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Breaking the Chains of Debt · Sacred Men

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Welcome back, men. This is Pastor Justin Dean with
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the Sacred Men YouTube channel. And I have been getting quite a
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few videos sent to me lately of people kind of revealing that
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their debt, their consumer debt, their personal debt.
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And that's how I'm going to start this video.
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I'm going to start with a little bit of a reaction video, one of
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these videos that was sent to me and then we're going to talk
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about it. All right, so let's let's go.
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Let's see what we got. We didn't have a crazy
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lifestyle, but normal life still turned into $216,000 of debt.
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And honestly, it happened in ways that felt pretty normal.
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Whoa. Normal life, normal lifestyle
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turned into $216,000 worth of debt.
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First, my first response is Ouch.
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My second response is if that's normal, then maybe we should not
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be normal. And my third response is if this
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is your wife, I'm sorry. OK, I'm sorry.
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And honestly, it happened in ways that felt pretty normal.
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It started with student loans. Started with student loans.
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Most of the time it does these days.
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I, I counsel a lot of people get married and many times they're
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having 100,000, even $200,000 in debt for student loans.
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Understandable. If you're going to be a doctor,
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If you're not going to be a doctor and you're not making a
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quarter million or more a year, then that is insane and you
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should be very wary of doing something like that.
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Then two car payments. We're already in student loan
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debt. She doesn't say how much and
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we're going to choose to finance 2 vehicles now this is just a
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dumb decision right off the bat. Whatever she's going to say
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next. This is a dumb decision to
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finance 2 vehicles. You can buy vehicles only she
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doesn't say how much she finances them, but she's showing
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a picture and they don't look very old, right?
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So but you can get a freaking car off of Facebook marketplace.
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You can drive a 4 or $5000 car to get you through to save money
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to pay cash for a better vehicle down the road.
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Why finance? You're already in a lot of debt.
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Why finance a car? It's a depreciating asset.
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It's a horrible investment. It's a waste of money.
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With the interest payments on this, by the time you're paying
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off the debt, more than likely it's going to be worth less
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than, well, it's, it's going to be worth almost nothing by the
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time you pay it off and you're going to pay a lot more for the
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car than you actually thought you're going to pay for the car.
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Financing, furniture, TV's and little things.
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We needed to set up life. OK, financing, furniture, TV's
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and little things we needed to set up life.
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None of those things are needs. Those are all wants.
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My wife and I, when we first got married, all of our furniture we
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found for free. I remember very clearly college
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going out of business and they were, they were giving away all
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of their furniture. And so, you know, those pleather
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chairs and all that kind of stuff that you see in colleges.
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And we went and picked them up, bunch of them up.
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My couch was from there, my chairs were from there.
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We had a little table. Everything we got was free, you
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know, and you, you don't need to finance furniture.
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That's a horrible decision. And TVSTVS are like $100 at
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Walmart. Why in the world would you need
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to finance ATV? And ATV of course is not a need
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as well. And it these are depreciating
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assets, ATV is going to be worth almost nothing a year from now
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and you're probably still paying on it.
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And little things we needed to set up life.
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These are not needs. These are wants.
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These are foolish decisions. These are getting something in
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the moment because I want it. I want to look rich.
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I want to look successful. I want to look like I have it
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all together and I don't actually want to be rich.
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And there's a big difference. The proverbs talk about that.
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There's a guy who wants to look rich and, and so he dresses the
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part, he buys all the things, but in actuality, he's poor.
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And there's another guy who's wise with his money, and he
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might look poor on the outside. He might drive, you know, a 1015
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year old car, right? He might not have the latest
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fashion. He might not have a house that
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looks like Joanna Gaines decorated it or a closet that
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looks like some kind of influencer, right?
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He might not have all that, but he might be rich all right.
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Keep going. And a few credit cards we meant
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to pay down. A few credit cards we meant to
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pay down. Yeah, sure, I'm going to pay for
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it. Did you have a budget right?
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Did you have a budget? Did you know when you're going
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to pay this down? Did you know how long it was
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going to take? Credit cards are a scam if
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you're not a disciplined person. None of it felt extreme at the
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time, but one day we added everything up.
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None of this felt extreme. It felt normal, Yeah.
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It's normal for a consumeristic foolish society.
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It's normal for people who think debt is normal.
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And then she adds it up and it's $216,000 now.
