I realize that the TV show Saturday Night Live has never been known for deep spiritual insights but let me set up a clip for you that quickly gets to the heart of our message for this morning. The scene begins with a couple, with Steve Martin as the husband, sitting at a kitchen table discussing their money problems and wondering how they will ever pay their bills. Then a spokesperson steps in and offers help with a new book called, "Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford!" They struggle trying to understand this radical and revolutionary concept. Finally they get it and the spokesperson says, "The advice is priceless and the book is free".

I know it sounds simple but the best way to avoid the debt trap is "Don’t buy stuff you cannot afford!" That simple principle is one that we as Americans refuse to believe. Today the United States is the richest country in the world but at the same time our two trillion dollar consumer debt is more than any other nation in the world. This has resulted in our standard of living continuing to decline as our consumer debt rises. On average each family in the U.S. has approximately $13,000 in consumer debt. Others have much higher amounts, which has resulted in bankruptcies being at an all time high. It is tragic that one half of all marriages end in divorce but even worse that the Number One cause is financial pressure. I don’t have to tell you that the housing market crisis can be blamed in part on our culture’s inability to follow the simple principle: "Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford!"

Let’s be honest, those statistics seem remote to us because even though we may be one of "those" people "they" talk about, it is hard to admit that we have been caught in the debt trap. When you are caught in the debt trap there is a feeling of desperation that can absolutely choke the life out of you. It steals your joy and it robs your peace. That’s why this morning’s message is so important for anyone who is caught in the debt trap. God doesn’t want you to live in the bondage of debt as a believer. He wants you to be free in order to bless you and bless others through you. So this morning we are going to examine one of Jesus’ most significant parables and see how it is an example of how we get caught in the debt trap and how we can get out. Then along the way we are going to look at some other verses that speak to the issues we find in this magnificent story of The Prodigal Son.

I need you to understand that I didn’t grow up with a lot of positive teaching about debt. In fact my Dad had a saying, "Don’t tell me how much it costs, just tell me what the payments are." I remember going to the store with my Mom and hearing her say, "Just put it on my ticket." That was the way my parents lived and that unwise model has from time to time demonstrated itself in my own life. But that’s why I am so anxious to share this message with you today. You can learn from the mistakes of others but, even more, you can hear God’s voice through his word teaching you how you can be free. You need to know that if you are caught in the debt trap that there is grace for a way out and there are practical principles that can help you spend the rest of your life in a God-honoring way.

So let’s get started by asking the question: How do we get in the debt trap? (Luke 15:11-14). The parable of the Prodigal Son is a beautiful story about God’s grace for a person who is lost to a saving relationship with their heavenly Father. Yet there are some very clear applications for us regarding how we can get caught in the debt trap. There are five that I want us to look at very quickly.

First, we can get caught in the debt trap when we overestimate the importance of wealth (Luke 15:12). In our story the younger son wanted his father’s money, his inheritance, more than he wanted his father’s love and the relationship he had with him. He had bought the lie that if he only had money he would be free and be truly happy. That same lie is one that we are constantly bombarded with in our culture. One wealthy person said, "Whoever said money can’t buy happiness doesn’t know where to shop."

Proverbs 23:4 gives us God’s perspective on wealth: "Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Restrain yourself. Riches disappear in the blink of an eye, wealth sprouts wings and flies into the wild blue yonder." (Msg). It’s not wrong for us to possess things. God desires to give you and me the things we need. The problem comes when we buy the lie that having more things will make us happier and it just isn’t true. I know you know this but the reason you are in the mess you are in financially is because you bought the lie that stuff makes us happy. You wanted more things than you wanted more satisfaction with things God has already supplied.

Second, we get into the debt trap by yielding to instant gratification (Luke 15:12). Notice what the younger son told his father: "I want my share of the estate now, instead of waiting until you die." He felt that whatever was going to come to him later was not worth waiting for and he had to have it now. Once upon a time "in a galaxy far, far away" people did crazy things like saved up money and then bought something. As shocking as it sounds, that used to be normal. Now normal is to get whatever it is I feel I deserve now regardless of what it will cost me later. My needs must be satisfied now!

