How to Make U-Turns in LifeSample

Day 5: U-Turn from Financial Consequences

The addiction to debt in our contemporary culture has become a new form of slavery. When debt looms large in a person’s life, it can dictate important life choices like where you work, what you do, what you eat, and what you can enjoy.

Illegitimate debt should never be the norm in a person’s or family’s state of being. Therefore, if you are living in debt, with more month than money, on an ongoing basis, you are living outside the will of God. God makes it clear in Psalm 37:21: “The wicked borrows and does not pay back...” The Bible labels it wickedness to have bills that you are unable to pay.

Now, debt does not mean an absence of bills. It doesn’t mean you don’t have a car loan or a mortgage. Also, there are times when things happen outside of our control such as serious illness, natural disasters, etcetera, that can create a legitimate debt. But illegitimate debt refers to having more bills than money to service the debt due to greed, lack of contentment, poor financial planning, or ignorance of God’s plan for handling our finances. 

You need a U-turn. 

If you want to reverse the negative trends in your life financially -- as well as all the emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational consequences that have come about -- God has the answer in His Word. 

Scripture says that, when you are faithful to steward that which God has given to you, He says He will give more. This passage relates to more than just money, but the principle transcends. The problem today is that far too many of us have not been faithful to steward our time, talents, and particularly our treasures with wisdom; so when we pray to God to give us more, He responds by directing us to His Word, which explains that we need to be far more responsible with what we have before expecting more.

To help you steward your finances wisely and to reverse the negative results of poor money-management, I want to give you three words of advice.

Applying these three words in this order to your financial choices will help you begin to see your financial life turn around: 

• Give: The first word touches on the foundation upon which all else is built since it establishes your recognition of God as your Source. 
• Save: Saving is the opposite of debt because saving is future-oriented while debt is past-oriented. Saving involves putting away something for tomorrow while debt involves paying for yesterday. 
• Spend: Once you have given to God the tithe and offerings, as you are able and you have saved  a portion of your money, the remainder of what you have is yours to spend. But don’t go spend it on anything and everything. Create a budget.

If you will practice and live by these precepts, you will live in financial victory. That is not to say you will be a millionaire, but it is to say that you will have the capacity to enjoy and maximize the financial blessings and resources God has given you.

If you are struggling with the pain of negative financial consequences in your life today and you will take the time and the effort to seek God, He will meet you where you are as you make this U-turn. 

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