The Money Diet

A Money Diet: 

In the USA billions of dollars are spent on fancy diets to help people lose weight. The South Beach Diet, The Grapefruit Diet, the Slim Fast Diet, the North Beach Diet, the Watermelon Diet, the Slim Slow Diet...etc, ad nauseum. 

I go to Ethiopia every year and it's funny how I have never heard the word "diet" once. No one is spending any money on diets and there's hardly anyone overweight. How do they do it without any of our wonder diets? 

It's simple...when you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight. God made your body really complex but also really simple - 

Excercise more +Eat less = Weigh less (Physical Health)

Now a MONEY DIET is just the same as a BODY DIET: 

To get in better financial shape you must: 

Work (make) more + Consume less = Owe less ($$ Health)

Our nation is in economic trouble for one reason: We thought we could spend more than we made. We fell in love with CREDIT and thought we could get away with it. But DEBT will be the DEATH of our economy. We indulged in DEBT like hot fudge sundaes. 

John Wesley's wisdom for financial success is as sound today as it was 300 years ago: 

"Make all you can, Save all you can, Give all you can." 

I am praying for the people of our church to: 

1. Make more...new jobs, better jobs, more hours, raises, side jobs, creative new ways to make money. 

2. Save more...spend less, lower lifestyles, cancel cable, sell their clutter, find creative low cost pleasures instead of expensive entertainment, stop buying unnecessary stuff, walk more - drive less, start piggy banks again, put money in safe cds, etc. 

3. Give more...invest in God's kingdom to release God's blessing in their finances, help the hurting because God promises to bless those who bless others. 

I have a friend who was just told by the doctor. "Go on a DIET or you are going to DIE"

The same is true for our nation's economy: "Go on a DIET or you are going to DIE!" 

Consume less, borrow less, produce more, sell more or you are going to die.