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| Submitted: Friday, October 9, 2009; 2:56 p.m. print this page ● feedback ● main ALSBOM site |
A couple of years ago, there was a humorous commercial which
caused me to more than just smile. When I first saw it, I
laughed aloud. A man was featured riding an expensive lawn mower
cutting his yard, in this upscale community where he lived. He
stops and looks intently at the camera and says, "I have a
beautiful new home. I have several new automobiles and many of
the luxuries of life. But I am in debt up to my eyeballs.
Somebody please help me."
After viewing the commercial several times, I ceased being
amused by it. It actually was a sad thought to consider. This
man was enslaved to his debt. He was calling out for help from
anyone who could offer assistance. Not long after several
viewings, the commercial was shelved. Was it too negative or was
it too realistic?
About a year later, the financial meltdown happened and, in the
months since that crisis, I have had the picture of that man on
the lawnmower in my mind. People who were on top of the world,
like this man, saw the bottom fall out of their financial lives.
It is a sad story indeed, one which has been reported time and
again in the news.
With the national debt rising to the $12-14 trillion level and
personal debt of Americans at all-time highs, we all are like
the man on the lawnmower begging for some much needed
assistance. Debt has become a big threat to our way of life in
America. The American dream has fast become the American
nightmare.
In the Christian community, financial advisors such as Dave
Ramsay, Ron Blue and the late Larry Burkett have been offering
warnings about this growing problem for years. For instance,
Dave Ramsay, author of Total Money Makeover, has underscored
what he calls a "common myth" about debt, namely that debt is a
tool to create prosperity. That truly is a myth! Just ask the
man on the lawnmower.
In our society, a certain amount of personal debt and, at times,
national debt have become expected. During my lifetime, our
nation has always had a sizable debt. When you are able to print
the money, debt is a different kind of issue. It becomes an easy
way out for politicians to overpromise their constituents and
then pass debt creating legislation to pacify them.
Unless you practice the illegal act of creating counterfeit
money, individuals cannot print dollars for personal use.
Therefore, some diligence and vigilance must be exercised in
controlling debt. Debt can easily become a tool of the Devil to
help diminish the witness and true fulfillment of Christians.
Reportedly, American families spend more than 100 percent of
their annual income. That is illogical, to say the least. This
major tendency causes strains on marriages, which contributes to
a higher divorce rate, even among evangelical Christians.
Churches are feeling the pinch of pressure as well. Christians,
as stewards of all their resources, are now giving less to
churches and other Christian causes than in previous times. This
is a trend which predated the recession but has accelerated in
the last year.
Growing up as a child of parents who endured the Great
Depression, I have always had a fear of debt. Personally, I
sought to live conservatively, not on credit cards or other
forms of debt. As a pastor, I was always concerned about keeping
the church debt manageable for the family of faith. In my
thinking, debt for buildings and other capital improvements
needs to stay well below the 20 percentile of the total budget.
If memory serves me correctly, we never exceeded 16 percent in
the churches I served.
When a church becomes too heavily indebted, missions giving,
church ministries and church staff compensation always suffers.
The morale of the congregation can be adversely affected too. Of
course, you can be too conservative in this practice, and I
admit that I could have been faulted in this area, but the
opposite tendency to become too heavily indebted is a dangerous
situation to confront.
The Great Recession we are experiencing will come to an end. It
probably will take years to overcome the damage done to
businesses, homes and Christian ministries. In the meantime, I
hope we can learn something from the fictional character on the
lawnmower who pleadingly said, "Somebody please help me." May we
learn to live within our means and give beyond our means to the
cause of Christ!
