The Problem of Finances and Housing

Richard Hollerman

As I observe the American scene, the housing market, and the finances it takes to buy a house and earn a living, I am made to wonder. In fact, I really don’t know how to answer all of this.

In the past, I always earned little, just above the minimum wage. Yes, I had much education and probably people would wonder why I earned so little. My education was not at all in a money-making field and further I obtained and maintained a position that allowed me to study the Bible deeply and long each day. But I earned very little. Further, I worked for some 28 years until I unjustly lost my employment. Further yet, I realize that many “religious” people only insist on giving some 10 percent of their income (or even lower, depending on the net income rather than the gross income).

(Consider this last point.  This is what might be considered:

  • 5% of churchgoers tithe. (What about the other 95%?)
  • Only 1.5 million people tithe but this is out of a total of 247 million citizens of the United States.
  • If every Christian tithed (gave 10 percent), official organizations that were tied to Christian groups, would have $139 billion more per year (but, of course, they don’t have this amount).
  • “Christians” in the United States make 5.2 trillion dollars each year—but only a small portion goes to the work of the Lord.
  • 49% of Americans gave to religious organizations (which includes all sorts of groups).
  • From 1990 to 2015, there was a 50% drop in donations.
  • Women make up 75% of religious donors in America.
  • Those between 55 and 65 tithe more than any other age bracket.

(www.vancopayments.com/egiving/church-giving-statistics-tithing#:~:text=Tithing%20Statistics)

We offer this as a background for our study. Years ago I wrote a monograph entitled, “The Stumbling Block of the Tithe,” in which I showed that many deceived people give to their church some 10% when they could give not only 10% but 15% or 20% or 30% or much more. From our statistics above, we notice that only 5% give a “tithe” (10%) and they could give much more. Further, we note that nearly all of this is given to denominations, cults, or groups that are clearly heretical—yet, sadly, people are deceived and think that they do what is right!

Instead of giving only 10 percent I gave much more. For this reason, after living in many rent houses (I couldn’t afford a home), I lost the house in which I was living! Even after advertizing  by means of some 103 different ads in 5 different papers, with no response, I found myself without housing. For the next 4 ½ years, I lived in unusual circumstances. Yet, thanks to my God, He sustained me through it all.

I say this to emphasize that I can empathize with those who are in financial needs and having serious housing issues. We may wonder how people can even afford to live under like circumstances. We suppose that this may be even more dire in other countries of the world (we have read that there are some nine billion people now living on earth—and thousands die each day through malnutrition and starvation!). We wonder just how they can live.

Last night as I contemplated all of this, I lay in bed, “tossing and turning,” and tried to work this out in my mind. I did have to wonder how people can afford to live… period. I live now in a rather medium or mediocre area—not the most inexpensive place and surely not the most expensive. We were able to obtain a house at half price years ago and now live with daily issues of how to pay for many things but I am grateful to God that I do have a roof over our head!

As I looked around and contemplated the way others live, I was somewhat dismayed, perplexed, and in a real quandary. For one, it seems that the man of the house (the so-called “bread-winner”) must have a high-paying job—and perhaps this he was able to obtain through compromises with his training and education. But what if he has no education or training? Further, we assume that often the woman of the house has a job, but what if she (as a Christian) refuses to work away from the home (cf. 1 Timothy 5:14; Titus 2:4-5) and be a “full time” mother?

Further, we would also assume that most of these families with the house in question might either have no children or only one or two of them, even after Genesis 9:1 seems to say that we should normally have children. Further, we recall that parents must have about three children (at least) in order to maintain the population, even though the average family in the United States has fewer children than this. We recall that Christ’s family had at least 9 members and perhaps many more children (perhaps ten or eleven?).

Beyond this, we know that children must not be sent to the public schools—that would be replete with worldliness, evolution, sports-mania, immodesty, secularism, and many other negative features And this exposure to public education would be evil (from a Christian and holiness standpoint) but where does this leave the family? Either the father or mother (generally the latter) must home educate the children if they are to be taught at all. Therefore, the children will be sent to a thoroughly Christian private school, but where is this to be found—and how are they to pay for this additional expense, even if they were to find this option?

If the wife/mother does stay at home and if she has many children and if she teaches all of them, and if the husband/father has a very low-paying job, then how does his family pay for their houses and many other household expenses? We really don’t know. How would this family become involved in Bible study, outreach to others, and so forth?

We think that the reader will see the difficultly (I dare say this but we think that this is nearly an impossibility) for a family living in today’s world. What if the family has a wage-earning father who has a low-paying job? What if the family is composed of 6 or 8 or 12 members? What if the wife/mother does not work away from the home? What if they home-educate the children? What if they must make their own clothes, and have their own garden, and pay for their own health-care, and still have something extra for the Lord (perhaps 10 percent or 20 percent)? What if they have a “special needs” child or two?

Let’s continue: What if the family refuses to living in a run-down and crime-ridden neighborhood, and also needs to have sufficient room in the house for everyone—the parents and children? And what if they do need some sort of means to pay for home-schooling supplies? And there still needs to have something for transportation (perhaps one or two cars or a large van) for such a large family and if the husband/father knows little or nothing about auto repairs?

Can you see the picture that I seek to draw here? It may be that in some nations of the world this would be more feasible, but where? Right here in this area of America, we live in what is considered a fairly economical area, it would seem that this ability to live and work normally would be nearly impossible. It may be but we just don’t see how. Yes, it may be that relatives and members of a fellowship may help but, apart from this, we wonder just how it can be done.

Just think of this middle-income area in a rather low-cost part of the country. How would it be possible for a family to do all that needs to be done (as we have outlined above)? And suppose that one of the adults were to separate or divorce and go his or her way (as difficult as this may be). Or perhaps if someone were to die and leave such a situation behind? How could this very portion of the town continue?  Even with this, we wonder how the family could pay for a funeral, an undertaker, a plot of land, etc. We wonder.

In short, we dare say that it is nearly impossible or even impossible to live in this city, or in this state, or in this country. In this very location, we just think that people would need to move since they couldn’t continue to pay their taxes or mortgages. And if they had a sizeable family, when would it be possible to sleep? We wonder….

We know that God has not been a factor in our discussions above. We know that He can change all of this with His supernatural help, His provision, and His guidance. With this in mind, we encourage you to read such portions as Psalm 73; Matthew 6; Philippians 4; and the entire Bible. There are helpful portions that should be our staple in all of the discussion. We need to seek God’s help and guidance with problems as we have described above. He knows what He is doing and will do it all well. May God help us! Especially if some of what we have described resonates with you, may God be near and bless you and help you to deal with this seeming dilemma.

See also: Financial Trials of Following the Lord Jesus (https://truediscipleship.com/financial-trials-of-following-the-lord-jesus-and-their-solutions/)