to declare bankruptcy and say, 26:06 "I'm sorry; I can't pay you." 26:07 >>So, let me kind of tie some things together. 26:10 That's a helpful understanding of that verse, 26:14 because there are, as you mentioned, many people 26:16 who misunderstand that verse. 26:18 I wanna quote something from a book 26:20 called "Counsels on Stewardship." 26:22 It's on page number 257, these are several quotes, 26:26 and I think this gives us some good guidance, 26:29 a very useful and practical guidance on the subject of debt. 26:33 Here's what it says, "Counsels on Stewardship," page 257: 26:36 "Be determined never to incur another debt. 26:40 "Deny yourself a thousand things rather than run in debt. 26:44 "This has been the curse of your life, getting into debt. 26:47 "Avoid it as you would the smallpox. 26:50 "Make a solemn covenant with God that by His blessing 26:53 "you will pay your debts and then owe no man anything 26:57 "if you live on porridge and bread.... 27:00 "Do not falter, be discouraged, or turn back. 27:03 "Deny your taste, deny the indulgence of appetite, 27:07 "save your pence and pay your debts. 27:09 "Work them off as fast as possible. 27:12 "[Then] you can stand forth a free man again, 27:15 "owing no man anything, 27:18 you will have achieved a great victory." 27:22 Ed, thank you so much for guiding us 27:24 through this week's lesson on how to deal with debt, 27:27 how to avoid it and how to pay it off. 27:30 I have no debt,--(laughs) I have no doubt-- 27:32 and by the grace of God it'd be great 27:33 to have both of those things to be the case for all of us. 27:36 I have no doubt that this will have been a blessing 27:38 to many, many people. We're gonna be back again next week 27:41 as we continue looking at the subject 27:43 "Managing for the Master Till He Comes." 27:46 God bless you. We look forward 27:47 to seeing you again next time. 27:50 (uplifting theme music) 28:21 (music ends) |
Revised 2023-01-26