His truck tires threw four clouds of dust which diffused into one as he slid into a parking space in the gravel lot of the church. He ran into the auditorium and ducked into the pew beside his wife and parents. "I finally got someone to work swap with me at the last second," he explained in a whisper. "Told you I'd find a way to be here!"It was their son's and daughter's last theatre production of the year: a grand finale to a series of plays. As the curtain opened, a huge mural portrayed the subject of the play. In the middle, Jesus sternly peered out, pointing his finger into the audience. A quotation bubble from his mouth exclaimed, "I WANT YOU!!!". To the side of the background stood an enormous cross on a hill. Beneath it lay bags of money, cars, houses, and toys, among all kinds of other possessions.Each outstanding act spurned more and more anticipation and energy from the audience's response as the characters were developed by acting out their daily lives. The phone rang to start the conclusion. His daughter, Ally, picked up the phone and heard, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Thank you for your commitment to service. Your reward awaits you in heaven. Now may I speak to Joey?""Joey, it's for you!", Ally relayed excitedly."Take a message, sis. I've got to balance this checkbook tonight.",Joey grumbled."Joey, it's God. He wants to talk to you.""Tell him I'll talk to him in the morning. I've got to finalize these bills. I can't wait to see how much I'm going to clear this month; the business is booming!"Suddenly, his checkbook and bills burst into flames! You could hear God's voice reverberate in deep bass from the speaker phone saying, "Joey, I want you! I want you in the mission field.""God, I can't go right now. I've got too much going on. My paycheck is paying for our mortgage and cars, and my side business, well, you know, takes care of my toys. Besides, I'm happy where I'm at. It seems like everything is starting to come together.", Joey bargained."One thing you lack,", God said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." (Mark 10: 21)"Why me God? Can't someone else go?", Joey reasoned."The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." (Matt. 9: 37)":I wouldn't know how I would get by, or what to do, or what I would say, Lord.", Joey submitted."Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Matt. 10: 19,20)At that, Joey sensed God's calling and fell to his knees. "Lord, you have exposed the power of the world's grasp on me. You have shown me your real purpose for me on this Earth. I take everything I have and lay it at the foot of your cross as a symbol of my commitment as your steward. I will follow you in trust from this point forward." The curtain closed.Pat Morley asks, "If God called you to ministry, could you go? Or would your debts prevent you from going?" In joining the battle for our minds, we must realize that the amount of debt we incur directly relates to our ties to the worldly influences. The pursuit of the good life and the accumulation of wealth can consume our energies to the point where we are ineffective and unavailable for God's work. Although there is no Biblical command against debt, it is discouraged because of the grip it can have on our lives. "...the borrower is servant to the lender." (Prov. 22: 7) Also going into debt allows us to purchase things to give us significance and pretend to be someone we are not. "Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food." (Prov. 12: 9) And Proverbs 13: 7 says, "One man pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth." We must be persistent to use wisdom to fight off debt's powerful addiction.On the other hand, saving is encouraged. Since we have the responsibility to provide for our immediate families, we can be confident in being obedient to save little by little for retirement. "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has." (Prov. 21: 20) Also, there is comfort in earning little by little instead of diving into a "get rich quick" scheme. "...He who gathers money little by little makes it grow." (Prov. 13: 11)God commands us to give a tithe back to Him to further His work and to show obedience through gratitude for the blessings we have received. This is God's ten percent, not men's. If we are disciplined to be consistent in giving back to God what's His, He promises to bless us at least spiritually, if not physically. We can know that there is something special about giving that we should all seek God's heart for. It is interesting that many of the scripture references about money are found in Proverbs. Since this is the book of wisdom, it follows that we must acquire wisdom to handle our monies according to God's will.Giving humbly helps to take "self" out of the picture. That, coupled with prayer and searching the scriptures, prepares us to fall right into the center of God's will for our lives, available for His service. So let's make an honest effort to enact by wisdom the Four Pillars of Financial Strength: save ten percent, earn little by little. give ten percent, and be careful with debt. To God be the glory.Next week: Part Four: Solving Our Time Problems;
Decisions: How to Make the Right Choice..