It is easy to see if someone is in financial bondage. One’s life becomes an outward view of an inward problem; a person radiates the reflections of a rebellious life. These people, me included, are lukewarm at heart, and are filled with bitterness and resentment. When you encounter a bitter person, in most cases, you are seeing a person who is in debt spiritually, relationally, and often times, financially. As a counselor, or discipler of people, I hunt for nine primary symptoms of bondage.
ONE – INSECURITY: People who are not secure in who they are in Christ are typically building their identity around another person – usually someone who has more than they do. Their minds are fragile; they are easily offended and quick to defend their position of bondage. They fight being confronted with the pride of self, that is not only annoying to the observer, but to God Himself. They are a people that are difficult to counsel, due to their unwillingness to be told what to do. These people are so focused on being like another, that they defend the humanness of their graven image, rather than embracing the image of God. Insecure people are defenders of self and rebels of wisdom. They find great comfort in hiding behind the mask they wear. To put it simply; they are living out the lives of someone who is more prosperous. These people parrot the lives of those they admire. They DO NOT know who they are.
TWO – FILLED WITH FEAR: Individuals of fear are so aware of their environment that they work to block out the things that upset their existence and reason for living. They tend to make decisions based on the externals of life, including finances. Fearful people surround themselves with comfort foods, material possessions, and relationships that won’t upset them. They seek to have a quiet life, but rarely find it. When they obtain the results of their fear, they become fearful all the more. 1 John tells us that fear involves punishment. These people are quick to punish themselves with their own fears, and are equally quick to punish others who move or change things around in their environment. Fear is NEVER satisfied! It has no boundaries and finds no rest – no matter how hard one tries. The only solution to fear is love. God’s perfect love chases fear out of a person’s life. Usually their fear has a price tag connected to it. This price tag is in spending money on things that subdue their fears: drugs, food, clothing, etc.
THREE – ANXIETY: Anxiety is the emotion of unpredictability. Those who suffer with this are always concerned about the details around them, almost like they are infringing upon the sovereignty of God. They think that if the circumstances were different – they would be different. As you might know, it doesn’t work. It only complicates their lives and brings on more feelings of anxiety. These people are difficult to deal with, let alone live with. If you are one of these anxious people, you even find it difficult to live with yourself. People of anxiety do not trust - not in themselves, or others. They tend to be “controlling” and act out of control. Their methods are madness and they tend to live in a constant state of anger. Financially, they spend to feel good – many times referred to as shopaholics. Even though this is not always true, the tendency is there.
FOUR - INSOMNIA: God said NOT to let the sun go down on our wrath/worries. Worries are always worst when we lie down to sleep. The sounds of distractions are minimal, the tugs from the needy are in waiting, and the environment becomes conducive for the enemy’s favorite place – darkness. Having debt when you lie down to sleep is like going to bed without forgiving someone. It will cause tossing and turning the whole night through. When I read this verse, I oftentimes hear these words in my head: Stephen, do not let the sun go down on debt -spiritually, psychologically, or financially.
FIVE - A LACK OF THANKSGIVING: OK, maybe you are in debt! Are you thankful for it? I am not saying you should be thankful for going INTO debt, but rather being thankful for the opportunity for God to teach you through the debt. When, and only when, you are thankful for the circumstances God has allowed in your life, will He deliver you from them - one decision at a time. Thankless hearts are greedy hearts. Plus, a thankless person spends his/her day’s worrying and complaining about the consequences of their own fruitless decisions of getting into debt to start with.
SIX - ENSLAVED TO THE ANTICHRIST: People, who are in debt, are lead around by a ring in their noses – the ring being their debt and the one leading them around, being the lender. Debt works like this. If I loan you something that belongs to me, that something binds us together by way of a “ring in nose” relationship. By you accepting this “loan,” you give me permission to intrude into your life. What you are claiming as your own isn’t really yours – it’s mine. I just let you say it is yours to make you feel comfortable with being my slave. I’m just giving you permission to hold what is mine, until the terms of agreement have been completed. A good example of this is our “would be homeowners.” Almost every “homeowner” that I know talks about “their house” like it is their house, when we both know that in the ugly world of debt, it belongs to the bank. Even if you are one of the 0.08 % that has paid off the house in full, the ground under your feet doesn’t belong to you. Most do not know, nor do they care to know, the truth about true homeownership – their ownership package only includes the first 6 inches of soil under their house. I had a client, a few years ago, come to me so angry he was “fit to be tied.” The government was forcing him to sell his house that he had worked his entire life to “pay in full.” Not only that, they were offering him a ridiculously low price. I had the unpleasant responsibility of telling him that by way of federal mandate, he only owns the first 6 inches of soil on his land and that if he didn’t move his house, or sell it, he would lose his complete investment. I further explained that the federal government requires all states to reinforce this federal mandate just in case the government needs that land – i.e. in his case, a freeway. In reality, the individual states or the federal government can take possession of every inch of land bordered out as the United States of America, IF, they deem it necessary to do so.
