The Habits of Financial Health - Part 1

0:35 If I want to be healthy in any area of my life, I have to develop healthy habits in that area. If I want to be physically healthy, I have to develop the physical habits of eating right, exercise, sleep, lower stress. If I want to have a healthy marriage, I have to develop the healthy habits of relationships. the way I talk to people, the way I listen to people, the way I respond to problems. These are habits that I have to develop. And if I want to develop healthy finances to be financially fit, there are certain financial habits I have to develop in my life. God loves to do financial miracles. And he does them all the time. I've seen many, many, many. But he says, first, you've got to get your act together. You've got to do it the way that I said to do it. Now in this series, we've been in financial fitness for a few weeks.

1:31 We looked first at the fundamental laws of money that God talks about in his word, in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs, and in the book of Ecclesiastes. Today we're going to take a little turn, and this week and next week, we're going to look at some practical areas. Next week we're going to look at the five ways to make money work for you. the five best ways to use your money on this planet. And that's a good message I'm excited to share. But this week, we're going to look at the eight habits for getting out of the hole. Eight habits for getting financially free. And they're all in God's Word. If you have your Bible, open to the book of Proverbs. If you don't, if you'll pull out your message notes, and we're going to look at these verses from the book of Proverbs. Now, each of these habits is in order. In other words, the first habit is the most important one.

2:25 The second habit is the second most important. The third is the third most important. I've listed these in their order of how you do them. Let's get right into it. Number one, the Bible teaches that the first thing I have to do if I'm going to get myself financially fit is this. Remember that God is my source. That's the starting point. I remember that God is the source of all my supply. My source is not my salary. My source is not the economy. My source is not my savings. My source and my security is in God. Now the reason why this is important is you must put your security in something that can never be taken from you. If what you put your security in can be taken from you, then you're going to be insecure the rest of your life.

3:18 If you put your security in your salary, you can lose your salary. If you put your security in your job, you can lose your job. If you put your security in your savings, you can lose your savings. If you put your security in your spouse or your health room, you can lose those things. You must put your security in something that cannot be taken from you and that is your relationship to God. God is the source of my supply, not my salary, not my savings. And if a job dries up, if a water faucet gets turned off, God can turn on a faucet over here. And if one door closes, God can open another door. And if that door closes, God can open a window. So I have to remember, first off, that God is the source of my security, not how much money I make in life. Now the Bible says this in Deuteronomy 8, verse 18, there on your outline.

4:14 Always remember the Lord, your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth. God gives you the ability to produce wealth. Circle the word produce. I want you to notice that the Bible says, obviously, God owns it all and he loans it to us. We talked about this a few weeks ago that you don't really own anything on this planet. It's just loaned to you while you're here. It wasn't yours before you were born. It won't be yours after you die. You just get to use it for 80, 90, 100 years. But it all belongs to God. And after you die, he's going to loan it to somebody else. So you don't take it with you. You didn't bring it with you. But he says here, God gives you the ability to produce wealth. Now, every economy, including America's, has wealth makers and it has wealth takers. It has wealth producers and it has wealth users.

5:13 It has wealth contributors and it has wealth consumers. The economies get turned upside down when there are more consumers than there are contributors. When there are more people taking out of the economy than putting in it. And that's what's happening right now in America. 60% of Americans take more out of the economy than they are putting in it. We have more consumers than we have contributors. And yet God says, I made you, I designed you to create wealth, to produce wealth. I designed you to be a productive person. God wants you to be productive. And his plan for your life, part of it includes wealth production or wealth creation. Not wealth redistribution, but wealth creation. Now let me explain the difference here.

6:08 Between communism, capitalism, and Christianity. Capitalism says what's mine is mine and I'm going to keep it. And if you don't make it, well tough luck, too bad for you. What's mine is mine and I'm going to keep it. Communism says what's yours is mine and I have a right to take it. That's called redistribution of wealth. I can take yours and give it to somebody else. That's communism. Christianity says what's mine is really God's and I'm willing to share it. You see the difference? That's the difference. Capitalism, what's mine is mine, I'm going to keep it. Communism, what's yours is mine and I can take it. Christianity, what's mine is God's and I'm willing to share it. You see, when somebody taxes you to help the poor, you don't get any credit for it. But when you voluntarily are generous and you help the poor on your own, That builds your character.

7:05 It helps you. It helps you grow. It helps you become more like Christ, becoming more productive and more generous. Now, one of the reasons our economy has collapsed is because for the last many, many years, we have had enormous numbers of people, particularly like in Wall Street and other places, who were creating or making outrageous salaries, making outrageous amounts of money without really creating anything. They create no services. They create no benefits. They create no products. They create no jobs. They're simply making money on money. That's all they're doing. And that is not what God wants to do. God wants us to provide benefits, services, protection, help to other people. And in that, it creates prosperity. There's nothing wrong with prosperity. There's nothing wrong with prospering.

