For All The Music, History, Literature, and General Studies Majors Out There

As one who has a BA in religion, this comical video rang quite true.

"Think of the risks we haven’t taken because we took all our risks out with interest years ago."

Kevin DeYoung:

I love the emphasis in our day on doing hard things. I love the passion for a big God and big causes. I love the gospel-centered enthusiasm and idealism. But more often than not new dreams don’t come true without old-fashioned virtues like temperance, frugality, and hard work. Heartfelt passion won’t change the world. But passion plus prudence plus perseverance just might.

So if you are serious about carrying your cross and giving your all to Jesus, you should take more seriously paying down all that you owe. I don’t think all debt is wrong. We have a mortgage. We’ve had student loans and car payments too. But for the sake of the gospel we have to keep whacking away at all we owe. If you want to be a radical Christian, try making a budget and living within your means. Think of all the missions money tied up in credit card debt? Think of the workers not being trained, not being hired, and not being sent out because we’ve squandered our American inheritance on easy credit. Think of the risks we haven’t taken because we took all our risks out with interest years ago. He is no fool who works hard to repay what he’s already lost so that he might serve the One he cannot out-give.

Read the rest. 


Books by Kevin DeYoung:

• The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness
• Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
• What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission
• The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism
• Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion

Who is Coming to Thanksgiving?

John Piper:

There is in every human heart a terrible and powerful tendency to live by the law of earthly repayment, the law of reciprocity. There is a subtle and relentless inclination in our flesh to do what will make life as comfortable as possible and to avoid what will inconvenience us or agitate our placid routine or add the least bit of tension to our Thanksgiving dinner. The most sanctified people among us must do battle every day so as not to be enslaved by the universal tendency to always act for the greatest earthly payoff.

The people who lightly dismiss [Luke 14:12–14] as a rhetorical overstatement are probably blind to the impossibility of overstating the corruption of the human heart and its deceptive power to make us think all is well when we are enslaved to the law of reciprocity, the law which says: always do what will pay off in convenience, undisturbed pleasures, domestic comfort, and social tranquility. Jesus's words are radical because our sin is radical. He waves a red flag because there is destruction ahead for people governed by the law of reciprocity.

Why does it make such an eternal difference whom you invite to Thanksgiving dinner? It is not so much that this one afternoon is all-determining. The reason it makes an eternal difference is that it, along with many other occasions, reveals where our treasure is. Is Jesus, with his commands and promises, more valuable to us than tradition and convenience and earthly comfort? Is he our treasure or is the world?

That question is not decided during an invitation at church. It is decided at Thanksgiving dinner, and hour by hour every day, by whether we are willing to inconvenience ourselves for those who can't repay, or whether we avoid them and so preserve our placid routine.

It matters whom you invite to Thanksgiving dinner because it matters where your treasure is.

Read the rest.

Student Load Debt is Unsustainable

Get the book here.


(HT: Denny Burk)

Adopt Without Debt

Dan Cruver:

Dave Ramsey recently interviewed Julie Gumm about her excellent new book,Adopt Without Debt: Creative Ways to Cover the Cost of Adoption. 

Read highlights from the interview. 

Julie will be doing a breakout at our October 21-22 conference in Phoenix: Creative Fundraising for Your Adoption.

Ramsey Has a Word For Greece

Dave Ramsey breaks down the financial situation in Greece.  It's not that hard to figure out.  Click here to read and listen.  From the article:

Dave Ramsey — radio personality, author and personal finance guru — has a few words of advice for Greece.

Because, really, how different is Greece from a family who owes more than it earns? It's just that in this case, the family issues bonds instead of using a credit card. And it makes $343 billion per year and owes $405 billion.

Dave Ramsey says Greece needs to have a fiscal awakening before it can start to pull itself out of debt.

"Let's just put that in perspective," Ramsey says. "This is a guy making $100,000 a year who owes $150,000 in credit card debt." 

Read the rest.  

Jim Elliff on Debt

Jim Elliff:

It is a sad proverb, but so true: "The borrower becomes the lender’s slave" (Prov. 22:7).

Tossing and turning through the night, the heavy borrower is a depressed soul. He dresses with striped prison clothes every morning and lugs his shackles to work—that job that offers so little hope for setting him free. He dreads the coming of the mail, and has few waking hours without remorse. Serious debtors crave freedom, but often, sadly, borrow even more in their desperate attempt to shake open their prison door. The overwhelmed debtor is fawning toward his lender, but despises him for all his generosity.

I once knew a man, a very godly man, who owed about a million dollars. He was forever at the bank working out this and that deal. It was a huge burden from one week to the next, taking a mammoth amount of his time and "worry" capital, even though he attempted to do things as correctly as possible. His bondage promised to be never-ending. Is this what life is to be about?

Finally, through some discussions together and a lot of meditating, God opened my friend’s eyes to see the immense value of being completely out of debt in both his business and personal life. He had always thought that could not be possible. But it was. It was a light that guided him over the next few years until he arrived at the desired end. He thought of this "awakening" as one of the seminal events in his life. And God has blessed him for it so much that he is now able to be an extremely generous giver for many significant Christian causes. His shackles are forever removed.

Read the rest.

Maxed Out

You want to know why there is all the gloom and doom in our economy right now? Maxed Out will give you a bit of a clue as to why.

You should see this documentary. My wife and I watched it last night and both found it very interesting. It falls short of telling the truth about the source of the problem (that most people operate with a kindergarten like need for instant gratification, our family did up until a few years ago) and places all the blame on the snake-like credit card companies (which is what they are). Even though the diagnosis falls short of curing the real problem (people's greed), it's still a great movie to watch.

You can find it here on Netflix.

You want to get your money in order? Check out Dave Ramsey.