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It's funny to me, 100,000 not extreme 125,000 not extreme
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175,000 Nah, no, we're good, we're good, 216,000 and now we
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need to do something. You needed to do something
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$200,000 ago right now. I know I've seen worse ones than
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these, right? You've sent me, I, I've, I've
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been sent videos guys, $1,000,000 in debt.
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And it's one thing if you're $1,000,000 in debt and you own a
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bunch of rental properties and those are one appreciating
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assets and they're also cash generating assets.
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But when you have consumer credit card debt that is like
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being thrown into the ocean with a 10 LB weight or a 20 LB weight
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or a 216,000 LB weight around your ankle.
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It is going to be incredibly difficult to get out of this
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kind of debt, but you can do it. And I've seen people who have
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done it. And so today on this video at
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Sacred Men, we're going to talk about how to treat debt, how to
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stay out of debt, how to get out of debt, what debt debt is from
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a biblical perspective, how we should look at it, how we should
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think about it, because I want you to be able to live free
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financially. All right, so let's get into the
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video. All right, dudes, thanks for
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sticking with me. I want you to do something right
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now. I want you to name the number,
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your total debt, every credit card, every car loan, every
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personal loan, every line of credit.
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Add it all up. What's your number Now, Most men
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that I know have never done that.
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I asked them. They know the minimum payments,
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they know roughly what they owe on one or two accounts.
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I don't know, it's around 15K or something like that, right?
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But they've never actually sat down, stared at the full number
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and let it land because that number can be terrifying.
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And shame tells us that if we don't actually look at it, then
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it's just it's not as real, but it is real and it's costing you
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more than money. See, debt, consumer debt cost
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you sleep. It cost you peace in your
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marriage. It cost you the freedom to say
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yes to God when He asks you to do something that requires
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financial risk. It cost you the ability to be
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generous. It cost you options.
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Debt does not just take your money.
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It steals your hope and it robs you of your future.
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Well, welcome back to Sacred men.
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Today we're going to be talking about something that affects the
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majority of men sitting in church across America.
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Debt, consumer debt in America is now over 17 trillion.
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I know that really doesn't register.
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That's, that's a big number. And we're thinking about a whole
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country, but the average household is carrying roughly
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$21,000 in non mortgage debt alone.
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And in Christian households the numbers are not that much
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different. The church has largely failed to
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address this issue head on and men are suffering in silence
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because of it. So that's why I want to address
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it today. Now, here's what I want you to
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hear above everything else I'm going to say in this video.
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Hear this. Getting out of debt is not just
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a good financial goal, it's a spiritual duty.
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Hear that? It's a spiritual duty.
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You owe it to God. You owe it to yourself.
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You owe it to your family or your future family.
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It's an act of obedience. It's an act of faith, it's an
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act of worship. And God's Word has a lot to say
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about it. Well, today we're going to look
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at 3 biblical principles that if you actually apply them, will
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change the trajectory of your financial life. 3 foundational
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truths from Scripture that will reframe how you see debt, how
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you fight it, and how you get free to live free.
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Let's go principle number one. You have to confront the enemy.
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You cannot fight what you will not face.
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Every great military campaign in history began the same way with
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intelligence. Before a general could go plan
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an offensive, he had to understand the terrain.
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He had to know the enemy's positions.
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He had to count his own forces honestly, and theirs if he can.
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No general in his right mind marches his army into battle
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without proper intelligence. But that's exactly what most men
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do when they approach their debt.
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They have their eyes closed, their head down.
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They're paying the minimum payments and hoping it's going
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to get better somehow, hoping they're going to hit the lottery
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or get rich quick. It's just probably not going to
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happen. Well, God's word tells us to do
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something different. Listen to this proverb.
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It sounds like it's about farming.
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But stay with me, because there's a principle buried in
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there that's profoundly relevant to your financial life right
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now. Proverbs 2723 through 24 Know
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well the condition of your flocks and give attention to
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your herds. For riches do not last forever.
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And does a crown endure to all generations that principle
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there? Listen.
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Know well the condition of your flocks in the ancient world.
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Your flocks or your wealth. That's your financial security.
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That's your asset base. And God's saying something here
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through Solomon. He's saying pay attention to
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them. Know your numbers.
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Do not be passive about the state of what has been entrusted
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to you. So a man who does not know the
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condition of his flock will be more prone to lose his flock.
