How Can I Get Rich Quick?

Money and finance has been on most people’s minds over the last 6 to 8 months as we have faced the credit crunch and more recently MP’s extravagant expenses claims – all of which has come about as a result of people’s greed, the desire to get rich quick, living beyond our means.

The credit crunch and its devastating world wide effects all started with the great chiefs of global finance in Wall Street, Canary Wharf, the City of London and other places like Hong Kong – trying the make a quick buck out of the poorest of people; irresponsibly lending them more money than they had the resources to repay.   And over recent days we have been bombarded with the details of tax payers paying for moats to be cleaned and subsidising property speculation by our MPs – of all parties.

We can all sit back and condemn the greed and foolhardiness of the world’s financiers, the folly of those entering into crippling debt and the blatant immorality of our MPs – but are we not in reality looking at mirrors when we see these people’s photos in the newspapers or on our television screens.  Isn’t it true that something inside each one of us shares that greed and wants to get rich quick and, given the opportunities these people have had, may well have been tempted to do exactly the same as they?

Let’s not be too quick to condemn and remember Jesus’ words to the self-righteous who wanted to stone the woman caught in adultery – “let him who is without sin caste the first stone”.

John is going to read now from Matt 6:19 – it’s on page 10 at the back of the pew bibles – it is Jesus speaking about riches.

Matthew 6:19-24

Jesus reminds us that it is more important to have treasures in heaven than on earth. On earth our treasures can be destroyed or stolen just as we have seen through the credit crunch’s effect on investment and house prices.  Jesus says we cannot put both God and money first in our lives – we have to choose, and what we put first is what we really care about.

Later in Matt 6 Jesus says, “Don’t worry... Your heavenly Father already knows what you need, and He will give it to you if you will give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to.” 

I am going to share with you five steps to financial freedom I read in material by Rick Warren from Saddleback Church that really speaks into this subject and reflects my experience.

Proverbs 3:6 (LB) says “In everything you do, put God first and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.” 

Whatever you want God to bless in your life dedicate it to Him. If you want God to bless your marriage, dedicate your marriage to God. If you want God to bless your kids, dedicate your kids to God. If you want God to bless your career, dedicate your career to God. If you want God to bless your finances, your money, dedicate your money to God. Whatever is dedicated to God, He blesses.

Paul wrote in Romans (12:1 Mess) “Take your everyday, ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering.” 

Pray a dedication prayer, a formal pray if you’ve never done this.   If you’re married do it with your husband or wife. If you have a family do it with your kids. Hold hands around the table and say,

“God, we want to dedicate our finances to You because we want You to bless it. We know it all comes from You in the first place. We know that You are the source of everything. We would have nothing without You. We know that we don’t really own anything. We just get to use it while we’re alive on this earth. It was here before we were here and it’s going to be here afterwards and we don’t really own anything. Father, You own it all. It’s just on loan to us. We’re not owners. We’re managers, stewards. And God, we want You to bless our lives. So we dedicate whatever You choose to give to us, we dedicate it to You.”

2. Give the first part back to God.

This is the principle of tithing which means giving the first ten- percent back to God in gratitude and in faith. Proverbs 3:9-10 (LB) “Honour the Lord by giving Him the first part of all your income, and He will fill your barns… to overflow!”   

He says I'll take care of all your needs if you put Me first. God says the first ten-percent of all you make comes back to Me. So why does God say, “do this”? Because He wants what it represents, your heart. He wants you to be unselfish. 

We tithe for three reasons: gratitude for the past – God has blessed me with everything, priorities of the present – it says, “God, You’re number one in my life,” and faith in the future – “God, You’ve promised to take care of me if I do what You say and I’m going to depend on You.”

“The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God first in your lives.” (Deut 14:23 LB)   Jackie and I have sought to hold to this principle since we married - to put God first in our finances. So before anybody else gets paid, God gets paid first.  

You pay God first, you pay yourself second and then you pay your bills. Why? That’s what God says to do. It’s the way to financial freedom. You say, “I can’t afford to tithe.”  If we can’t afford to tithe ten percent, then we’re spending too much money.   Jan Wilding shared something of this with us back in February – her video testimony is still on the web site if you missed it. 

Do you want God's blessing on your finances? Do you want to get out of debt? First, you dedicate it all to God. Second, you give the first ten percent back to God. Third...

3. Save for the future

This is hard, particularly when we see interest rates so low, but saving isn’t just about earning interest, it is about having resources set aside for when we need them.

I was challenged by this quote by John D. Rockefeller who was at the time the wealthiest man in the world and president of Standard Oil in America. He was asked, “What is the secret of your prosperity?” He said this. “Tithe ten percent, save ten percent and live on the rest.” 

It doesn’t have to be a lot, but you have to be intentional about saving with a regular savings plan. You pay God first and you pay yourself second, before you start paying all your bills. In Proverbs 21:20 God gives us His IQ test. “The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” (LB) 

Too many of us are living for today, we’re keeping up with the Jones’ including their debt! 

