Saturday 26 May 2012

Comfortable Vs Useful

Listening to Tim Keller 'Real Security and the Call of God' (available in his free sermons podcast), one really interesting point was the strong correlation between being useful and being uncomfortable. Usually a position which makes you useful is also one which makes you uncomfortable. If you prioritise comfort and security, through jobs, houses, location, ministry choices and such, you often end up in a place where you're not that useful.

We Dream of Both

A line my friend Maicol said to me recently that I quite enjoyed:

"You can either have time or money, but never both."

Chapter 5: Learning to Live by Faith

I'm very much enjoying reading the autobiography of George Muller, and have just read chapter 5 where he is a church minister and decides, for several reasons, to give up his regular salary and rely on God's direct provision. The chapter reads like a diary that recounts continual answered prayer. Every time there's a need, he engages in prayer and pretty soon receives his provision one way or another. It reveals how such direct dependence, when combined with prayer, makes for a very good lesson in faith and provision. When you're on a comfortable salary, you don't see your prayers answered in quite the same way.

I think one of the reasons I find it so encouraging is that being self-employed, you don't have the comfort and security of a salary. Every time I get a job or a new client, it very definitely feels like an answer to prayer. Muller's faith levels were so high, and it's really encouraging to read. What you realise is how important it is to pray when living like this. It's so tempting to freak out at times, when money and work is low. Daily prayer really is the only solution to freaking-out, and can actually lead to a more carefree life, knowing that God's heard you and in control.

"Some may say that such a way of life leads a Christian away from the Lord and from caring about spiritual things. They say it may cause the mind to be occupied with questions like: "What shall I eat, what shall I drink, what shall I wear?" I have experienced both ways and I know that my present manner of living by trusting God for temporal things is connected with less care. Trusting the Lord for the supply of my temporal needs keeps me from anxious thoughts like: "Will my salary last and will I have enough for next month?" In this freedom I am able to say, "My Lord is not limited. He knows my present situation, and He can supply all I need." Rather than causing anxiety, living by faith in God alone keeps my heart in perfect peace."
p41-42, The Autobiography of George Muller

Muller also comments on the way such a lifestyle can help prevent backsliding:

"This way of living has often revived the work of grace in my heart when I began to grow spiritually cold. It also has brought me back again to the Lord after I had been backsliding. It is not possible to live in sin, and at the same time, by communion with God, draw down from heaven everything one needs for this life. Frequently, a fresh answer to prayer quickens my soul and fills me with great joy."
p42, The Autobiography of George Muller

"At the end of the year, we looked back and realized that all our needs had been met more abundantly than if we had received a regular salary. We are never losers from doing the will of the Lord. I have not served a hard Master, and that is what I delight to show."
p43-44, The Autobiography of George Muller

George Muller on Debt and Romans 13

"My wife and I never went into debt because we believed it to be unscriptural according to Romans 13:8, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another." Therefore, we have no bills with our tailor, butcher or baker, but we pay for everything in cash. We would rather suffer need than contract debts. Thus, we always know how much we have, and how much we can give away. Many trials come upon the children of God on account of not acting according to Romans 13:8.
p43, The Autobiography of George Muller

"Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."
Romans 13:7-8

The above is quite an interesting point from George Muller on debt, and his conviction on the matter really makes you think. I've heard people say that verse 7 shows the Bible doesn't prohibit borrowing, it's just that you are to pay back what you owe in the manner you agreed. So credit cards, loans, and mortgages aren't necessarily bad things as long as you stick to your repayment agreements.

But then you throw verse 8 into the mix, "Owe no one anything", which is very straightforward. It's a phrase which really seems to limit the extent to which verse 7 applies. It basically says "just don't be in debt". Debt is bondage, and throws up all sorts of difficulties.

Verse 7 refers to taxes and revenue, and even respect. It is referring to on-going expenses that are unavoidable. You should pay your taxes, your household bills, your rent and such things. They're not so much debts but normal day-to-day expenses. You only become in debt if you miss a payment and get in arrears. So paying them is actually a means to keeping out of debt.

Verse 8 seems to specifically prohibit any sort of owing that isn't necessary. And it seems really personal – "Owe no one anything". It sounds different to owing tax to the government. It seems more like a friend, a neighbour, a local business, your bank. So don't owe your mate Bob £50. Don't rack up bills on your store cards or credit cards. Avoid your overdraft like the plague. As Muller says, it's better to suffer need that suffer debts.

What seems to sit awkwardly is all that stuff in the middle. Like loans and mortgages. What's unavoidable? When your boiler breaks down and you have to borrow a load of cash off your dad? And is a mortgage more of a good investment than debt? Is a business loan justified if it provides a means to generate income and cover the expense in the long run? Hmmm… there's always grey areas where you have to discern what's good, what's absolutely necessary and what can be avoided with better financial planning.

Notes on Matthew 1-10

Personal notes written on Matthew 1-10:

Notes_on_Matthew_1-10.rtf