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And then Jesus says this in the middle of one of his famous
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teachings on counting the cost of discipleship.
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He says in Luke 1428 through 30, For which of you desiring to
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build a tower does not first sit down and count the cost, whether
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he is enough to complete it. Otherwise, when he's laid a
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foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to
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mock him, saying this man began to build and was not able to
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finish. Why couldn't he finish?
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Why wasn't he able to build? Because he didn't sit down and
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caught. Count the cost.
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Counting the cost. That is wisdom.
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That's how a man is meant to operate.
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Not with his head in the sand, not with blind hope, not with a
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vague sense that he's going to work on it sometime in the
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future. A man sits down, counts the
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cost, counts his debts, adds them all up, faces the truth,
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even when the truth is painful to look at.
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And here's what the Apostle Paul says about debt.
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Owe no one anything except to love one another, for the one
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who loves another has fulfilled the law, owe no one anything.
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Now scholars debate the full scope of this verse.
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Does it mean you can never have a mortgage?
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No, I don't think so. Most scholars say no.
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Buying a home is an appreciating asset.
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And so that's not Paul's point here.
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There's the difference between good debt and bad debt.
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You know, you can buy a business and go in debt for that
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business, but that if that is a is a cash generating asset,
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that's probably a good debt, right?
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If it's an appreciating asset, it's probably a good debt.
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But the truth of this scripture is really crystal clear.
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Debt is not normal. Debt is not to meant meant to be
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the normal default condition of a man of God.
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It's something to be escaped from, not accommodated.
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It's something to get out of, not managed forever and left to
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your children to pay off. We have got to begin to see debt
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as an actual enemy. So here's what confronting the
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enemy looks like in practice. If you want to get out of debt,
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sit down with a piece of paper or a spreadsheet and list every
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single debt you owe. Write down the name of the
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creditor, the total balance, the minimum payment, the interest
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rate. Don't estimate.
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Go look at the actual statements, then write the total
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at the bottom. And then this is the part many
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men want to skip. Sit with that number.
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Look at it, think about it, meditate on it, then bring it
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before God. Pray over it.
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Say Lord, this is the hole I'm in.
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I've put myself in this hole. I'm accountable.
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I'm responsible for this hole. I'm not hiding it from myself or
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trying to hide it from you any longer.
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Help me fight to get my way out, right?
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You cannot kill what you will not name.
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Name the debt. Face the number.
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Own your battle. Now, there's something that
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happens in a man when he stops hiding and starts facing his
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enemy, starts facing his fears. The shame actually loses some of
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its power because you've named it, you've said it, and you're
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like, I'm set against this thing.
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This is an enemy, this is a foe, and I'm going to fight it now.
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You know what you owe now, right?
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So number one, name it, write it down, figure it out.
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Shame thrives in the dark. And now you've turned on the
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light. You've brought this enemy out
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into the light. Here's the second principle.
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Principle #2 write out a plan and then work the plan.
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Write out a plan and then work the plan.
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Strategy is not optional, right? It's obedience.
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We must be strategic. We must have a plan.
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So you face the number. You know what you owe.
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Now the enemy's visible good. Because Step 2 is where we get
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tactical. One of the things I love most
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about the Bible is that it's not just deeply spiritual, it's also
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deeply practical. Over and over again, Scripture
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connects deep theology to concrete, everyday action, and
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nowhere is that more true than when it comes to dealing with
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money. Proverbs 21 five says this.
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The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but
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everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
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Hear that The plans of the diligent, not the intentions or
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the hopes or the dreams or the wishes of the diligent.
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No, the plans. A plan is specific.
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A plan is tactical. A plan has steps.
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A plan has a timeline. A plan has a goal.
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A plan can be followed and measured and adjusted on the fly
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as needed. And God connects that kind of
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planning directly to future abundance.
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If you plan well, the the plans of the diligent lead surely to
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abundance. Now contrast that with being
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hasty. Flying by the seat of your
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pants. The hasty person is reactive.
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He deals with debt by ignoring it until a collection call
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comes, then panicking and trying to make a minimum payment, then
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forgetting about it again until next month.
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That cycle does not lead to freedom, it leads to poverty,
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both financial and spiritual poverty.
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God said a beautiful thing to Habakkuk as the prophet was
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overwhelmed by circumstances that he couldn't control.
