GOD'S ECONOMY

Getting Control of Out-of-Control Money

By Tim Branson
The 700 Club

CBN.com -“Actually I wasn’t in control of money, money was in control of me, because I would see something I would go get it,” says Cynthia Horton. “I worked hard for it and those voices tell you that ‘you deserve it.’ You know, ‘go get it.’”

That’s the mindset Cynthia Horton adopted as a young career woman.

“I would change cars every two years because that's what I thought we were supposed to do,” says Cynthia.  “I just went on spending sprees because I had money to do so.”

Eventually, most of her money went to paying bills and creditors.

“I wasn’t in control of money, money was in control of me,” says Cynthia. “I remember I’d have to spend a lot of time writing everything down, every penny that I was going to spend. If anything came in two dollars over, I was going to be in a bind. I was literally budgeting every paycheck to the penny.”

She started watching The 700 Club. 

“I started hearing these principles that were very foreign to me about, you know, "give and it shall be given unto you,’" remembers Cynthia.

Eventually, Cynthia became a CBN partner.

“I remember writing that first check and I thought angels were going to be singing cause it was such a huge,” says Cynthia. “It was huge step for me.”

Cynthia still didn’t have a handle on spending, though, and her debt grew to thirty thousand dollars.

“As long as you can pay that monthly payment, life is good,” says Cynthia. “And it wasn't good because that wasn't the way to live.”

Then, she lost her job. Cynthia says she had to depend solely on God, which wasn’t always easy.

“It was very stressful for me, especially one time in particular I remember pacing back and forth and I said, ‘you know, God, I need your help.  My mortgage payment is drafting the next day.’ I had $1.87 in the bank.”

That day Cynthia received a pre-approved loan offer for $6000, at a whopping 27% interest. Cynthia admits she was tempted.

“I’m thinking, ‘this is a quick answer to my problem.’ God said, ‘it might be a quick answer, but it's not your answer.’ In a permanent marker I wrote ‘void’ on that check. And I can't tell you to this day how that mortgage payment drafted the next day.”

And even though money was tight, she believes God told her to keep giving.

“As a matter of fact, his specific instruction was to continue giving the same amount as when I had a job. Over seven months of unemployment I never missed a car payment, never missed a mortgage payment because of God's faithfulness,” says Cynthia.

Eventually Cynthia found a job. She says God showed her ways to pay off her debt. One of them was to give more.

“He asked me to double my giving to CBN. I said, ‘double my gift?’ I mean 20 was a stretch, now 40 was ‘wow.’"

Cynthia increased her giving. In time she paid off all of her debt and is still debt free. She’s also a CBN Chairman’s Circle member. Cynthia says she has an understanding of giving and faith she never had before.

“My old philosophy of giving was, ‘God gets 10%, 90% is mine.’ My philosophy now is that it's all His. I cannot go wrong having everything that I own in His hands. He gave it to me anyway. One of the principles that I learned is that when I give it to God, He's going to do so much more with it than I could ever imagine and then He blesses me back along the way.”

Being obedient to God's truth made an incredible difference for Cynthia. It can make a difference in your life too! Join her in partnering with CBN. You will make a difference in lives around the world, through medical missions, food and clothing programs, humanitarian outreaches and so much—all in the name of Jesus. Please join today.

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