Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Edwin Booth was one of the greatest actors of his day. Coming from a famous acting family, Edwin toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe performing Shakespearean plays. Some theatrical historians consider him the greatest American actor, and the greatest Hamlet, of the 19th century.   But that fame turned against him because of His brother John. The brothers had shared the stages from time to time but they, like many families of their day, disagreed over the Civil War. As the war went on, John increasingly quarreled with Edwin, who declined to make stage appearances in the South and refused to listen to John denunciations of the North and Lincoln. John Wilkes Booth showed his hatred when he went to Ford theater in April of 1865 and assassinated the President.   The assassination forced Edwin Booth to abandon the stage for many months. He disowned his brother, refusing to have John's name spoken in his house. Yet the damage was done....

   How are you supposed to deal with the awkward situation of a friend that asks to borrow money?  Can you say no?  Does it matter what it is for?  What if they can’t pay you back? What if they won’t pay you back?  What if you are the one in need, is it wrong to ask for help from a friend?   Many a relationship has come to an awkward end when money becomes involved.  So what wisdom does the Bible have for us when it comes to these types of situations? Let break them down into two categories: When you are asked to be a lender:     If at all possible, don’t be a personal lender ( Proverbs 22:26-27 ).  As one person wisely told me never lend a friend money that you are not willing to give them.  If you can’t afford to give them money, you can’t afford to lend them money as well.   If you can help someone out do so (Proverbs 3:27-28), but make sure things stay between you and them.  Don’t cosign a lo...

           Two words can be your finical ruin: Minimum Payment. As many Americans struggle with making ends meet some have been tempted to “save” money by only making the minimum payment on their credit cards. The common thinking is that it might take you longer but you can eventually pay them off, but in fact, the math just doesn't work out.  If a person has the average amount of credit card debt ($10,679) with rate around 24% (a common rate for those with a bad credit) after ten years they will have paid $26,930 yet still owe $11,790, even if they haven’t put anything else on the card! After 50 years of paying, they still would owe $17,515 although they have paid $165,729. If you lived for a 1000 years and never missed a payment, you would have forked over $5.1 billion to the credit card company, yet still owe them $212 million. You will never be able to pay off your debt!        ...