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He said this in Habakkuk 2 too. The Lord answered me.
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Write the vision. Make it plain on tablets so he
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may run. Who reads it?
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Hear that right? Make the plan.
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Write the vision down. Make it plain so that you can
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run, so that you can execute it. That's God's instructions for
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someone who needs to move with purpose towards a future that
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doesn't yet exist. Write the vision down of your
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debt free life. Make the plan plain enough so
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that you can actually execute it and then run right, Do it.
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Get after it. Now here's where I want to get
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into some very practical territory.
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Because a principle without application is absolutely
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useless. Every effective debt elimination
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strategy has three components, and that because some financial
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guru invented them. But because they reflect the
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biblical wisdom that we've just been reading, here's the first
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component. A budget that actually works,
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right? Not a budget that you made once
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and forgot about. A written monthly budget where
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you tell every dollar that you bring in where it's going to go
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before the month ends, right? Every single dollar that I'm
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going to bring in this month, I'm telling it where it's going
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to go. And I'm doing that before the
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month even begins. Proverbs 2723.
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Again, know the condition of your flocks, know where your
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money's going, know where you're going to send it.
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You cannot know the condition of your flocks if you've got no
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idea where the flock is going, right?
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You've got to know where your money's going.
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A budget here is, it's not a punishment, right?
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A budget is a tool. It's a strategic tool in the
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hands of a, of a diligent man who plans.
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That's what it's, that's what it's there for.
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OK #2A focused attack. Once you have a budget, you
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identify the minimum payments on every single debt and then you
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find any extra money you can and you throw that extra money at
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one debt at a time. Now, how do you find extra
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money? You find extra money by selling
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everything you don't need. That's the first step.
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Sell everything that you don't need.
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If you got an extra car, sell it.
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If you got an extra bike, sell it.
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If you got a motorcycle, sell it.
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If you got a boat, sell it. Financial.
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You know, expert, let's say Dave Ramsey says at this stage you
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should sell so much stuff that your kids think they're next,
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right? Have a garage sale.
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Put stuff on Facebook Marketplace.
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Get rid of as much stuff as possible, take that money and
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then apply it to either the smallest credit card balance
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first, which will build momentum and you'll feel some quick wins,
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or apply it to the credit card that's got the highest interest
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rate first, which will eventually save, or in the long
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run will save the most money. Now, different experts disagree
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on which method is better mathematically.
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I'll tell you this, the method you actually stick to is the
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right one, right? Whatever 1 you can stick to,
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that's the best one. Pick one, commit and be a man of
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your word to yourself. Don't go back.
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Dave Ramsey also says that if you want to get out of debt
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fast, right, you've got to see debt as the enemy and you've got
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to sell as much stuff as possible, right?
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To apply it to that debt to get to sell that thing down, Sell,
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sell, sell. Just sell it, sell it, sell.
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OK, Component 3, The income and expense gap here is the math
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that cannot be avoided. The speed at which you can get
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out of debt is entirely determined by the gap between
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what you make and what you spend.
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To get out of debt faster, you either spend less, earn more, or
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both. What does that mean?
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That means you have to make hard, disciplined choices.
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It means maybe the vacation has to wait.
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It means you may maybe you have to pick up extra work.
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Maybe you have to start a side hustle.
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Maybe you have to start working weekends and a few nights of the
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week. It might mean selling the car
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that has too much debt on it and buying something cheaper.
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Now. None of these decisions are fun
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decisions because they feel like failures to us, right?
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We're going to look like we're failing.
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We're going to look like we're, you know, not making as much
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money as we are, or we're going to look poor.
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We're going to look foolish. But what we have to think about
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is these decisions are meant to be temporary, right?
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The discipline we show now leads to freedom in the future.
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I want to try to live poor now so that I can live free later.
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The plan that we make, the plan to get out of debt, and the plan
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that we're going to execute. This plan is an act of faith.
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It says, I believe that obedient, consistent action
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under God's guidance can change my future.
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Write down the plan, make it plain, and then run your race.
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OK, principle three. If you want to get out of debt,
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you need to wage war in community.
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You were never meant to fight alone.
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Here's one of the most dangerous lies that debt tells us.
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It says you got to carry it alone.
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It says shame is the price of being in debt.
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That real men handle their own problems.
