{"id":43499,"date":"2012-06-11T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-11T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/abraham-lincoln-confronts-his-step-brother-about-debt\/"},"modified":"2012-06-11T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-06-11T00:00:00","slug":"abraham-lincoln-confronts-his-step-brother-about-debt","status":"publish","type":"sermon-illustrations","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/abraham-lincoln-confronts-his-step-brother-about-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Abraham Lincoln Confronts His Step-brother about Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In 1850, Abraham Lincoln&#39;s step-brother, John D. Johnston, wrote to him and asked, yet again, for a loan so he could settle some debts. On previous occasions Lincoln simply gave Johnston the money. But this time Lincoln responded with a &quot;tough love&quot; letter that included a helpful proposal.<\/p>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Dear Johnston:<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Your request for eighty dollars I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little you have said to me, &quot;We can get along very well now&quot;; but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now, this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not <em>lazy<\/em>, and still you are an <em>idler<\/em>. I doubt whether, since I saw you, you have done a good whole day&#39;s work in any one day&hellip;. This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break the habit &hellip;.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>You are now in need of some money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, &quot;tooth and nail,&quot; for somebody who will give you money for it &hellip;. and, to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you, that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor &hellip; I will then give you one other dollar &hellip;. Now, if you will do this, you will be soon out of debt, and, what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But, if I should now clear you out of debt, next year you would be just as deep in as ever.<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>Affectionately your brother,<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>A. Lincoln<\/p>\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<p><em>Possible Preaching Angles: (1) Confrontation\/Rebuke&mdash;Lincoln&#39;s letter provides a good example of &quot;tough love&quot;&mdash;the love that is willing to &quot;speak the truth in love&quot; so people can change and grow. (2) Money\/Debt&mdash;This letter also provides a biblical perspective on avoiding debt by working hard and being responsible with money.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"template":"","tax_ctp_audience":[],"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[165],"tax_ctp_format":[171],"tax_ctp_illustration_types":[411],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[140],"tax_ctp_tags":[3382,3391,3672,3694,3741,3782,3914,3991,4164,4349,4774,4806,4821,4999,5001,5200,5293],"tax_ctp_topics":[384,386],"class_list":["post-43499","sermon-illustrations","type-sermon-illustrations","status-publish","hentry","tax_publications-ct-pastors","tax_ctp_tags-admonition","tax_ctp_tags-advice","tax_ctp_tags-confusion","tax_ctp_tags-correction","tax_ctp_tags-debt","tax_ctp_tags-diligence","tax_ctp_tags-exhortation","tax_ctp_tags-finances","tax_ctp_tags-honesty","tax_ctp_tags-laziness","tax_ctp_tags-rebuke","tax_ctp_tags-reproof","tax_ctp_tags-responsibility","tax_ctp_tags-sloth","tax_ctp_tags-sluggards","tax_ctp_tags-truthfulness","tax_ctp_tags-work"],"acf":{"scripture_references":[{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null},{"first_verse":null,"add_second_verse":false,"second_verse":null}]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Abraham Lincoln Confronts His Step-brother about Debt - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/preaching\/sermon-illustrations\/abraham-lincoln-confronts-his-step-brother-about-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Abraham Lincoln Confronts His Step-brother about Debt - CT Pastors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1850, Abraham Lincoln&#039;s step-brother, John D. 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