Some folks make a little money and run right out and spend it. For whatever reason, no matter how much they have they cannot hold onto it. It only takes one emergency to sink them into debt.
Other folks spend their money before they get it. They are always in debt, and they pay for the privilege in interest. They could have so much more if they could stop giving it away like that.
Debt is just a form of slavery.
When you get into debt, it is hard to get out. The first thing you have to do is to stop spending what you don’t have to spend.
Ways to cut back vary from person to person. You can eat at home instead of eating out. Wear that dress a little longer before you ditch it. Buy less expensive cosmetics. Do without those new have to have gadgets. Swap the car with monthly payments for a less expensive one with no payments. You may even need to cut the heat back, and keep the house a little less comfortable.
If you are used to having it all, it may be hard at first. Getting out of debt and staying out of debt is worth the sacrifice. It’s freeing.
But why is it so hard? Sometimes it is hard because there is not a lot of money coming in for whatever reason. Job loss or a cut in hours can make earning a living tough.
For the rest of us, it is a choice.
By the way, are you tithing?
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Leviticus 27:30
And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Leviticus 27:32
I once argued over the definition of the word tithe. As you can clearly see by the last verse, a tithe is a tenth. The dictionary will also confirm that for you if you still have doubts.
Are you giving God what belongs to Him? Has debt come between you and God? If it is more important to you to have that new toy or new article of clothing or whatever it is that has caught your eye than to tithe, you’ve made stuff your idol.
Anything more important to you than God has become your god.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
Furthermore, when you do not tithe, God looks at it as stealing.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
Malachi 3:8
It may be a hard thing to hear, but we are supposed to give God what is His before we start spending. After all, He really owns it all anyway.
LIFE APPLICATION
Today’s challenge is to look at what you earn. Look at how you spend it. See if there are better choices you could be making as a steward of what God has given you. You may need to cut back here or there, but obeying God by tithing is worth it.
If you don’t know where to start, take a look at each item you purchase. Then work on paying down any revolving credit. Interest on charge cards is particularly wasteful.