Radio Seminar: Financial Bondage 1/2
Q&A: Family Finances
SCAM Alert: “Emergency Scam”
Minute with Maxwell: “Fear”
(UNEDITED TRANSCRIPT)
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Financial Freedom God’s Way, This is where you can learn, apply, and pass on, Bible-based financial principles and applications so that you and your family will not only just survive, but can thrive even during these very uncertain times.
This is Bob Louder from Christian Financial Ministries, and it is an absolute honor to have you with us—it really is. Now, what is going to be on our schedule for our 30-minute time together today?
- First, during your radio seminar, you will get your first look at what is called “financial bondage.” You are going to discover what it is, and begin to discover how to avoid it.
- You will hear a couple of responses to a great couple of listener questions about finances in the family.
- The you will learn about the “emergency scam” that is going around. And finally,.
- John Maxwell will wrap us up with his thoughts on the word Fear.
Now, as we start, let me mention this to you. Financial Freedom God’s Way radio has been on the air, three times each weekend, for 126 consecutive weeks. Oh my goodness—praise the Lord! Throughout this almost 2 ½ years, the Lord is continuing to grow our listener base. So much so we now prayerfully asking the Lord to bring a limited number of local FFGW radio sponsors. So, if you would like to help sponsor this program, would you please either give me a call at 678-386-2640 or drop my an email by way of our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org.
Now, stay tuned, for some great Bible-based financial principles and applications you can use. It is going to be a great learning time together. As we start, let me pray for us. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the opportunity You are giving us to study your word together. Would You please quicken our minds and soften our hearts to receive what Your Spirit has for us today. Lord, we want to know you better and in knowing you better we want to love you deeper, and in loving you deeper we want to obey Your Word. Please help us to pay attention to what You have for us today, in Jesus’ Name, amen.
BODY
Radio Seminar
Now, as we begin our Radio Seminar time together, I want to welcome to Financial Bondage—well not actual financial bondage, but I do want to welcome back to learn about financial bondage so you can get rid of it if you have it, and keep it away for the rest of your life.
My friend, just as God will use the material areas of your life to enhance and direct your life, so too the devil will try to use the material areas of your life shackle you and destroy your life. That is why for the last few weeks you discovered the ways that God will and will not use money and the other material areas of your life, to help shape your life.
However, if you missed these last couple of weeks or you need a good review, not to fear, you can simply go to our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org to re-listen to or get a copy of the program transcripts. As the matter of fact, for today, even if you are where you can take notes—don’t do it. Just prayerfully listen then head back to the website to check out today’s recording and transcript.
Now, the point so far is that God is at the heart of financial bondage—He really is. He is right there—He is right there with you, to tell you what He WILL do and what He WILL NOT do so you can prayerfully choose to identify and replace all the “wont dos” with the “will dos.”
This time, what I want you to do, is to keep your focus on God as you consider what happens if you choose—listen, if you choose to use your wealth in ways that are not pleasing to God. If you make that choice, you are choosing to place yourself into what is called financial bondage.
So, let’s take a look–let’s take a look at Financial Bondage from a biblical perspective—from a biblical point of view. And in order to be able to do that,
- First of all you will learn the definition of financial bondage.
- Then, you will discover the symptoms–the underlying problems or causes of financial bondage, and finally
- You will learn what you can do to get rid of financial bondage once and for all.
And remember my friend,
- Before you can move to spiritual higher ground in the area of your personal finances, you must first learn to recognize and resolve some of the ungodly financial issues in your life.
- You need to learn to recognize the negative aspects of financial bondage before you can even hope to move in the direction of financial freedom.
- So again, we’re going to start with the negative then move to the positive. We will start with financial bondage, and then move to financial freedom.
Financial bondage: What exactly is financial bondage?
- Very simply, financial bondage it is much more an attitude more than a condition.
- It is when you choose to focus on wealth, even wealth according to God’s definition, it is when you focus on anything or anyone else above your relationship with God. And remember, wealth according to God’s definition includes far more than just the cash in your pocket, or your checking and savings accounts. Yes it includes all that material stuff but it also includes other material stuff you have in your life such as your home, car, clothes, jewelry, and all the rest. It also includes such things as your time, talents, abilities, and skills. Wealth according to God’s definition includes your relationships–the fact that you are a mom or a dad, a husband or a wife, an employee or an employer. True, all these things deserve your attention—yes they do–however not at the expense of your relationship with God. You are headed in the direction of financial bondage when the material things in your life get in the way of your relationship with God.
- And, it is important to remember that
- You can have lots of money and still be in financial bondage.
- You may not owe anyone, anything and still be in financial bondage.
- What can happen is that you often drift from God’s will, financially, and you may not even realize it. You may drift because of your attitude and your focus, not because of the amount or the value of what you have been given.
- So, what is financial bondage? Financial bondage is an attitude. It is located between your ears. It is the choice you make to set the material areas of your life above your life—your relationship with Jesus.
