Making Change: Part 2 - "Stress Is Bad" with Craig Groeschel - Life.Church

Stress Is Bad: Moving from Debt to Freedom

Scripture References

• Proverbs 22:7
• Proverbs 25:28

Overview

Debt never adds joy, peace, or intimacy—it only multiplies stress. In part two of “Making Change,” Pastor Craig Groeschel drills the second core truth of the series: “Stress is bad.” Because the borrower is a slave to the lender, God’s people must refuse financial bondage and pursue a debt-free life that honors Him. Craig unpacks three daily prayers—self-control, understanding, and a plan—and shows how God can turn disciplined steps into lasting freedom.

Main Points

Four Anchors for Financial Wisdom

• Less is more, Stress is bad, Giving is good, Tomorrow matters.
• Craig repeats the four anchors until the congregation can say them from memory and puts them on refrigerator magnets for constant reminder.

Debt = Stress and Bondage

• No one says, “Since we got into debt our marriage improved” or “High interest makes our love life better.”

• “Every night when I go to bed I thank God for my debt—said no one ever.”

• Proverbs 22:7—owing money makes us slaves; that’s why financial stress is truly bad.

• Illustration: A gym friend financed a $48,000 truck for 72 months at 19 percent. Payments total ≈ $81,000 for a vehicle worth perhaps $12–15 k seven years later—numbers that “make you want to vomit.”

Prayer #1 – “God, Give Me Self-Control”

• Proverbs 25:28: no self-control = a city with broken walls—wide open to attack.
• Everyone has an inner two-year-old screaming “I want it now.” Lock that kid up.

• Example: Clearance racks, $5 coffee, boats, new-car smell—all areas where “no” today lets us say “yes” later.
• Story: Early in marriage Craig & Amy lived on a “spending freeze”—ramen noodles, no new clothes, $5 homemade gifts, tie-swaps, skipping restaurant extras. Result: house paid off by age 28 and freedom to launch Life.Church.

Prayer #2 – “God, Give Me Understanding”

• Hosea 4:6—people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
• Most buyers ask “How much down? How much a month?” but never “How much will this really cost?”

• Example of Compounding Interest:
  • $16 k credit-card balance at 19 % with $250 monthly payments → 40 years + ≈ $115 k interest.
  • The same $16 k invested at 12 % for 40 years grows to ≈ $1.5 million.
  • Add $250/month contributions → ≈ $4 million.

• Understanding turns interest from an enemy into an ally.

Prayer #3 – “God, Give Me a Plan”

• Proverbs 21:5—“The plans of the diligent lead to profit, as surely as haste leads to poverty.”
• You can wander into debt, but you never wander out; you need a plan.
• Financial Peace University provides step-by-step tools:
  1. $1,000 starter emergency fund.
  2. Debt snowball.
  3. 3–6 months of expenses saved.
  4. Investing and generous living.

• Story: Keith (schoolteacher) & Karen followed the baby steps, paid off every debt—including their mortgage—in under five years on one income. Now they fund adoptions and Keith still teaches because he loves it, not because he has to.

Debt-Free Living Fuels Generosity

• Jesus said faithfulness with little precedes trust with much.
• Freedom from payments means freedom to help, give, travel, or stay home with children—options instead of obligations.
• Ultimately the goal is worship: “What we do with what God trusts us with truly matters to God.”

Key Truths

• Debt is not neutral; it is slavery that robs peace and options.
• Self-control is a spiritual battle won by daily dependence on God.
• Ignorance of interest and true cost destroys finances; wisdom multiplies resources.
• A clear, diligent plan turns hopeful wishes into measurable progress.
• Financial freedom expands our capacity for generosity and kingdom impact.

Response

• Ask God daily for self-control before every discretionary purchase.
• Track every debt and calculate its total cost to gain understanding.
• Enroll in Financial Peace University and begin the baby steps this week.
• Create a written budget and commit to “no new debt” until every balance is gone.
• Share victories with a trusted friend or small group for accountability and encouragement.

Closing

Stress is bad, but it is not inevitable. With God’s help we can lock up the screaming two-year-old inside us, learn what we were never taught, and work a plan that leads to profit, peace, and radical generosity.

“We’re going to say no for a little while so we can say yes for the rest of our lives.”

Prayer

Father, give us the self-control to say no, the understanding to see true costs, and the diligent plan that frees us to honor You with every dollar. As we’re faithful with little, entrust us with more so that we can live and give like no one else—for Your glory and others’ good.