Darren Arndt-Desperate Households: Finances

The King’s Family Church, Oakville, Ontario — July 16, 2006

Financial Issues Can Cause Stress in the Household

• Lists of the top causes for divorce always include “finances” in the top 4.
  • True across all income brackets.
• What is it about money that causes such serious problems in the home?
• How do we reduce this stress?

Some Biblical Principles

• Because money is such an integral part of life and society, it can’t help but play an important role in our relationships.
• The Bible has a LOT to say about money and how to use it.

Where We’re Going With This

1. Give to God What is God’s.
2. Live Within Your Means.
3. Partnering with God.
4. In Marriage, Finances Require Teamwork.

1) Give to God What is God’s

• Luke 20:20-26
• God created everything. It’s ALL HIS.
  • He entrusts some of his stuff to us during our lives here on earth.
  • He asks us to give back a portion of it as a demonstration that we understand the rest is his too.

Why Give to God?

• Lots of reasons, but here’s one:
  • Holding onto your money tightly does not necessarily mean it will grow.
    • Malachi 3:11 – “I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord Almighty.
    • Matt. 6:19-20 – Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal
• God promises to protect us from “the devourer” when we are faithful to give God what is his.
  • If we keep what is God’s, we won’t have any more wealth in the end because it will be lost to pests, moths, rust, thieves, …
• Be disciplined in your giving.
  • Start somewhere. Make a commitment and stick with it.
  • Test God and see what he does.
    • Start making testimonies of how God has walked with you through your financial struggles and successes.

2) Live Within Your Means

• Don’t spend more than you take in.
  • Your income cannot be less than your “out-go.”
  • How can you spend more than you have?
    • Debt.
    • Our society in the past few decades has become one of quick and easy credit that has trapped many people.
• Scope of the Debt Problem
  • Savings rate in Canada (% of income):
    1985 — 15.8%
    1995 — 9.2%
    2003 — 1.4%
  • Personal bankruptcies in Ontario in May, 2006: 2,590
  • From 1990 to 2005, personal bankruptcies in Canada increased 98%.
  • What Does the Bible Say About Debt?
    • Proverbs 22:7 – The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.
    • Leviticus 25:36 (Interest was not to be charged on loans to fellow countrymen.)
    • Deut. 15:1 (Every 7 years, all debts were cancelled.)
    • Matt. 6:12 – Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
• Prioritize your spending.
  • Learn to be content. (Phil. 4:11-12)
• Avoid “accidental debt.”
  • Make a plan—budget. Track your expenses. Pay off your credit cards every month. Avoid impulse purchases.
• Use debt wisely.

3) Partnering with God

• God is our provider. (Gen. 22)
  • Matt. 6:28-
• Yet we have to toil in order to eat.
  • Gen. 3:19 – By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food …
• Whose job is it to provide for me? God’s or mine?
• God calls us to:
  • be obedient in the work that he has given us to do;
  • trust him and acknowledge what he has provided for us.
• So, be diligent in your work, be grateful for what God has already given you, and pray about your financial provision.

4) In Marriage, Finances Require Teamwork

• There are additional dynamics in a marriage when it comes to finances.
  • Must communicate about purchases.
  • Must balance different priorities.
  • Must make financial plan together.
  • Must establish spending controls.
• Genesis 2:24 – Husband and wife become one.
  • But not all married couples treat their finances as one.
    • Separate bank accounts, credit cards, assets.
    • What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is yours.
  • Breeds concept that financial problems are your spouse’s problem and not your’s.
• Let your wallets get married too!
• Expect it to take extra effort.
  • It’s not as easy as when you were single.
  • It will take intentional communication time.
• Consider and honour your spouse.
  • Let their priorities make the “Next Things To Buy List” too.

In Summary

• Is it really worth all this effort?
  • Imagine a home where there was no stress, arguments, or sleepless nights because of money.
  • What is that worth to you?

Some Proverbs

• 15:16 – Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.
• 14:23 – All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.
• 13:11 – Dishonest money dwindles away, but he who gathers money little by little makes it grow.
• 11:24 – One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
• 17:1 – Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife.
• 22:7 – The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.