Alecia wrote me with this very honest and powerful question. She and her husband are working diligently to get out of debt. They want to direct as much money as possible to digging out of their hole, but at this point they are also trying to keep their heads above water.
I am not an authority on biblical matters, but I have been studying the bible for years and I know beyond a doubt that it does not say to stop giving to get out of debt. While the act of giving in and of itself is not what matters (it is actually the position of your heart), giving is still very important.
"But how can we give if we cannot even stay current on our monthly bills?" she asks. I am afraid I cannot answer that one. Here is what I do know. My wife Christine and I paid off over $45,000 of debt in just twelve months, all the while making only $60,000 in income. We tithed that entire year out of the fullness of our hearts: not because the bible says we have to, but because we wanted to be givers.
Spiritual math rarely makes much sense. You may be asking yourself how we were able to live on only $15,000 the year that we became radical. Truthfully, we sold a lot of things and we completed and followed a strict budget each month. More importantly however, we had faith. Not just blind faith: rather faith that we backed up with hard work as 51:James 2:14 talks about.
Even though the math may not work out, I challenge you to try. Do not start with ten percent. Start with five dollars per week and then increase it to ten or twenty-five. Give to your church, the Red-Cross or that guy that you always see wandering the streets. When you take the focus off of you and put it somewhere else, that is where you heart will be also.
Justin Lukasavige is a Personal & Business Coach and owner of Lukas Coaching. Visit www.lukascoaching.com/resources.htm for a ton of free tools to help you improve your health, finances, business, career & life!
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