I never realized before just how bad debt was until we began studying it just recently. I have known plenty of people all my life who lived with debt, and it never seemed to effect anything. But just recently, I have learned just how strongly the Word of God talks about debt.
For example, Romans 13:8 states, "Owe no one anything..."
And Proverbs 22:7 states, "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrow is servant to the lender."
Now, if these two were not enough to convince us what God thinks of having debt, the view of debt given in the Old Testament should leave no doubt. In Deut.28:1-2, 12... one of the rewards for obedience that God promised the people of Israel was they would be free of debt. And conversely, in Deut.28:15, 43-44, Debt was one of the curses for disobedience!
And there's that the whole presumption aspect of debt. You see, when we go into debt over something that we think we simply must have at the moment like a new computer, a new big screen TV, etc... we're presuming that things are going to stay well with our financial situation, and we'll simply pay it off in a few months. But in James 4:13, we're warned against the sin of presumption. We really don't know how we're going to be fairing in 6 months. If God permits, we could be doing well... or we could lose our job, get sick, get in accident, anything can happen. So, we must be very careful in this regard to.
Now, the Bible doesn't say it's a sin to go into debt. It simply discourages it because you become somewhat in bondage. The very smart and Godly people at Crown Financial Ministries state that it's their opinion that it is permissible to borrow for: 1) a home mortgage, 2) your vocation, or 3) your business. But there are things to consider even then... like:
-Will the item purchased produce income or at least go up in value?
-Does the value of the item equal or exceed the amount owed?
-And will the repayment of the new debt put too high a strain on your budget?
All very wise questions.
Personally for me, I understand very practically just how debt is financial slavery. My wife and I don't have the freedom to give sometimes or do the things that we would love to do because of debt. I would love to give more to my church, more to missions, be able to just bless the people we love... but I'm often hindered b/c we simply do not have it to give. I grew up with the understanding that when you recieve your income, first and foremost you give your top 10% to God no matter what... whether your eat or not, that first 10% is God's and to not give it is stealing! Then you pay the people that you owe. And finally, you use the rest to live on or give to help others. One of these days (December 2009) we will be out of debt by the grace and favor of God. Because 1) we have a budget, and 2) we have repayment plan to pay off all our creditors. And then we will be completely free! But until that time, we live under the curse of slavery because of bad choices. If you're reading this, learn from our mistakes. Don't give into the temptation of "have now - pay later." Save your money, learn to live without, and you will be free and blessed because of it.
4 comments:
The Bible School where my husband and I met had a class on finances and it sure was a blessing to a lot of people! Thankfully we were also both taught by our parents to never go into debt for anything other than our home, which is what we did. Even that debt is sometimes a lot to carry. We do know that our home is worth every penny though. I wish more people could learn this lesson early in life, to avoid financial issues in the future.
That is so true. I'm glad you are teaching the youth about this because unfortunately few people (including our parents) know how to manage finances nowadays.
What you said about if you don't give your 10 percent to God it is like stealing I think is a little off base. God does not need anything from us and if we do decide to give it should be because we want to not because we feel obligated to. God also knows that often our money doesn't always cover all of our costs and I beleive that he will accept many differnt forms of tithe, because God infact sees our hearts and not just our actions. I beleive he would much rather have someone give their time with a willing heart then someone give their tithe feeling obligated to. Anyway sorry if that was pushing they are just some thoughts.
A fellow Servant
Just to comment back, we give way more than than 10% to God because we are in full time ministry we just don't give it directly to the church, and I believe that putting a percent that everyone has to give is not the right way to do things. We work with many poor people who many times do not even have money to feed their children and in cases like this we would never push people to give 10% because God is not an inhumain God and I am almost positive that he would rather that these children eat then for the church to benifit just a little more. These people on the other hand do understand the reason for tithing and the importance of giving to God and totally would and do if God provided enough for them to do that.
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