Living Debt Free: Shopping This Holiday Season fro the Glory of God
Rev. .Marti Zimmerman
Stewardship Campaign: Connect/Transform/Serve

I thought it was comedian Jack Benny in the new movie Fred Claus. Instead his look alike Kevin Spassey played the scrooge. The character reminded me Benny’s joke about how tight-fisted he was with money. In fact, one day while walking down the street, an armed robber sticks a gun in Jack Benny’s back and said, “your money or your life!”

After a long pause, the robber says, “Well?” Jack Benny replied,
“Don’t rush me, I’m thinking it over.”

This morning I invite you to spend some time with me as we think about money, especially debt, and our life. As I have said before, Jesus has plenty to say on this theme. Hear these words as found in

Luke 12:22-34 (The Message) (by Eugene Peterson)
He continued this subject with his disciples. "Don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.

Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.

25-28
"Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can't even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?

The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?

29-32
"What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don't be afraid of missing out. You're my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.

33-34
"Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can't go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bank robbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.

Prayer

A man called the police and reported that all of his wife's credit cards had been stolen. Then he added, "But don't look too hard for the thief.
He's charging less than my wife ever did." (Source unknown)

The truth is, consumer debt is a major problem facing our nation today. Colorado Attorney General John Suthers reported last week, “More people are borrowing more money at high rates than ever before,” as he raised concern about sub-prime mortgages and the extremely high interest charged by payday loan companies.

He went on to say that while Colorado’s economy is doing ok, “American are addicted to debt and living beyond their mean’s.”
(Kimberly S. Johnson. The Denver Post, p.1C & 5C. 11/7/07)

I just finished a wonderful novel, Four Souls, by Louise Erdrich about the changes to life as the Ojibwe moved to the reservation in Minnesota.

The old Indian reflecting on his role as tribal chairman said, “Along with rules, there came another affliction. Acquisition, the priest called it….. (Greed.)

There was no word in our language to describe this urge to own things we didn’t need. Where before we always had a reason for each object we kept, now the sole reason was wanting it. People traded away their land for pianos they couldn’t play…Where before we gave our things away and were admired for our generosity, now we grew stingy and admired ourselves for what we grabbed and held.”(p 76)

Last week on the PBS news hour I heard an economist say that US borrowed $800 billion a year, that “we have been living beyond our means for a long time.”

Debt is a political and economic issue, but for me it is a pastoral and spiritual issue. Members of our church struggle with debt, some even losing their homes to foreclosure. Others have heard the warnings and been able to make changes.

I hear Jesus say in John 10:10, “I have come that they might have life in abundance.” What kind of abundance did he mean?

Debt is a problem. It steals money from the future. Some debt can be understood, like debt to buy a home, or debt to finance a college education.

Yet Dave Ramsey who counsels Christians on finances says, “Taking on a car payment is one of the dumbest things people do to destroy their chances of building wealth….it steals more money from their income
than virtually anything else.” Most folks pay off a car, then “need a new one” and start the cycle over. (p. 32 the Total Money Makeover)

According to Smart Money magazine the average new car paid with cash makes a dealer $82 in profit but if you finance your car, they make $775 a car. (cited by Ramsey p. 35) That’s $600 you could have saved towards your kids or grandkids college. That’s $600 you could have invested in your retirement savings or paid off your mortgage. That’s $600 you could have given to finish the nursery or Hurricane Relief. Debt is steals from the future.

Consumer Reports says 75% of airline miles never get redeemed but many of us charge everything with dreams of travel. The downside? Cardtrak says that 60% of people don’t pay off their credit cards every month.Saving for a trip would be cheaper than the 18-25% revolving loan for most of us.And those who shop with credit cards spend 12-18% more. (p. 42 Ramsey) It seems cash is harder to part with. If you don’t believe me just watch you kids shop with money instead of a gift card.

Debt steals from you future. It steals from your ability to be at peace and to be generous, taking resources that you could use to partner up with God to make, “thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”

As your pastor, I want you debt-free. I want your mortgages paid off so you don’t have to work at Wal-Mart when your 80. I want your college loans paid down so you can save for the next generation’s studies. And I want your credit card balance to be 0 each month, except in absolute emergencies including because the 3-6 months income you saved for just such events just wasn’t enough. No amount of Christmas gifts bought on credit for your children will make you feel as good as a debt-free January. No sale item bought with a credit card can feel as good as financial peace.

Do you remember the words from Luke? "What I'm trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God's giving.” Credit card debt steals 18 % and more from your ability to relax and respond to God’s giving.“How much could you give every month, save every month , and spend every month if you had no payments?” (p. 51 Ramsey)

Likewise, how much could we as a church spend on missions, on reaching out to youth and feeding the hungry, and finish the nursery if we could pay off our mortgage?

But to relax you need to make choices and plan. I invite you to plan today how to shop this holiday season. It takes a budget to create financial peace. The word disciple comes from the word discipline. It’s what Jesus invited his pre-mall people to do. He wanted them to seek abundance that truly lasts. And he wants us to do the same.

You can start with a few questions.

1. Do I, or if it’s a gift, need it? Needs and wants are tricky.

2. Can I afford it? If you haven’t counted up what you already owe and dreamed about what you want long term- that life in abundance – a home, retirement, health care, education for the kids, a family reunion cruise, a place or the tools to do your hobby, a gift that really makes a difference, then you don’t know if you can afford it.
Scripture reminds us to count the cost before beginning a project.The resources out there are abundant to help you budget so that your dreams come true. See me if you need help.

3. Where does it go when I’m done? What happens to the computer, the plastic sack, the battery, the stuffed animals, when you are through with it? It’s God’s earth for many generations. Does our shopping reflect that belief?

4. Where did the item come from? This one jumped up and bit us while we were shopping hard. Lead paint, date rape drug residue, not to mention the working conditions of the workers breathing in all those fumes all day.
Finally, in Luke, Jesus commands us to care for the vulnerable. "Be generous. Give to the poor.” The gospel says giving is a path to a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a savings account that won’t devalue. The final holiday shopping question has to do with the birthday boy. Is there a gift for the one who offers peace, new life, spiritual wellness? This Christmas I challenge you to spend as much on those that Jesus lifted up, the hungry, the homeless, the foreigner, the sick, the children, through Habitat for Humanity, The Heifer Project, UM Committee On Relief, AID’s ministries, even the nursery for all those babies stuffed on our current space, as you do on those who live with affluence.

If Jesus is the reason for the season, let your shopping be for the glory of God.

Prayer

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Resources

Financial Freedom Party for Women: A Little Book about Money for Women. Hadsell, Debra. (Financial Freedom Party LoloLC, 2006.

The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness. by Dave Ramsey

God’s Plans for Your Finances Dwight Nichols

Four Souls. a novel by Louise Erdrich

Giving Together: A Stewardship Guide for Families. Carol Wehrheim

Money Matters: Financial Freedom for all God’s Churches. Michael Slaughter.

“Prisoners of Debt.” BusinessWeek Nov. 12, 2007.

Good $ense Budget Course Dick Towner and John Tofilon

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