Statistically the average American household has $8,000 in unpaid credit card bills. It's a huge problem, as seen by the reported 1.5 million households that declared bankruptcy last year.

I've had experience working with people in financial trouble—people with thousands of dollars in bills that they have no way to pay. Over time, the interesting thing I've discovered is that with intentional effort most people can be out of short-term debt in one to three years.

One key is believing that God has a better way than you living one step above disaster. I discovered this some 20 years ago when I discovered that I had far more month than money. I remember getting a paycheck and thinking I didn't have enough money to pay our bills, much less live for two more weeks.

I think what's happened in America is what happens to NFL football players whose bodies hurt on Monday, lingering into Tuesday and Wednesday. They learn to live with pain because that's part of football. A lot of people in our society have bought into the idea that the pain of credit and bondage on their lives is normal. It does not have to be—God has a better way.

Look at Deuteronomy 28:12, "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none." (NIV)

God intends for his people to have resources to share with others. And when all of your resources are bound up in what you owe to others you can never fully be the person God wants you to be.

Debt solutions

First, you have to apply a tourniquet and stop the bleeding. I start by having write down all their debts and expenditures. They quickly realize they do not have the ability to keep all this afloat. Then I emphasize that they have to make some significant changes with their spending on housing and cars, even things like Christian school, cable TV or telephone. I tell them, "You have to begin to make drastic changes to your lifestyle to get the bleeding to stop."

A lot of people just want the pressure to go away. That is why bankruptcy is so attractive. Spiritually, even if you declare bankruptcy, morally and spiritually there is still an obligation before the Lord.

People drowning in debt have to add up where they are and deal with what is pulling them deeper into debt. If you can't use credit cards and pay off the balances every month, you're making foolish decisions.

I remember one pastor friend I helped. He had charged $6,000 in grocery bills in the last 12 months because his family didn't have the money. That credit card was a mask for his problems. The correct choice would have been to go to his church and ask for help.

If somewhere you bottom out and say, "No more, God," then you can begin to get out of debt. The great thing I've seen is people who display the determination to crawl out.

Seek good advice

Second, seek good advice. Men are especially not good at asking for advice. Learn to seek out good, godly counsel. One source of counsel is the repairman. You don't want to talk to a salesman about his products, talk to those who repair those items—people who will not benefit from what they tell you. Another source of counsel is someone you respect in financial and spiritual matters. Another is Consumer Reports. 

Third, make giving to God your highest priority. Even with those in serious debt, I ask them to be willing to give their first part of their income to God. The first step with your finances is honor God. Then God will show you a pathway out of your mess. 

The purpose of tithing is to teach you to put God first in your lives. Then issues of spending, indebtedness, saving and investing fall in line. It's not about an amount of money, it's about honoring God. It's a spiritual decision, not a financial decision.

A lot of Christians have never made that decision. Only about 17 percent of Christians tithe, according to George Barna. Regardless of a person's circumstances, I think it's right to honor God first, trusting that God will reveal himself to be faithful.

From a message delivered by Brian Kluth, a senior pastor and the founder of www.MAXIMUMgenerosity.org. He sends a FREE monthly generosity newsletter to 13,000 pastors and church leaders from more than 50 denominations. He is the author of a "40 Day Spiritual Journey to a More Generous Life" and many other materials for churches and ministries to advance biblical generosity. Copyright, www.kluth.org.