So that is what financial bondage is, but what does financial bondage look like? What are some of the symptoms of financial bondage? We have already covered these somewhat, but let’s take just another quick look. Let me share with you some of the symptoms of financial bondage…and as I do, see if any of these, some of these, all of these, hit all together to close to home.
- First of all, financial bondage usually results from having too much debt, a preoccupation with wealth, or the misuse of money. These are the most common symptoms of financial bondage—having too much debt, a preoccupation with wealth, or the misuse of money.
- However, there are many more examples of the symptoms of financial bondage. Listen and see if any of these may hit home for you and your family.
- How about worry–uncontrolled anxiety over retirement, job security, old age, or even your overall health? Worry is another symptom of financial bondage.
- Anger is an example of financial bondage. Do you have periodic emotional flare-ups linked to periodic financial flare-ups?—sometimes over what others have or you do not have.
- What about greed? Greed is simply the attitude of always wanting more, the biggest, the best, or what someone else has.
- Resentment: Resentment can be when you blame others for your financial condition. For example, “I didn’t get the job. I didn’t get job because she didn’t like me. Now I can’t pay my bills. It’s her fault I can’t pay my bills.”
- What about self-indulgence? Remember we talked about that–buying things with little or no utility or use.
- Poor recordkeeping: Do you realize that poor record keeping is also a symptom of financial bondage? For example not balancing your checkbook or living on a budget.
- These are also symptom of financial bondage. Let’s review. What are some of the most common symptoms of financial bondage?
- Too much debt
- Too great a focus on gaining wealth
- The misuse of money
- Worry
- Anger
- Greed
- Resentment
- Self-indulgence, and even
- Poor recordkeeping.
My friend, you have now learned, according to the Bible,
- Financial bondage is an attitude that places anything or anyone over your relationship with God.
- And you also just discovered some of the symptoms of financial bondage.
But what are the causes—what are some of the root spiritual problems that can lead you into the symptoms of financial bondage. Let’s take a look. I believe there are three.
- First would be financial ignorance.
- Proverbs 24:3-4 says, “By wisdom a house is build, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”
- Remember
- You get into financial trouble, for the most part, simply because you do not know what God’s Word has to say.
- And you need to remember that it is God’s wisdom and God’s knowledge that you lack and that He promises to give you both of these if you ask—that is what James 1:1 is all about.
- A second cause of financial bondage comes back to your attitude—more specifically, wrong attitudes.
- We see in James 3:16, “For where you have envy and selfish ambitions, there you will find disorder and every evil practice.”
- That means to me, if you have the attitude that says, ”I’ve got to have that thing!” Or, “I truly deserve it!” Then you better watch out, because that is not the attitude of a steward—it is not the attitude of a manager of what belongs to God.
- Financial ignorance, wrong attitudes, and next, Poor planning—poor planning can also help bring about financial bondage.
- Remember that Proverbs 16:9 tells us, “In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Do you remember this verse?
- This is a big problem for quite a few folks in our country today, including quite a few Christians.
- True, this Scripture tells you that no matter how poorly you plan your life, the Lord can choose to make good of it by directing your steps. That’s true.
- However, the Lord does not want mere spectators on His team. He wants participants. He wants you to come down from the stands. He wants you to get into your uniform, get onto the field and into the game.
- He wants you to become involved in short range and long range planning.
So this is financial bondage. You now know what it is, what are some of the symptoms, and some of the underlying problems.
Now, the good news is that if you recognize that you and your family are in, or headed into financial bondage, there are actions you can take—there are actions you can take.
- There are things you can do to get out of financial bondage. There are things you can prayerfully do to avoid financial bondage in the first place.
- Remember, there is hope—there is always hope in Christ.
- Tere are solutions.
- There is a way out.
- 1 Cor 10:13 says: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
- There are ways out. During our next Radio Seminar Time together you will discover four steps—four steps you and your family can take to move away from, even move totally out of and stay out of financial bondage. That’s next time. Don’t miss it.
Q&As
Now, as we move into our Question and Answer time together, I am sure it is no surprise to you that many families today—both Christian families and non-Christian families—maybe even your family–families today struggle with financial issues when it comes to their children.
For example, here is a common question many families ask.
- Bob, should I help my adult son who still lives at home? Although he is still working, he is not helping with any of the household expenses. It seems to me like he is always spending his money and then asking me for help. As a widow, I still have enough money to be able to help him, but I question whether I should.