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| G-20 World Financial Counsel |
What if the federal government itself was in so much debt that it too could not pay its lenders? What becomes, or is, the collateral? I can assure you it is NOT the Monopoly money being printed by the US Mint or the gold hidden in the closets of our Treasury. It is none other than the land under your feet. I really hope you see the covert scheming that has been going on by the primary enemy of God. Have we become so deluded as to think Satan was sleeping when the laws of lands were established? Most assuredly not; it was while we were sleeping that these laws were established! He has been proactive in every form of government: worldwide, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without one blink of sleep or slumber. He knows that sheep cannot be lead to a slaughter without “cattle rails” – policies and laws.
Since over 90% of our world’s countries have adopted this type of land law, I personally believe the Antichrist will gain ownership of the planet by way of these established laws. Any historian worth their salt knows what I just said is true. Why? History proves itself over and over again. Policy proves ownership and ownership grants permission.
So many Americans are concerned about being enslaved to “BIG Government,” but I say that our very own government better examine the ring in its own nose. If indeed our government has a ring (debt) in their own nose, a couple of questions are begging to be asked: What master is leading the American people and where is he taking us?
Does the global climate policy of land ownership bother you? Consider this - God is the originator of this mandate. Satan is just doing his normal thing and replicating what God does. You see, this way, it is guaranteed to work. Satan wants debt: individually, nationally, and globally. Without debt, he cannot rule!
There is nothing you own that cannot be taken from you – nothing. Even if you did find something completely free of debt, God could take it away in a heartbeat. After all, He is the owner of ALL – and that ALL includes you, your bank, and even Satan.
SEVEN - JEALOUSY: Individuals who suffer with debt are typically a jealous people. Jealousy, according to the Greek: the passion of ownership of; or possessing an exclusive right over a person, place, or thing. God is the only being that has this exclusive right over people, land, and their possessions. When humans attempt to use the verbiage of rights of ownership, they provoke God Himself to be a jealous God (Exodus 20:5). Usually when I bring up this topic around lukewarm “Christians,” I’m accused of the sin of semantics. From what I read in the Holy Scriptures, provoking God to jealousy by making claims of ownership is a big deal. In fact, one of the Hebrew names of God is Kannaw – Jealous One. So, I just tell them to go ahead and take ownership of some person, land, or possession; while we all watch to see if the God of the Universe manifests the mandate of His name – the Jealous One.
Do people not see that well over 50% of our market purchases are based on jealousy? This principle is SO true that the manufactures design their products to be insured/guaranteed for about one year. The upgrade mentality is based on the lies associated with jealousy. Why put guarantees on products more than a year when statistics prove that the consumer replaces the product within the first year of “owning” it. Manufactures are not necessarily making products of lesser quality because they want to “cut corners.” It is usually based on the principle of market-place jealousy.
EIGHT - ARROGANCE: Why would indebted people be arrogant, when they have nothing to claim as their own? James 3:14 (NASB) says:
But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
According to these truths, when individuals are suffering with jealousy and selfish ambition, they are arrogant, and actually lie against the Truth. Arrogance is the main characteristic of a liar and a thief. This is why arrogant people love the gamble of debt – they “borrow” from Peter to pay Paul. They typically purchase things to give the appearance of being wealthy and secure, even if it takes getting a loan to do it. In God’s reality, they are only one lawsuit away from poverty.
Do you know the percentage of loans granted today that are for the purpose of paying debt? Yes, you read me correctly; more debt, usually with a higher interest rate, to pay for delinquent debt. I don’t know the percentage, but I can assure you, it is the biggest chuck of national debt represented in the private and government sectors. I have asked two separate global economists how I can get my hands on “pie charts” from the international banks stating such statistics. In both cases, they said that these numbers are “privatized.” For those of you new to this term, that means the International Banking System is owned by the private sector (nongovernment) and thus any governmental loans released through their bank becomes privatized – individually owned. Who are these private sector people and why do they call the shots on the value of the coin? I’ll tell you why; the lender calls the shots. Secondly, almost every country in the world is in debt to the International Banking System. If the IBS ever calls in their loans, there will be a bunch of nations having the carpet (land) pulled out from underneath their feet.
If you’re like me, you will find a lot of this global finance stuff a bit hard to believe. My observation is that history tends to repeat itself and that there is nothing really new under the sun. I am not speaking so much as a prophet, but more as a historian. If history does indeed repeat itself, the global climate is about to change.
NINE - BITTERNESS AND RESENTMENT: These two words do an adequate job of describing someone who loves money more than they love God. Why? Those who love money are playing with the root of all evil. Those who play with evil are challenging God to remove the very possessions that form idolatry. Once they catch on to the fact that God is removing these objects, they become resentful and bitter. If you would take the time to read through the book of Revelation, you will discover an unstoppable mission of God to remove all the earthly things from the people, obedient and disobedient alike. He does this in order to observe where the people place their glory. A reasonable mind would think disobedient people would get the message and repent; but they don’t. They actually become more resentful and bitter – which is something the love of money has the ability to do.
DISILLUSIONMENT: When people, who are in debt, attempt to use money to fulfill their unhappiness or obtain the possession, they quickly discover that their purchase didn’t make them feel any better. Not only that, they soon realize the additional debt has only added to their feelings of disillusionment and despair.
Next we need to explore the secret of knowing God’s purposes for money and external possessions.
