Oras ng Pag-aaral 1st Qtr. | Pagharap Sa Pagkakautang | Lesson 5

Click the link to SUBSCRIBE https://www.youtube.com/c/HopeChannel... A SUMMARY OF LESSON 5/ 1st Qtr, January 28-February 3, 2023 by Don Leo M. Garilva, DMin DEALING WITH DEBT Memory Text “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7, NKJV).” Psalms 116:12-14, NKJV INTRODUCTION: This week we have considered the REASONS for DEBT and how to deal with it. You may be DEBT-FREE, but you can SHARE this valuable information with FAMILY and FRIENDS who could benefit from it. Here are the THREE POINTS that SUMMARIZE our lesson this week: 1. DEBT’S PROBLEM AND GODLY COUNSEL (SUNDAY & MONDAY) Studies show THREE PRIMARY REASONS why people get into FINANCIAL DIFFICULTY: The FIRST is IGNORANCE. Many people, even the educated, are financially illiterate. The SECONC REASON for financial difficulties is GREED, or selfishness. In response to advertising and personal desire, people simply live beyond their means. The THIRD REASON people find themselves in financial difficulty is personal misfortune. Whatever the reason, even if it’s a person’s own fault, DEBT can be ALLEVIATED. However, those in DEBT will need to make some CHANGES in their LIVES, their spending, and their financial priorities. In 1 TIM. 6:6, 9 PAUL is saying that we need to heed: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. . . . And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Further, we are MATERIAL BEINGS, and we live in a MATERIAL WORLD, a world that, at times, can be very alluring. Though we all face it, there is NOTHING WRONG in working hard to EARN a LIVING or even in being wealthy. None of us has to succumb to the TRAP of making IDOLS out of MONEY, wealth, and material possessions. We are promised DIVINE POWER to stay faithful to what we know is right. Though expressed differently, MATT. 6:24 and 1 JOHN 2:15 have a common theme found in both of these verses—the LOVE of the WORLD. Unfortunately, the LOVE of the WORLD can be so strong that people will get into DEBT in order—as they hope—to satisfy that love. 2. DEBT, SURETY, AND GET-RICH-QUICK SCHEMES (TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY) PROVERBS 22:7. Tells us that the BORROWER is servant of the LENDER. How can we escape from this phenomenon? Here is a plan on how to help us begin a DEBT-REDUCTION PROCESS. It has a premise and a three-step process. The premise is a commitment to God to be faithful in returning His holy TITHE to access His wisdom and blessing (MAL. 3:10). STEP 1 is to declare a MORATORIUM on additional DEBT. STEP 2 is to make a COVENANT with GOD that from this point on, as He blesses, you will PAY OFF your debts as quickly as possible. This step is probably the MOST CRUCIAL. STEP 3 is the hands-on PRACTICAL PART. Make a list of all your debts, from the largest to the smallest, in descending order. Begin by making at least the minimum payment due on each of your debts on a MONTHLY BASIS. Also, in PROVERBS (PROV. 6:1-5; 17:18, and 22:26), the Lord has warned us AGAINST SURETY—that is, CONSIGNING or being guarantor for ANOTHER PERSON. SURETY usually occurs when a person with poor credit seeks a loan from a LENDING INSTITUTION and does not qualify for the loan. The loan officer will tell the unqualified person that if he or she will GET A FRIEND with good credit to CONSIGN with him or her, then the bank will grant the loan and hold the cosigner responsible in the event of a default. STUDIES SHOW that 75 PERCENT of those who CONSIGNED end up making the PAYMENTS! In addition, GET-RICH-QUICK schemes are another FINANCIAL TRAP; they are almost guaranteed to lead to FINANCIAL RUIN for those who get caught up in them. These TEXTS give us the WARNING (PROV. 28:20 and 1 TIM. 6:9, 10). So, when it sounds too good to be true, it surely is. Many people are HURT emotionally and financially by it. An ADDITIONAL TRAGEDY with these devious plans is that, in many cases, individuals have had to BORROW MONEY to become involved in them in the first place. Many lives and families have been RUINED by GET-RICH-QUICK schemes that end up enriching only the CON ARTISTS who devise them at the expense of those who FALL into their TRAP. 3. DEBT AND BORROWING (THURSDAY) These VERSES (EXOD. 21:2; LEV. 25:3, 4), show that the LORD CARES about these kinds of financial issues, especially when, at that time, they concerned fellow Israelites. These VERSES also show that the Lord acknowledged the REALITY of DEBT. And because we don’t live in an ideal world, there might be TIMES when it is NECESSARY to BORROW. Just make sure that you have the BEST DEAL possible and the BEST INTEREST RATE available. CONCLUSION: The BIBLE discourages debt. In the SCRIPTURES there are at least 26 REFERENCES to DEBT, and all are negative. The BIBLE does NOT SAY that it is