- Wow, that is a great question. How would you suggest this widow help train her adult son? My advice would be for you to be very cautious. Why would that be? Because I submit, it is going to be possible to cripple your son by helping him too much. If you are going to help him, you need to require some accountability from him. Plus, if your son is wasting his money and getting further in debt and you keep bailing him out, you need to exercise some restraint. On the other hand, if he is incapable of handling his own finances, get someone to work with him very closely such as a volunteer counselor from your church, from Crown Financial Ministries, or from the Dave Ramsey organization. But this financial coach ought not to be just for your son. This financial coach or counselor ought to be for you as well. Talk to the counselor and prayerfully do what he or she suggests. In other words, if the counselor suggests that you continue to help, then continue to help. However, if the counselor says to back off and not help, or not help so much, you must be willing to do that as well. I will tell you from experience, many parents say that they are willing to step back, at least until a hard situation comes up, and then they cave in to the emotional pressure. Remember, God’s Word says that He disciplines those He loves. Sometimes tough love is the best way to help manage this kind of situation. The Bible says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. Be zealous therefore, and repent.” That’s a great word from Rev. 3:19. So, to our widow friend I suggest prayerful caution and get some help.
Now, let’s turn the tables just a bit and consider this question:
- Should I help my mother handle her money? She isn’t handling it very well and is constantly getting into debt and then asking me to help her. I don’t mind helping my mom, I love her, but I wonder if I’m doing the right thing.
- Another great question and another very common situation. What would be your response? How would you respond? I suggest that is a great question and a hard situation. How so? Well, from my personal experience, it is very hard for children to give financial advice to their parents. Mary, perhaps it will be best for you to work through a third party. Perhaps go to your pastor and ask if he or she knows someone in the church who can help your mom better manage her finances. If he does, encourage your mother to meet, ask for, and receive help. Again, if there is no counselor in your church, contact Crown Financial Ministries or the Dave Ramsey organization. Mary, Scripture does command that we are to honor our parents, that is true. However, that does not mean to feed their weaknesses. If your mom is not willing to handle her money properly—especially if she is being frivolous with it—and you continue to help by giving her more of what she clearly can’t manage, you are not helping to solve the problem, you are simply adding to the problem, you are helping to make it worse. A third party—a good financial coach—might be the answer to your situation.
Scam Alert
Ouch, it’s time for another Scam Alert. This time it’s call the “Emergency Scam”
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Minute with Maxwell
Wow, time is really marching right on along…but I want to make sure we have time for our Minute with Maxwell. Recall that John Maxwell is a #1 New York Times bestselling Christian author, coach, and speaker and considered the world’s most influential leadership expert. This is one of my favorite times together, so, today Let’s see what John has to say about the word “Fear.”
Thank you John, that is yet another great Minute With Maxwell. This time he was giving us some words of wisdom about the word fear—that we are not to allow fear to hold us back—that feat stunts our growth, limits our potential, and our fights against our success. Thanks John.
CONCLUSION
Aright then, that just about wraps up our time together for today. Recall,.
- First, during our Radio Seminar time together, you discover a bit about the pain you can experience when you choose violate God’s financial principles—we talked a bit about financial bondage. What did you learn about financial bondage?
- The first thing you saw was that according to the Bible, financial bondage is much more an attitude than an action according to the Bible. You choose to place yourself into financial bondage when you have the attitude that anything or anyone deserves your time and attention more than God. Financial bondage is first and foremost an attitude.
- Then you took a look at some of the symptoms of financial bondage, for example having too much debt, Worry, Anger, Greed, resentment, and self-indulgence. These are all symptoms of financial bondage.
- And you found that there are three of the main problems that lead to financial bondage—what are the three most common causes of financial bondage? Do you remember?
- The first is financial ignorance—you simply do not know what you need to know about what God has to say about money…and recall He has quite a lot to say about money. There are over 3000 different verses in the Bible that talk about money—how to make it, store it, spend it, invest it, give it and on and on. Recall that God spends more time in the Bible, talking about money, than any other single subject except for the subject of love.
- The second most common cause of financial bondage would be your un-Godly attitudes—your “stinkin thinkin” when it comes to money
- And finally, the last major cause of financial bondage is poor planning…God calls you to prayerfully plan the areas of your live to include the financial areas of your life.
- Now, during our next time together you will discover how to keep from getting into financial bondage AND how to get out and stay out of financial bondage.
- During our Question and Answer time together you learned one way to possibly work with an adult child who still lives with his parents, and we had a great question from a daughter that needed advice on how to help her mom handle finances..
- You now know about the Emergency scam and how to avoid it
- And finally, we just had a great Minute with Maxwell all about the word Fear.
My friend, as we close I want to remind you that you can re-listen to or even get a copy of today’s program by simply going to our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org…that’s www.christianfinancialministries.org
And also, finally, if you like what you hear and you would like to become an on-air sponsor our Financial Freedom God’s Way Radio program, please either give me a call at 678-386-2640 or you can contact me through by email through our website at www.christianfinancialministries.org
My friend, thank you for being here today. Now, let me close us out in the same way we started, and that is with a word of prayer. Father, we thank you for bringing us together, and teaching us from your Word again today, and for each of the days to come to Your glory in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Have a blessed rest of your day, won’t you, and we are looking forward to seeing you next time as we continue down your personal road to Financial Freedom God’s Way.
