July! Independence Day! It’s the month we celebrate our freedom.
Most of us revel in that freedom and are aware of it; we thank God daily that we live in a land of such liberty. However there are some who see life as endless daily repetition and find that daily grind disheartening.
I once heard a man break down his work day this way; “After taxes, my first 4 hours at work each day is to pay the mortgage payment, then we have lunch, the next hours is to pay for the car that is no longer worth what I still owe on it, forty five minutes for credit card payments, a half hour for that new furniture we just had to get before the Holidays two years ago, then I get a coffee break. After break I work the rest of the day to pay for power and water and to buy groceries and gas to get us through until next week. “Vacation”? Unless we camp in the backyard or the “Master” MasterCard says we have available credit there is no vacation in my future.
“The borrower is slave to the lender.”
In a world saved by Grace, in the land of the free, this man has bound himself financially and lives as though he has been taken captive and enslaved by a merciless enemy.
It’s unfortunate that many in our society have bought into the “short road to the good life” only to find they’re enmeshed in growing debt. The road out is available; however, one must choose to change direction.
Do you know someone who needs freedom from financial enslavement? Scripture is rich in examples of people being set free. Here are steps to claiming and walking in financial freedom.
1. Seek God’s wisdom.
1 While Jeremiah was still locked up in jail, a second Message from God was given to him: 2 "This is God's Message, the God who made earth, made it livable and lasting, known everywhere as God:
3 'Call to me and I will answer you. I'll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could never figure out on your own.'
Jer 33:1-3 The Message
When the Lord is asked to be a part of our plan He promises results that we cannot fathom. Look forward to being a living testimony of God’s awesome intervention.
2. Get up, get a plan, get going, and get free!
Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, O Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, O captive Daughter of Zion.
Be committed to reclaiming your freedom! There are several very effective debt elimination programs available on line and in the library. DaveRamsey.com and Crown.org both offer a wealth of information on how to get free from debt and testimonials to encourage those just beginning. Most of their forms are free to copy and print.
3. Do it with intensity! Do it now! Work at it as though your life depends on being free; it does!
1 Dear friend, if you've gone into hock with your neighbor or locked yourself into a deal with a stranger, 2 If you've impulsively promised the shirt off your back and now find yourself shivering out in the cold, 3 Friend, don't waste a minute, get yourself out of that mess. You're in that man’s (that bank, car dealership, furniture store, Credit Card Company) clutches! 4 Don't procrastinate - there's no time to lose. (4 Allow no sleep to your eyes, no slumber to your eyelids. NIV) 5 Run like a deer from the hunter, fly like a bird from the trapper!
Proverbs 6 1-5 The Message
Get the message? It’s pretty clear that getting out of debt should be a priority and a main focus until it is no longer an issue in our lives.
Do it now! Do it with intensity! Work at it as though you are the only one who can make this happen in your life; you are!