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That bringing someone else into your financial mess makes you
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weak or foolish. That lie will keep you broke and
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isolated for the rest of your life if you believe it now.
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Solomon knew this long before our modern debt crisis.
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He says this in Ecclesiastes. 49 through 12/2 are better than one
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because they have a good reward for the toil.
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For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him
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who is alone when he falls, and has not another to lift him up
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again. Again, if two lie together, they
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keep warm, but how can one keep one alone?
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And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, 2 will
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withstand him. A three fold cord is not easily
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or quickly broken. Now what does this mean?
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This means we need a band of brothers.
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We need a Fight Club. We need some dudes that can hold
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us accountable and help us when we're struggling.
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When you're fighting your way out of debt, there's going to be
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months where the car breaks down, the furnace goes out, and
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you're feeling like you're not making headway, You feel like
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you're losing. There's going to be moments of
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discouragement when the number doesn't seem to be moving in the
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right direction. There'll be temptations to give
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up and go back to swiping the card because you're tired and
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you just want to go see a movie, or you just want to go out to
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dinner, or you just want some kind of comfort right now in the
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moment. And in those moments, if you're
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fighting alone, the chances of quitting go up dramatically.
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Many of these videos that I've been sent, these people are kind
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of trying to hold themselves accountable by putting it on
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social media. And many of them are succeeding,
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right? They're posting a video every
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single day of paying off debt, paying off debt, being
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consistent month after month after month.
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But there's many people that just give up.
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There's many people that just quit.
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Why? Because the patterns of their
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old life are difficult to break. And they actually don't have
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real life community that can say, hey, bro is, are those new
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Golf clubs? Hey, bro, it, you know, is that
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a new, is that a new outfit? What's what's going on with
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that? Are you swiping again?
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Right? We need brothers to help us get
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out of debt. Proverbs 1522 says it like this.
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Without counsel, plans fail. But with many advisors, they
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succeed. Now that's not a suggestion,
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that's a warning. Your plan, no matter how good it
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is, has a higher chance of failing if you try to execute it
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without some brothers helping you, without accountability and
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community. God built us for a relationship.
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He said it's not good. That man should be alone, and
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that includes our financial battles, right?
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Iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
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Now, let me talk specifically to married men here for a minute.
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Your spouse needs to be your partner in this fight, not your
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secret keeper and not someone you keep secrets from.
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One of the most damaging things that happens in marriages
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crushed by debt is the secrecy. One partner knows the full
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picture, the other one has been protected from it, or excluded
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from it, or deceived about it. That secrecy doesn't protect
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your marriage, it actually poisons it.
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It weakens it. Scripture is very clear about
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the unity of marriage, right? Two people come together, they
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become one flesh. That of course means one bank
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account, one set of goals, 1 battle plan.
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So what you owe your wife owes what your wife owes you owe when
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you pay off debt, your wife gets out of debt, right?
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You got you got to know this. Both of you win here.
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If you've been hiding debt from your wife, you need to speak.
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I need to speak directly to you here, the conversation that
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you're dreading. And I know nobody wants to talk
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about debt. Nobody wants to have this hard
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financial this, you know, discussion with your wife,
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right? It sucks, but that conversation
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is meant to be the beginning of your freedom.
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Not just your financial freedom, but freedom in your marriage.
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Tearing down the walls that are separating you.
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Because right now, the secret is just it's just a wall between
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you and your one of you is probably suffering in silence.
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Taking down that wall is going to be painful, but a marriage
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fighting together is infinitely stronger than one partner
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pretending that everything's fine.
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One of the best men in the Bible who knew how to confront an
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impossible situation and be a builder was Nehemiah.
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Nehemiah had a huge task ahead of him.
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He was called by God to rebuild the walls and rebuild the city
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of Jerusalem after years of destruction and neglect.
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And here's how he accomplished that mission.
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Nehemiah 217 through 18, He says, Then I said to them, you
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see the trouble we're in, right? Look at it, right?
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Look at the trouble we're in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with
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its gates burned. This is years of neglect, right?
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The city is in a bad shape. And he says this, come, let us
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build the wall of Jerusalem that we may no longer suffer
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derision. Yes, we're in a shameful spot.
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Yes, people are mocking us. Yes, it really looks bad.
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Yes, it really is bad. But let's build it up, let's fix
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it, let's repair it, let's fight.