7:59 There's nothing wrong with a profit if you don't make it your number one God and if you do it in the right way. And that leads us to the second habit. The second habit, if I want God's blessing on my finances, is I must make money honestly. I remember that God is my source and then I make money honestly because God does not bless cheaters. God does not bless crooks. God bless deceptive people or people who steal. Now let's look at just some verses from the book of Proverbs on this. Proverbs 15, 27 says this. Dishonest money brings grief to the whole family. In other words, I can go out and make a bunch of money, but if I make it dishonestly, it's actually bringing grief. It's bringing like a curse. It's bringing a problem to my family. Emotional problems and all kinds of other problems.

8:52 You say, well, that verse isn't for me because I'm not out robbing banks. No, you're not. But are you honest in every area? Let me give you a few ways you may be dishonest. Not giving a full day's work. Now, if you've got an employer who's paying you for a full day's work, you come late, you leave early, you take an extra long lunch break, and you waste time at work, you are robbing your employer. Maybe you've never thought of that, but it's deceptive. They are paying you for a certain amount of work and you are expected to give that certain amount of work. And it is dishonest to be paid for work that I'm not doing. That's called dishonest. And God's not going to bless dishonesty. Christians of all people should be known for rock ribbed integrity that we get there on time or early or stay to the last bell or stay late and that we are the hardest workers in society and that we have the most integrity and honesty.

9:56 Padding an expense account is dishonest income. Misusing resources at the office is dishonest. It's a waste. Fudging on your taxes is a dishonest way to make money. God says, I don't bless that kind of stuff. It brings grief to the whole family. Now look at some of the other ways. Proverbs 16, verse 11. The Lord demands fairness in every business deal. He sets the standard. And what does that mean? It means that when I'm dealing with you and we're making a negotiation, I don't lie to you. I don't cheat you. I don't tell you that the car I'm selling you is better than it really is. I don't tell you that the house that I'm selling you is in perfect condition when you know the pipes are broken and electricity doesn't work or whatever. When I misrepresent something in a deal, I'm being dishonest.

10:51 And God said, don't expect me to bless that. If you're hiding it, I'm not gonna bless that. God blesses integrity. Let me show you some other areas. Look at this one. This will surprise you. Proverbs 28, two, the Bible says, if you make money by charging high interest rates, you will lose it all to someone who cares for the poor. Did you know that verse was in the Bible?

11:15 If you make money by charging higher interest rates, you'll lose it all to somebody who cares for the poor. Now, God is not against making interest. And you say, how do you know that? Because Jesus tells parables in the New Testament where guys double their money by making a 100% profit. One guy gets a 100% return on his money. He says, well done, good and faithful servant. Another guy doubles his five talents. He says, well done. If it's okay to make interest, it's okay to pay interest. So he's not saying interest is bad. He's talking about what the Bible calls here usury. Usury means excessive, exorbitantly high interest rates. It's what loan sharks do. It's when they prey on people who are down and out, people who are hard up on their luck, people who can't get a normal standard loan from somewhere, and so they go and borrow from somebody at two and three and four times the interest rate.

12:10 these loan sharks are calling usury it is excessive, it is cheating people now in America we have usury laws in every state because of this verse in the Bible because the Bible says it is wrong to charge excessively high interest and take advantage of people who can't pay so he's talking about slumlords and he's talking about loan sharks and things like that. One other one. Look at this verse. Proverbs 13, verse 11. Let's read it aloud together. Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears, but wealth from hard work grows. Now, I told you a couple weeks ago that Warren Buffett's number one law of finance is you don't lose what you already have made. He said that's more important than even making money on your money.

13:07 you don't lose what you've already made. So many people are in debt because they've made a lot of money, but they've lost it. And the number one way, the most common way people lose their money today is in get-rich-quick schemes. And the Bible says you should never, ever get involved in a get-rich-quick scheme. You're setting yourself up to be duped. You're setting yourself up to be scammed. Most people or more people have lost money through this way than any other way. Now, every get rich quick scheme sounds great. It sounds terrific. You're going to make high profit in a little amount of time and low risk. And they put all this together and it all sounds so great. People invest their money in this and all of that. And they think they're going to beat the normal ways of making money by getting rich quick. And then they get duped. Now, the Bible warns against this over and over.

14:02 And as your pastor, because I care about you, I want to give you five principles. Write these down wherever you can on your outline on how to not get duped by a scam. These are biblical principles. I don't have time to go into all the verses, but let me just give them to you. Number one, stick with what you know when you're investing. Just write it down there on your outline somewhere. You see, greed makes people gullible. And when we are greedy and we're trying to get rich quick, we fall for scams and we're easily duped. Stick with what you know. If you don't understand an investment, don't ever put your money in it. If you can't explain it, don't ever put your money in it. Stick with what you know. Now, the common denominator of every get rich quick scream is they claim to have a secret.

