By Brian Fourman | Article from biblemoneymatters.com 19 OCTOBER 2015
Perhaps no other issue in the personal finance space pits one advocate against another to a greater extent than does the issue of debt.
Proponents on both sides have very clear and passionate answers to questions such as “Should I ever go into debt?”, “Are some kinds of debt good and others bad?” and “Do I really need to get out of debt to succeed financially?” If you dig deep enough you can find someone who agrees with your specific stance on debt.
Debt Is About Slavery
What no one can deny is that when you go into debt you position yourself as a servant or slave to the one who lent you the money. If that fact sounds familiar it’s because it does come from the pages of the Bible, specifically Proverbs 22:7 which says,
“The rich rules over the poor and borrower is servant to the lender.”
The day I bought an engagement ring on credit my personal financial status changed. Until that point I had not been financially accountable to anyone. There was no lender in my life demanding repayment of any money I had borrowed. When I signed on the dotted line I became a slave to the person who lent me the money.
Saying someone is a slave may sound harsh but that’s the reality.
Further proof of this status can be seen by looking at who holds all the power in the relationship. Who is it? Are the lender and I financial equals? Certainly not. All the power in the financial relationship rests with the lender.
The lender dictates the terms of the loan and how it will be repaid. I have little or no choice with that. If the interest rate is 4.5%, then it’s 4.5%. If payment is due on the 15thof the month then they better have your payment by the 15th
If the lender went crazy and said, “I know I said you had two years to pay that back but I changed my mind…give me all my money tomorrow,” you’d have to oblige. Sure it’s a crazy example of someone turning the tables on the terms of the loan but it reinforces the concept that going into debt backs you into a corner where you are subject to the demands of the lender. It’s a do-what-they-say scenario that requires you to jump through the hoops they create.
That sounds like bondage to me.
Financial Freedom Is the Goal
What Proverbs 22:7 drove home for me was that until I repaid my debts, I was not able to use money in ways that I desired. Each month when my paychecks would come, a significant portion of my salary had to go to pay off my debts. In order to honor my obligation to the lender I had no other choice.
I couldn’t choose to use that money for something else. It was already earmarked for the lender. If I didn’t follow through with the repayment terms I would fall behind and incur even greater financial troubles than just being in debt.
I’ve held all kinds of debt in my life…that first (and only) engagement ring, car debt, student debt, mortgage debt and even business debt. At each time I fully believed all that debt was necessary to move me forward in life or improve my financial status. I didn’t necessarily like it but figured that’s the way society works. You got to play by the rules.
What we value and what we believe can change with age. The things I desired at 25 are not the same now that I’m in my forties. Right now I value complete financial freedom, which is why I’ve worked so hard to achieve that goal. I don’t want to be a slave to any financial institution any more for one simple reason…
Debt blocks me from doing what I really want to do – and what needs to be done – with money.
I don’t want my debt to rob me of special opportunities God might put before me. If He called my name, could I move to another country and do mission work with a $300,000 mortgage on my hands? Probably not until I could wind down that position. If that took months or years the opportunity could be lost.
Furthermore, debt brings with it unnecessary stress, it hinders me from giving generously and it makes unforeseen events (like sickness or casualty) more difficult to deal with. With debt those issues seem insurmountable. Without debt they can be managed.
You may think the Bible sends mixed signals about debt being good or bad. But the Bible is pretty clear on this issue – debt brings financial slavery. Wouldn’t you rather be free?
Questions:
What is your view of debt?
Has your view changed over the course of your life?
Do you feel like a servant to your lender?
