As in all areas of fitness, it is true that what you are going to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years depends on the habits you are developing and practicing today. Since finances is such a key part of all of our lives, your habits in this area are going to have a huge impact over the course of your lifetime.

There are three options in relation to your income and your spending; live on less than you make, spend everything you make, or live on more than you make. It is normal and very easy and convenient to live on more than you make, all throughout your lifetime.

(From CBS News, 11-30-05): The nation's overall credit card debt was $273 billion in 1992. It's more than $800 billion today. Just call us, the credit card nation. Our motto used to be "Save for a rainy day." Now it's "Borrow today...pay back, whenever." / "I like to call it, the 'just do it' culture of people that have to have it now, they worry about the cost of paying for it later," economist Robert Manning says. / Manning, a professor of finance at the Rochester Institute of Technology, has new research on how Americans live with debt. The most surprising thing: people really aren't that bothered by it. / "We tend to plan financially for how much better things will be five or 10 years later," Manning says. More succinctly, Manning says Americans exercise, "Pure optimism."

As a college student, you are probably spending a lot more money than you are earning, and if you are going into the ministry, you can't expect to make a lot of money. 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Your income is not the main issue – the first issue is your habits with money.

In Matthew 6:21, Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” You might say “it's just money,” but it is a hugely spiritual issue, and all of us have to deal with it from one view or another, whether we have a little or a lot.

Capital One (“what's in your wallet?”) acts as though they are the only credit card that does not pillage and enslave. But they do it, too. Credit card companies earn 1/3 of their profits through fees and late charges – they profit at the expense of people addicted to debt. With “universal default,” if you are late on one card, all your other cards can raise your interest rate to 18 or 25%. That is bondage.

Debt limits your options and inhibits your freedom. You may want to get married, buy a car, buy a house, have kids, go to seminary, go to the mission field, retire someday – it takes freedom. Debt means you sacrifice in the future to enjoy possessions or advantages today. God would challenge us to sacrifice today to experience freedom in our future. Being “fit for life” in every area means sacrificing now to enjoy benefits later.

Dabney Oliver is 31 years old, single and she carries $13,000 in credit card debt. She says, "I look at my budget and it's really tight. It's just like paycheck to paycheck." Working for an advertising agency in San Francisco, her take-home pay is barely enough to cover expenses — which include $600 a month on her credit card debt. She said, "I would just like to be out of debt, more than anything because I think that would give me so much more freedom to do the things I want to do" (CBS News, 12-2-05). She could be investing $600 a month.

In ministry, you may not make a ton of money - debt is the very last thing you need. It is the first thing many people turn to, when money is tight, but debt leads to bondage, not freedom.

God would rather you earn interest on your money than pay interest to use someone else's money. The sooner you get this perspective, the earlier you can win in the area of money – so you can live and give like never before.

Dave Ramsey has calculated the average car payment in America is $378, about $4500 a year. If you invest that from age 25-65 in a good growth stock mutual fund, and the result is $4.4 million!

On an average income, if you avoid debt, you can do very well. You can be free to prepare for the future (like retirement, kids college); free to pay for living expenses (like vehicles); and free to give generously.

Turn to 1 Timothy 6:17-19. With just an average income, we have what it takes to be “rich” according to the Bible's standard (that is, we have our needs met and have money left over). As people who tend to have enough and more, we must do three things in relationship to money: 1) Trust God, not our wealth or our ability to borrow; 2) enjoy life and the things God provides; and 3) be generous (“rich in good deeds”). I know Dr. Miller would love to have more alumni who were free to give generously to the College to train future ministry leaders.

1. Get on a plan - tell your money what to do, however much or little you have (it sure beats the alternative of wondering where it went.) Proverbs 22:3 says, “The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.” (It helps to keep a record of your spending for a few weeks.)

2. Don't buy things you cannot afford to pay for – if you can “afford” payments but you cannot pay for something, you cannot afford it. You don't want to put Christmas on a credit card and then still be paying for it in February, March and April. That is a bad plan and a bad habit. People who win with money ask, “how much does it cost and can I afford it?” Broke people ask, “how much down and can I afford the payments?”

6. Start paying off your debts, smallest to largest, then build an larger emergency fund, save for retirement and future expenses (for example, plan to pay cash for your cars).

For more information, attend the Crown Financial Ministries seminar next semester. Visit daveramsey.com – you can listen to the radio show or download a daily podcast.

This will be counter-cultural. But changes in society can happen through the church. And changes in the church can happen through the leaders of the church – the students of today are the leaders and influencers of tomorrow. You can experience a difference, and you can make a difference.