Out of Consumer Debt!!!!

Today was an exciting day for us. We paid off our last credit card taking us out of consumer debt. We are not entirely out of debt. This was a relatively small step in the grand scheme of things but it is an exciting step we have been able to take forward. We still need to pay off a  student loan and a car but Lord willing we can attack them and it will not take too long.

I want to, however, highlight the problems with debt and why it  you should avoid  it at all costs…

1. 1. It enslaves you. Proverbs 22:7 says, “…the borrower is servant to the lender.” This is incredibly true. People no longer work to live but to pay the credit card bills and other debts that they have acquired. As the old song says, “I owe my soul to the company store…”
2. 2. It hinders the work of God. I have heard pastors get up and say that they had all the money to accomplish a task or meet a goal but the problem is that it is in the pockets of the people. I doubt that. I would say people owe it to banks and other lending institutions. Look at the numbers, if you have $5,000 in credit card debt, then most likely your minimum payments add up to over $100 or more. Toss in the average car payment of over $400 and that’s $500 more dollars that could go into the ministry. And let me also add, God is not necessarily hindered by this but it does hinder you from being blessed by being able to give more.
3. 3. It promotes a must-have-it-now mentality. Maturity is being able to delay pleasure. A long time ago, if you wanted to make a purchase, you had to take your time, save up, and then you could purchase it. Today, as long as you have good credit, you can buy just about anything, anywhere. This draws our focus from the things of God to the things we can buy. Our treasure becomes earthly treasure and so our heart is revealed. We are easily swept into materialism and bow at the feet of banks to get them to give us money.
4. 4. It promotes bad stewardship. We are called to be good stewards, or managers, of the things that God has given us. Credit allows us to live beyond our means. We are should be people who budget and live a lifestyle that shows God is in control. If you bring home $40,000 a year, that is where our lifestyle should be. With our bad stewardship, we then spiral out of control. You may think you are not out of control but I like the question one consumer advocate said: “How long could you survive if you lost your job tomorrow?” Most are at a point that they seem to be floating in life’s sea with no problems but if they lose their job or some other financial disaster strikes, they will sink.
5. 5. It creates idolatry. I touched on this earlier but debt creates idolatry through materialism. We become people who like and want stuff over people who love and want God. We get things we cannot afford, to impress people we do not even like. It makes us superficial at best worrying nothing more than about the appearance of things.

I am sure there are many more reasons that can be added to the problems debt creates. The biggest reason to get out of debt is not just these reasons however. The biggest reason is that, as Christians, we are to live in such a way that it shows that money is not our master but that God is. As Jesus said, “You cannot serve God and mammon.” Either your money will control you or you will control your money. Imagine what we could do as a church if we had no debt and lived a lifestyle that showed that eternity is what really matters.

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