Lesson 15: Let No Debt Remain Outstanding
Questions 2, 3 and 4
Let’s see the importance of unity in financial decisions as husband and wife:
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’” Luke 14:28-30
Have you ever met someone who starts to build a structure and half way through it they stop? There was a man in our neighborhood who started building a garage and may not have considered the cost with his wife, therefore his plan for this ‘big garage’ was incomplete for weeks. The passer byers could see this unfinished structure as they daily drove by and spoke of it. As believers we do not want to make a mockery of Christ by being foolish with the resources He has given us.
Question 3. Are you united as husband and wife in considering the costs? Please share.
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Sylvia wrote; "When Erick and I got married we knew nothing about finances and rarely (if ever) sat down together to see if we had enough money to last through each month. We spent many years struggling financially, we became angry with each other and resentful while lacking in communication with each other. We are praying for you, that this brings you both closer together sooner rather than later in your marriage, so that you aren’t trapped like we were in financial slavery. Today we sit down together each month to communicate and consider the cost which is a delight rather than a burden."
Saving: Just as Jesus saved us with His nail scarred hands we are, “to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.” (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
We save so that we will not be dependent on anybody for:
Unexpected emergencies.
Unknown expenses outside of ‘counting the cost.’
Peace of mind, limited borrowing.
A Family crisis/An unexpected need.
Just as the church and our marriages need to have Jesus as the firm foundation to stand and build on with “Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone...” (Ephesians 2:20), likewise we need to have a firm financial foundation upon which to support our family. Without this financial foundation we cannot efficiently or effectively provide and care for our family, pay what we owe, or have money in our storehouses like Joseph who stored up food to be held in reserve and used during the years of famine, then distributed when a need arose (Genesis 41). Or when one loses their job due to unforeseen circumstances, like COVID-19, “for whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow” (Proverbs 13:11). Or consider the ant who "stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (Proverbs 6:8).
Question 4. Are you storing up like Joseph to provide in the day of famine? Please share.
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