14:52 I have a secret way of making money that you don't know, or I have a secret product that other people haven't got yet, or I have a secret tip and all this. Listen, the moment you hear that word secret, run like the Dickens. Friends, I'm telling you right now, there are no secrets to making wealth. They're all widely known. And there are hundreds and thousands and maybe tens of thousands of books written on how to increase your income, your net worth, and things like that. There are no secrets. And anybody who claims that he has a secret is setting you up for a get-rich-quick scheme. And the Bible says avoid that. So never get involved in that. Stick with what you know. Number two, never invest on emotion. Never make a decision, a financial decision, on emotion. Get Rich Quick Schemes scam artists love to play on your emotion.

15:48 And they grab your emotion, and before you've thought it through, you've invested money that you're going to lose right away. Now, what they do is they start pressuring you to decide quickly. By the way, isn't it interesting all of these infomercials on TV that says, by now, by now, operator's standing, and if you do it in the next two minutes, then you're going to get this extra project. Three years later, that thing's still on TV.

16:10 Saying in the next two minutes. Have you noticed that? It's just a con. It's just a con. In fact, pressure is never God's will in finances. If you ever feel pressure, in fact, the Bible says that about giving. Over in the book of Corinthians, the Bible says, if you ever feel pressured to give, don't. And I'm telling you, as your pastor who loves you, if you ever feel pressured by a church, a charity, or anybody else pressured to give, you should not give because God clearly says in the Bible, never give under pressure or under compulsion because you don't get any credit for it. God wants your attitude, not to amount. He says, only give when you are giving willingly, cheerfully, gladly. Now, that's not just true in giving. It's also true in investing. You should never invest. You should never make a financial decision under pressure to decide now, basing on emotion.

17:09 A third suggestion on this. Never risk borrowed money. I don't have time to go into all the verses on these, but the Bible teaches you should never risk borrowed money. Now you've got extra money that's just laying around and you've got money to burn, probably ought to give it away instead, but that's okay if you want to invest that. But don't you ever borrow money to invest in a get-rich-quick scheme. The Bible says don't, don't do it. A fourth suggestion, always test the idea with other people. And I'm talking about people who are not emotionally involved. Because emotionally involved people who have a stake in the game are going to be as excited as you are. But people who aren't emotionally involved in the investment can smell a rat. They can spot the flaws. And you need to get counsel.

18:02 In fact, if you have a business deal and you're afraid to talk to your wife or a friend or somebody uninvolved about it, you're already, it's a dead giveaway. You're already saying, I don't want other people to know about this because they're going to say no, no. You need to check it out. Let me give you one more. doubt the guy who's always got a big deal. He's always going after, he's always chasing the big deal, but he never seems to reel it in. Now I'm not talking about serial entrepreneurs who build a company and sell it off, then build another company, sell it off, build a company and sell it off. They have a legitimate business and a legitimate profit. I'm talking about people who are always waiting for their ship to come in, but it never seems to come in, but the ship came to get bigger and bigger and bigger with each dream. And while they're not able to pay their bills, they're out there trying to think on this deal, it's going to make $1 trillion.

19:03 And the more zeros, the more out of touch they are with reality. What a great message from Pastor Rick today. There's something I always take away from his message. Here's Rick to tell you how you can help support this ministry. Jesus told his disciples that they should live their lives according to five specific purposes. He said, you've got to love God with all your heart, that's worship, and love your neighbor as yourself. That's ministry. That's called the great commandment. And then Jesus said, go make disciples. That's evangelism. Baptize them into the family of God. That's fellowship, a sign of fellowship. And then he said, teach them, obey everything I've taught you. That's discipleship. And we call that the great commission. We believe at Daily Hope that a great commitment to the great commandment and the great commission will produce a great Christian, a great church, a great company, a great community. You know, I started Daily Hope so I could spread the good news about Jesus, not just across America, but all around the world. And we want people to know that God's word is filled with hope and truth. And the power that we need to follow him every day is available to every single one. You know as well as I do that the word of God changes lives. It's alive, it's active, and it breathes new life and new love into all of our lives. So wherever you listen to this, whether you listen on the website, whether you listen on a radio station, whether you listen to a podcast, you're a part of the Daily Hope family, and I need your help. We could not do this without your support. We're 100% listener funded. Would you continue to pray for this broadcast, and would you continue to support us? And write to me. Let me hear from you. I absolutely love reading the stories that are sent to me. So write me, pray for me, and support this ministry. And God will bless it, and God will bless you, and we'll get to heaven, and we'll thank God for all the people who are going to be in heaven because you cared.