This little question that will dramatically increase your savings ability if you’ll ask it every time you start to buy something. “Do I really have to have this?”   

“Money that comes easily disappears quickly, but money that is gathered little by little will grow.” (Prov 13:11 NCV)  It’s consistency that makes savings grow. You don’t have to be saving enormous amounts just consistency – little by little. It starts adding up. 

God says if you want My blessing you must save for the future.  

These principles must be done in order. You pay God first. You pay yourself second. Then you set up a plan to repay your debt. If you say, “I’m going to wait until I’m out of debt until I start saving and tithing.”   You’ll never get out of debt because you’re not doing it God's way. Repay what you owe.

Proverbs 3:27 says, “Don’t withhold repayment of your debts.” Romans 13:8 says, “Let no debt remain outstanding.” 

I read this quote the other day. “Most of us would be willing to pay as we go if we could just finish paying for where we’ve been.” That’s true. Sometimes just a few bad decisions in life set you up for problems for the rest of your life. 

There are some debts that are unavoidable like for housing or a car but we should never overextend ourselves and only borrow what we have the means to repay over a planned period. Any purchases on credit cards or store cards must be paid off each month or the interest will run away with you.

The two greatest causes of debt are definitely in your control...

The Bible says the greatest cause of debt is not planning my spending. Proverbs 21:5 says, “Plan carefully and you will have plenty, if you act too quickly, you will never have enough.” 

Financial freedom is not based on how much you make but on how you spend it. If you think a little bit more money is going to solve all your problems you’re wrong. 

God says, “Plan carefully and you will have plenty.” Then God says, “If you act too quickly you will never have enough.” He’s talking here about impulse buying.  When you buy without thinking. We’ve all done it. And you buy it on your card or on account and then you’re in debt and you go, “Why in the world did I do that?”

Most ads, in fact our entire consumer economy, is built on teaching you to do impulsive buying.  You just buy it instead of thinking about it and planning ahead. There is one word that some of us just can’t resist. Sale. 

If you see the word “sale” you’re thinking, “How much am I saving?” You’re not saving anything. You’re spending. 

If you want to break the habit of impulse buying which is what gets most of us in debt, buying without thinking about it, you need to budget.  A budget is simply planned spending - telling your money where you want it to go rather than wondering where it went.  That’s the first reason we get in debt. We don’t plan our spending.

The second reason we get in debt is not keeping good records. Proverbs 27:23-24 says, “Riches can disappear fast…so watch your business interests closely. Know the state of your flocks and herds.” 

You’ve got to know where it’s going. You’ve got to keep track of your finances. You must be aware of how you use your money. People say “I just don’t know where it goes!” If you don’t know where it goes, you’re already in trouble. Ignorance plus easy credit equals disaster. 

Be realistic. How much in debt are we? Most marriages get into trouble because one of the two spouses is kept in the dark about finances. You need to write it down - keep good records. You have to stop living in denial about how in debt you really are. 

If you want God to bless your finances put God first. You dedicate it all to God. You give the first part back to God. Then you start saving. You pay God first and you pay yourself second. Then you set up a plan to pay off your debts. You start keeping good records, start planning your spending.

Then the fifth one. If you ignore this you won’t do the first four. The fifth principle in God's financial plan is...

This is the principle of contentment. If you don’t learn contentment you will never stick with the first four principles. Ecclesiastes 6:9 says, “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to always be wanting something else.”

So many people are so busy getting more they, do not have time to enjoy what they already have. 

Our children don’t need more things. They need parents. They need you. They need your time. They don’t need the latest gadget or trainers. We rationalize this hectic, hurried, lifestyle where everybody’s working as fast as they can to make ends meet and say, “It’s only temporary.” Who are you kidding? It is not temporary. 

So you’re always going to be wanting more and more and more and you’re never going to be catching up. About the time you figure out that doesn’t work, the kids are going to be gone. 

Things are going to settle down, when you choose to make them settle down. That is a choice of values. 

If it means to downsize your home or whatever, so be it. There are some things that are more important than possessions. Like your health and like your family and like relationships and love and other things that really matter. 

God uses money to test your spiritual maturity. Jesus talked more about money than He did either heaven or hell. He said, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” (Luke 16:11 NIV) 

How you manage your money influences how much God can bless your life.

If you’re feeling the pressure of your finances, if you find yourself arguing about bills, if you’re spending it all and saving nothing, that is a symptom of a deeper spiritual problem.  Out of control finances are a symptom of an out of control life. You need two things. 

First, you need to truly put Jesus first in your life. And you need to commit your finances, your relationships and everything else to Him to manage. 

Second, you need to settle this issue of trust once and for all. Are you going to trust God to take care of you? Are you going to trust God enough to do the five things He tells you to do? Whatever you trust for security is your god – “where your heart is there is your treasure also”.