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And I told them of the hand of my God that was upon me.
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God, God's hand is upon you. If you're a Christian and he
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wants you to get out of debt, he's going to help you get out
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of debt. And also the words that the king
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has said to me and they said, let us rise up and build.
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So they strengthen their hands for the good work.
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You see here that that Nehemiah cast a vision, right?
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He cast a vision. We're going to get out of the
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trouble we're in. He says, let's, let's rebuild.
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Let's get to work. Let's get out of this debt.
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We're in a bad shape, but we can do it.
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Let us rise up and build. And because he cast that vision
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and he trusted his people with the truth, right?
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He didn't say, oh, no, it's not that.
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It's really not that big a deal. No, it's we're in bad shape, he
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said. But he trusted his people with
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the truth. He cast a compelling vision for
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the future. And then what did they do?
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They rallied around him, right? They were willing to join him in
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the fight to rebuild the city. See, that's what you have to do
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with your wife. You have to count the cost.
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You have to show her the number. You have to have the difficult
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conversation. You have to admit we're in a bad
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spot. And you know what?
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It's my fault we got here, right?
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I'm responsible for it. You have to own that.
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You have to say God wants to get us out of debt.
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And then you say, and God can get us out of debt.
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If we if we cast a vision and we execute and we write the plan
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and we execute the plan, we can do it.
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See, man, your wife, she has more personally at stake in the
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outcome of your plan than anyone else.
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You need her on board. You need to cast the vision.
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You need her on board. You need her behind it because
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she's going to have to Start Stop swiping right, swiping the
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credit card. You, you also need more than
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likely a Christian brother who's going to ask you the hard
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questions, right? Maybe you need to invite a
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pastor or a mentor into the situation that you trust.
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Maybe you need to get a financial counselor.
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You, you don't have to broadcast your debt on social media like
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so many people are doing right now, but you do need at least
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one or two people who know your number, who are in your corner.
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They know your plan and they have permission to ask you every
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month. Hey bro, how are you doing?
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Are you on track? What do you need?
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Accountability is not weakness, it's wisdom.
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More than likely, the man who fights alone, he's going to fall
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alone. The man who fights in community,
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he's going to finish and listen. Lastly, above all community,
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above all accountability. Your greatest resource in the
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fight is your God. Your God who promises to provide
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for you. The same God who parted, sees,
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and multiplied bread is not troubled by your debt.
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He's not looking at your balance and shaking his head.
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He's looking at you and asking you, do you trust me?
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Our God owns the cattle on 1000 hills, right?
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That means the whole earth is his all the wealth of it earth
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is his, and He can send you opportunities that you don't
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even know around the corner if you're willing to trust him
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right and to create the plan and to work the plan.
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Philippians 419 And my God will supply every need of yours
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according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus, every
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need according to his riches, not according to your current
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paycheck, not according to your credit score, according to the
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riches of God who created every resource in the universe.
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This is who on your who, this is who is on your side.
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And we must remember it. All right, let me land the
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plane. Here you got 3 principles, 3
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weapons that God has given you to break the chains of debt and
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walk in financial freedom. Principle One.
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Confront the enemy. Face the number.
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Write down every debt. Bring it to God.
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Stop hiding from the truth, because the truth, even the
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painful truth, is the only ground that you can build a
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secure future on. Principle 2.
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Write the plan and work the plan.
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Build a real budget. Pick your debt and attack it
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with everything you've got. Identify the gap between your
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income and expenses and do the hard work of widening it.
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Be a diligent man, not a hasty one.
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Plans lead to abundance and the absence of a plan leads to
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poverty. Principle three.
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Wage war in community. Let your wife in.
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Find your Fight Club, get your band of brothers.
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Be accountable. Stop trying to carry this alone.
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God made you for a relationship and many times getting out of
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debt is on the other side of a honest conversation that you've
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been avoiding for years. So men, I hope this was a
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blessing to you. Hopefully it was helpful.
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If it was, man, I would really appreciate if you liked the
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video, if you shared the video, if you subscribed to our
34:04
channel. Every single week I'm going to
34:05
be putting out these videos aimed specifically to help
34:08
Christian men grow strong, grow wise in a weak and foolish
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society. And so if you want to be on this
34:16
journey with us, man, subscribe, join and help us out or even
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comment down below guys, I'm praying for you.
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God blessed. Now go act like men.