DAY 11: DEALING WITH DEBT, Part II: Getting Out - The Radical Approach

1. Why Get Out of Debt?
   1. It hinders us from being able to give generously. When we are paying 18%+ interest on top of the principal, it is difficult to have anything left to share with others.
   2. It is wasteful. The exorbitant interest we pay on our credit cards is totally wasted.
   3. The balance is probably there because you were not following God's plan for your finances.
2. How to Get Out
   1. You must be radical (Matthew 5:29-30)
      1. Cut up all your credit cards (if you have outstanding balances that you have not been able to pay off for 3 months or more).
      2. Call your credit card companies and cancel the accounts.
      3. Work out your budget with the goal of removing your debt. Do not buy anything that is not necessary. Cut all unnecessary expenditures out of your budget (e.g. cable TV, newspaper).
      4. Get input (Proverbs 15:22)
      5. Commit your plan to the Lord (Psalm 127:1-2)
   2. Finish the job (Luke 14:28-30)
      1. Let godly sorrow lead you to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10-11). You must take responsibility for your debt.

QUESTIONS

1. Am I in sinful/foolish debt? If so, why?
2. Am I willing to apply the principles set forth to get out of debt?
3. What will be the hardest thing for me to change to get out of debt?
4. Who do I know that will be able to help me with my plan?

Mat 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. {30} And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Prov 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.

Psa 127:1-2 Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. {2} In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-- for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Luke 14:28-30 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? {29} For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, {30} saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'

2 Cor 7:10-11 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. {11} See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter.