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| The Broken Budget... He Needs a Doctor |
So, Michelle and I share our finances. Financially, we are
very much a married couple. We make
budget decisions together and decide whether we can afford the latest remodel
or need to put it off for awhile. Michelle is an amazing book keeper. If we
need to scale back on fun or food, we make those cuts. When the car needs to be fixed and we
just can’t afford it, we will look on YouTube to see if the fix is in anyway
possible for two yellow headed semi-city girls to give it a whirl. Sometimes
the credit card is the only option, but it is ALWAYS ALWAYS a last resort. Our
mom taught us that you go without, eat rice and beans, rather than carry a
balance on a credit card. “Owe no man anything but to love him.”
Let no debt remain
outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves
others has fulfilled the law- Romans 13:8
Here is a fictional account of a married couple as seen
through the eyes of the current government debt ceiling debate.
Wife: “Honey, our debt is just spinning out of control. I
know we’ve been talking about it for years, but our spending has been exceeding
our income by an average of $998 a month for the past five years. (American Federal Income Verses Expenditures Out of Control)
We keep putting all of our extra spending on credit cards and that home
equity line is maxed out. We now owe more on our house than what we have in it,
and oh, we are 2 months behind in our mortgage payments. Now, I say we start by
cutting out eating out at nice restaurants and start eating rice, beans, and
potatoes for awhile. I figure we can save close to $500 a month by doing this.
What do you think?”(average
couple food expenditures )
Husband: “NO WAY! I don’t cook and you don’t cook so how
would we do this? Plus, I work hard and I deserve to dine out whenever and
wherever I want to. We’ll have to do something else.”
Wife: “Okay, you’re right, I hate cooking and eating out is
so much more relaxing. Okay, so how about we downsize our home. Even if we take
a hit and sell, we could move to a smaller home and cut our mortgage payment to
a ¼ of what it is now! That would solve all of our problems!”
Husband: “Honey, I love our home. It’s so nice and cozy.
This is such a great neighborhood, and plus, we deserve to live in a big house.
We work our 40 hrs a week! Plus, you said we owe more on it than what it’s worth,
so we should probably continue living here. It would be so hard to move
anyway.”
Wife: “Okay, yes, I do love this house, and we deserve to
have a nice home. So, do you have any ideas to cut back our spending?”
Wife: “Honey, are you KIDDING ME? I just got that new
beamer, I LOVE IT!! I don’t care what we have to do, I’m not selling that car.
We could sell your car and get an older one.”
Husband: “No way! I just got that new F250 I’ve wanted for
years. Okay, car payments aside, there has got to be something else, how about
clothes? We could stop shopping for new clothes and wear what we have or go to
Goodwill. I hear it’s all the rage!”
Wife: “What? What??? You may be able to get away with the
same suit and tie day after day but people will notice if my wardrobe doesn’t
change with the seasons. No way, I need to keep my wardrobe polished and up to
date. Plus, I save money by using those 25% off Macy’s coupons. Oh how I love
Macy’s!” women's
professional suit prices
Wife: “Honey, I hate to bring this up now but I've got some other really bad news I've got to tell you. We have to
stop sleeping together.”
Husband: “What? We were talking about a budget and now we
can’t sleep together? This financial stuff is really knocking you off your
rocker.”
Wife: “No, I’m serious, I just found out my new job that is
run by a practicing Catholic doesn't cover free birth control. I don’t think
birth control is in our budget, so we have to stop sleeping together because
there is one thing we absolutely CANNOT afford, and that is to have a child
right now! How awful would it be if I got pregnant? We’d be ruined! We can’t
take our chances with this.”
At this point, a look of utter shock came over the husband’s
face. Fear, terror, gripped him and he fell on his knees crying tears,
screaming “Oh God, why have you done this to us? We've tried so hard to keep
our money in your hands and now you have forsaken us by plaguing my wife with
an employer who does not have birth control as part of his insurance plan! I
own my own business and cannot afford to buy insurance right out. I rely on my
wife and her job to make sure I can get my Viagra and her birth control. Oh
Lord, what are we to do?”
Suddenly, the TV flickered, the lights went off and back on in
the house. The couple heard a voice coming from the living room. Curious, they
crept through the doorway from the kitchen to find that their 60 in HD TV had
come on all by itself and low and behold the current president of the United
States was giving a press conference. “It must be a sign,” the husband and wife
both thought to themselves. They sat down together on the new leather couch,
mesmerized at the soothingly deep and methodical cadence coming from the
speakers.
“Mark my words. I don’t care what the religious preference is of your
employer. Making birth control free on ALL American’s insurance plans is part
if my new program to save this country.”
Then, as if the president were speaking just to them, they
locked eyes with this presence of a man as he proceeded to say “There are some
things that are sacred in life. One of them is a person’s access to birth
control. I have made it so NO one will ever have to pay a dime again to have
access to these life killing… I mean saving… I mean…well, woman’s pills. You
can keep spending money on clothes and eating out. Hey, keep the economy
rolling. I’ll make sure you can keep those good times rolling in the sack,
whether your married or not, and never again have to worry about coming up with
the $10 it’s takes for a woman to have
sex whenever she wants and not have to worry about a child getting in the way
of your fun!”
With that, the couple’s tears turned into tears of joy.
They
had prayed and god had showed up on TV. He was a half black half white man who
spoke directly to them. He promised to take care of their biggest fear in life
beyond losing their home or selling a car- that of having a child. They sat
down and prayed to this man, their new savior and promised to do all in their
power to support him.
They felt a cold shiver go down their backs as they saw a
dark shadow sprint across the room.
“That’s weird…” they both thought but were so at peace and
calm they just sat back and ignored it.
Meanwhile, outside the home a group of demonic spirits has a
meet up “Did you get them to do it?” says one shady looking character to the
other.
“Yup,” says another “Easy as pie. That whole ‘thou shalt
have no other god before me,’ slips people’s minds so easy when money is
involved…Yeah, I got them to worship a man, a president. Hey, I got them to
think he was their SAVIOR….the big man downstairs will be so proud, I just got
two more souls to spend eternity with us in the flames. If we’re going down,
we’re taking as many of God’s children with us as possible!!!”
Just then a huge explosion went off and the couple and their
beautiful home, nice new cars, fancy clothes, and fridge stocked with food,
went up in flames.
“Did you cut the gas line on your way out?” said one demon
to the other “Oh yeah…once they turned their backs on God and started
worshiping the pres… that hedge of protection came off like a charm…”
Wife: “Honey… did the power just go off? It’s pitch black in here. Wow, I thought I
paid the electric bill, where’s air…” It’s getting awful hot in here.
Husband: “Uhh… I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore…” as
the noise of screams, terror, weeping, and gnashing of teeth could be heard
getting louder and louder…flames and unbearable heat causes their mouth to dry
out, unquenchable thirst over takes them.
Wife: “ What about our bills? Who will pay them? We owe so
many people so much…”
Husband: “Don’t worry the insurance will cover everything!”
Wife: “Hell? We deserve Heaven.”
Husband: “We forgot to pay the
ransom!” “Jesus sacrificed his life, to free us from Satan’s claim to our souls.
We rejected God’s love and became consumers in the world. Jesus told us to
reject the world and separate ourselves from them and follow him.” We have gotten what we deserve. God is fair and just.
Matthew
7 21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, have we not
prophesied in Your name and driven out demons in Your name and done many mighty
works in Your name?
23 And then I will say to them openly (publicly), I never knew you;
depart from Me, you who act wickedly [disregarding My commands].
Exodus
20 3 You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.
4 You shall not make yourself any graven image [to worship it] or
any likeness of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 You shall not bow down yourself to them or serve them; for I the
Lord your God am a jealous God
I have placed My Word upon your lips (Jeremiah 1:9, Isaiah 6:7 & 51:16) and when spoken it doesn't return to Me void- but it accomplishes that which it is sent out to do. (Isaiah 55:11) 
Your King has already come, the Prince of Peace is here- his kingdom is from everlasting to everlasting. (Psalm 145:13) The wait is over- prophets of old believed before the reign of My Kingdom, that it would come- you LIVE 
