Stimulus Funds?

Intro:
The stimulus funds look like a bad idea on the surface. How can we justify spending $1 trillion to “boost the economy”? How can we spend $1 trillion we do not have? To take on that kind of debt is a guarantee of increased taxes for generations. Our kids, kids, kids will be paying for this “boost”. I don’t know about you but that scares me.

To go into debt and presume on the future is not wise. To lay this burden on our children is not good. At a “Tea Party” rally recently an older, black man wore a t-shirt that said, “Abraham Lincoln freed my great grandfather …. Obama is enslaving my grandkids.” I certainly hope he is wrong but conventional wisdom and the Scriptures would support that t-shirt.

Here’s conventional wisdom:

"I contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle."

Winston Churchill

Here’s Scripture:

Read: Proverbs 22:1-7
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches;
to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.
2 Rich and poor have this in common:
The LORD is the Maker of them all.
3 A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.
4 Humility and the fear of the LORD
bring wealth and honor and life.
5 In the paths of the wicked lie thorns and snares,
but he who guards his soul stays far from them.
6 Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
7 The rich rule over the poor,
and the borrower is slave to the lender.

Think:
The proverbs of the OT are filled with perspective and wisdom. There is much in these verses to teach us how to live. Knowledge is knowing what to do. Wisdom is doing it.

What does this passage say to us about money and debt?
1. Character is more valuable than money (v.1)
2. Money is a outgrowth of walking with God in humility (v.4)
3. Our children will walk in our true values (v.6)
4. Debt is slavery (v.7)

When we consider the decisions we are making as a nation, when we consider the “stimulus package”, if we can get past the politics, a question of wisdom remains. Is it wise to go into debt? Is it wise to spend what we do not have in order to gain what we cannot get?

If you are a typical American then you are either in debt or have been. We paid off our credit cards a year ago. It was hard work! But there was a real freedom. Cutting up your credit cards (what Dave Ramsey calls a “plastictomy”) is an awesome feeling of freedom.

Do: Get out of debt!
Spiritually:

Our debt to God was great due to our sin. It was a debt we could never repay. Jesus paid that price by dying on the cross for us. He paid the tax due for our over spending, over sinning lifestyles. Praise God for that today!

Financially:

It looks like we cannot personally change the course our country is taking. We are going to spend ourselves into further slavery. You, however, can be different in your home.

Will you cut up those credit cards? Will you double your efforts to pay them down? It takes ruthlessness! You cannot cut yourself any slack! Say no to going out. Do not upgrade the TV. You do not NEED a riding lawn mower! You do not NEED to change your car. Make some hard choices regarding your spending so you can dedicate more to your debt.

You might consider this any way because you will need the extra money to pay your future taxes!

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