ok guys . . this may be a long one. I just came back from Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Pittsburgh, PA and I just had to share this message with you. The pastor preached on debt. And I know a lot of us still have college loans or credit cards, what have you, so this may be right up your alley.
I'm going to try to recreate the message, not doing it full justice, but I will attempt to engage you the way I was engaged. DISCLAIMER: These are not my words, so I'm not taking credit for it. I don't know the pastors name, but these are from him.
First we started off by reading 2 Kings 4:1-7. From NIV:
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he served the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.
Elisha replied to her, "How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Your servant has nothing there at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied,"There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."
Now you may be thinking, Why is the Church talking to its congregation about money? The answer is simple. Debt blocks dreams, shapes emotions, defines attitudes. It makes you paranoid. It makes you nervous every time the phone rings. It makes you anxious when you get to the checkout and your credit card is swiped. It makes you leave you mail in the mailbox, for fear of getting a bill. It makes you lie - telling the person on the telephone that you aren't here. It even makes you turn down opportunities to hang out with friends (for fear that it may be your turn to pay). All jokes aside, Debt restricts us and limits what we can do.
Now how does this tie into the Church? Well It's hard to reach up high (for Christ) when there is an anchor pulling you down. You want to give money but your debt is telling you that you just can't give offering. You would like to gain spiritual insight at a Church retreat, but your debt is telling you that you better not pay that fee. Your debt is telling you that although you have a well paying job, you have to work on Sunday and you can't go to Church. God can't like that. And so God doesn't like debt.
The pastor is saying that when money becomes the dictator of your spiritual life THERE IS A PROBLEM. And regardless of your beliefs, when debt dictates where you work, how far you work, how many hours you work, the balance between home and work, your academic path, etc.. .there is a problem.
So then the missing link between debt and not having debt is changing your habits. Everyone has fun while they are getting into debt - getting credit cards, buying purchases you can't afford, eating out all the time, driving when you could walk (with these gas prices). And then people get mad that it is soooooooooooo hard to get out of debt. It takes hard work, perserverence, and labor. The same hard work, perserverence, and labor that got you into the debt. You have to change your habits if you want to get out of debt. You can't be that person that says you know you have to change and not actually do anything about it.
The woman in the Bible passage had to go from door to door collecting jars. Now, she didn't know what was going to happen with the jars. But she collected as much as she could. Just imagine her knocking on people's doors and getting jars; each time explaining why she needed the jars. Then walking back to her house when her hands got full and going back out again - all on the blind faith that the prophet gave her. When she finally came in and closed the door he told her to pour the little oil into her jars. Now I'm thinking that she has about 4 oz of oil and she collected all these 64 oz jars and she's looking at this prophet like he's crazy. How would that little oil fill these bottles? But she obeys, and as she starts to pour the oil out, it keeps flowing. WOW. So you don't need more oil, God will stretch the little oil you have. Aren't we all waiting to start something new when we have enough money? Why not just use what you have and STRETCH IT OUT?
God provided for this woman because she trusted him. She obeyed and He made it so that she could pay her debt and live off the rest. How can we use this in our daily lives? Well if at the end of the paycheck all you have is a dollar, shut the door. And put it in a jar. Each time you put in a jar, you will be amazed at how you can stretch what you have.
It takes a big change of habits. "You can't have Lexus taste on skateboard finances.(pastor)" There has to be some give and take - for the ladies, do you own hair, or go every OTHER week. And you know how you sleep that first day and your head is not touching the pillow? Sleep like that for 3 days - the style will last longer. And for the guys - Do you really need a new suit? Buy a new tie, no one will notice.If they ask if that's a new suit, don't lie; just don't answer. You have to eat in sometimes. Broke is a condition, not a lifestyle. Conditions can be broken.
I think I've summarized what the message was. It was on point, it had hilarious moments of those truths we do that we know we need to work on and it just takes someone pointing them out for you to be honest with yourself. I hope you guys enjoyed this. And please, rememeber to shut the door, and fill the jar.