I’m not going to ask you to raise your hands but how many of you have bought something you knew you couldn’t afford and when you got it you really didn’t want it and now you are still paying for it? We see something and believe that having it now will satisfy me, complete this craving inside of me. We ignore the words of Jesus in Luke 12:15, "Beware, don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have for real life and real living are not related to how rich we are." Yielding to the need for instant gratification and satisfaction will lead us straight into the debt trap.

Next, we can get into the debt trap through self-destructive behavior (Luke 15:13). Jesus continues the story by telling how the younger son left home with his money and his stuff and when he got where he was going, "he wasted all his money on wild living." Now I realize that this doesn’t include everyone who is caught in the debt trap but it does happen more often than we want to admit. "Wild living" is a sinful lifestyle that ultimately costs you more than you are willing to pay. Sin might bring you immediate pleasure and reduce your pain or meet a need but it is going to cost you. Part of the pain of sin is the financial price tag placed on you or your family. It can be addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, food, shopping or gambling. The list goes on and on. Our self-destructive behaviors can cost us spiritual, physical, emotional and financial pain. Proverbs 23:21 says, "Drunks and gluttons will end up on skid row, in a stupor and dressed in rags." (Msg.) You can still be wearing designer shirts but your "wild living" has trapped you and robbed your freedom.

Fourth, and this is where most of us get caught; we get caught in the debt trap by spending more than we earn. (Luke 15:14). The younger son started out with plenty of money but finally "his money ran out." He had spent more than he had and it caught up with him. Again, "once upon a time" people didn’t use credit. Credit was something for the privileged and was backed by savings or collateral. In fact there was a time that when you used credit it was viewed as something regretful; now it is expected. Almost every day I get a notice that I am "pre-approved" for credit. I am "pre-approved" to chain myself to debt for the rest of my life if I’ll just sign on the line! The Bible challenges us on our overextending ourselves financially. "The wicked borrow and never repay…." (Psalm 37:21) When we spend more than we earn, spend more than we have, and are unable to repay it, we are violating God’s principles for wise living. That’s how we get caught in the debt trap.

Finally, we get caught in the debt trap by being unprepared for the storms of life (Luke 15:14). At the same time the younger son’s money ran out "a great famine swept over the land and he began to starve." His resources were gone when he needed them the most and he found himself starving, living and eating with pigs. He was totally unprepared for the storms that can come in life. Proverbs 27:12 says, "A prudent person foresees the danger ahead and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences." The Bible makes it clear that we need to be prepared for the storms and dangers that come in life. The reality is that we don’t prepare and that is where we get caught in the debt trap. I realize that there are some storms that can hit us financially that we can’t prepare for fully. It doesn’t matter how much savings or insurance you may have, there are some storms that you can’t plan for ahead of time. Yet that doesn’t excuse us from the fact that most people have no emergency or contingency plan for the storms that come. When we are unprepared for storms, the debt trap is where we find ourselves.

Getting out of the debt trap starts with acknowledging the reality of where you are (Luke 15:15-17). With no money, no food and living in a way that no human should live, Jesus said, "He finally came to his senses" (v. 17). Those simple words are a miracle in and of themselves because it is no guarantee that regardless of how messed up someone’s life is that they will come to their "senses." This is true of any problem but especially of problems with financial failure. We just don’t want to admit that things are as bad as they are. Unless we do admit that we are where we are and that things are as bad as they are we will never get out of the debt trap.

Proverbs 22:7 says, "The poor are always ruled over by the rich, so don’t borrow and put yourself under their power." The cruel thing about debt is that it binds and chains our freedom and our future. We want to have financial freedom. We want to be free to give to God’s kingdom. We want to do all these things but we can’t because someone else and something else rules us. I’ve been there and so have most of you. If you ever want to be free it starts with admitting you are bound. Acknowledging the reality of where you are is the first step to get out of the debt trap.

Once you have acknowledged the reality of where you are, you must develop a plan of action (Luke 15:17-19). In verses 17-19, the son has finally stopped his denial and makes a plan to get out of his place of failure. He says, "I will go home to my father…."He even rehearses a confession to his father admitting his sin and his desire for reconciliation. His facing reality was followed by a plan of action. Every significant event in your life requires a decisive plan of action. That is especially true with our being in the debt trap. The Bible says, "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty (Prov. 21:5). You need a plan of action, a plan of attack, if you are ever going to get out of the debt trap.

Now I don’t have time in this message to tell you what your plan should be. However, let me offer to you two things: First, we have a seminar next Saturday called "Money Map Live" that will take you through the steps of a good solid action plan. This one-day seminar will tell you how to start an emergency savings and spending plan, become debt free, pay off consumer debt, save for major purchases, start investing and get set for your future. The price is less than the interest you are paying for the debt you have. Second, we have people that we can set you up with confidentially who can help you but you have to ask. Call me, call Ross Burton, just let us know and we’ll help you find the help you need. You have got to have a plan of action if you are going to get out of the debt trap.

Thirdly, getting out of the debt trap is something that must start immediately (Luke 15:20). The Bible says that after he had rehearsed his confession, "And he got up and came to his father…." (v. 20 NASV) He didn’t put it off. He got up immediately. Proverbs 6:10 says, "A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit…." The longer you put off a decision to get out of the debt trap the worse it will get. It doesn’t matter how far down you are, you owe it to yourself. You owe it to your family. You owe it to God to get out of the debt trap. If you are trapped hard, don’t give up. It took you some time to get where you are and it’s going to take time to get out. Don’t let the hole you are in blind you to the light above—start now!

There’s one last thing and this is the most crucial of all. It’s this: Humbly ask for God’s help (Luke 15:20b-21). When the son made the decision to come home, he discovered that his father had been waiting for him all the time. It says, "And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him." That is the way God feels about us regardless of what has kept us away from him. Just as the son admitted he couldn’t face life without his father’s love, so you need to admit you can’t face the debt trap without God’s help. You can do all of the things we have mentioned but if you don’t ask for God’s help you have cut yourself off from the one source you can’t survive without.

You may feel ashamed, embarrassed and foolish. You think, "God didn’t do this. I did this." It doesn’t matter, God is not interested in who is to blame; he just wants you to be free. It all starts with you humbly asking for his help. Now you need to understand that he is going to start with the real issue of your debt, which is your failure to be content with what you have. Hebrews 13:5 says, "Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have." That’s our real problem—contentment. Yet the verse continues: "…God has assured us, ‘I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you.’" God is in it to the very end if you will just ask for his help.

If you have noticed, MasterCard has come up with several commercials that present a variety of problems that can, they claim, be solved with MasterCard. At the end of each commercial they have the word, "Priceless." Now let me pose another version of that for those who find themselves in the debt trap:

• Thinking stuff will make me happy: bondage and pain
• Spending more than I have: frustration and guilt
• Being unprepared for the future: fear and failure
• Embracing the truth that God is enough: Priceless

"There are some things money can’t buy. For financial freedom, there’s grace.

Today there are plenty of people who need grace today because they are caught in the debt trap. Wherever you are, regardless of how deeply you are caught, you need to be free from the debt trap. Maybe you need to pray: "God, I just need some help here. I need to learn contentment. I want to walk free with my life. God, I want to be able to say to you that I believe that you are enough for me. I want to say to you that above everything else, I just want you, and if I have you then I’ll get a proper perspective on the rest of this stuff and the rest of the lies that people want me to believe. I believe that today I can begin the first steps toward freedom from the trap of debt." Will you pray that today? It’s the only thing that’s priceless!

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org