The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
When you owe money, you become a slave to your lender. In other words, you are submitted to your lender, who has power over you, as long as you have something that belongs to them. They are entitled to have their say in your life, by charging you interest and dictating the terms of your repayment. You can only return to your state of freedom when your debt has been paid in full.
Several years ago, my wife and I owed over $8000 in consumer debt. During my 50th year, we decided to try to get rid of our debt and change our spending habits. So, I cashed out an RRSP from my work to cover our debt, and we started using cash to pay for all of our expenses. These changes began a new life for us, as we started to consider buying only what we needed, rather than spending money on whatever we wanted.
If we could do it all over again, we would have chosen to live differently straight from the start. We realize that we don’t always get what we want, and all for good reason. Yes, the money was available, but it wasn’t free, and someday we would have to pay it back. So, we just continued to ignore the voice of reason in addressing our debt in order to live the dream of using someone else’s cash.
Today, we are growing in our gift of stewardship, as we continue to learn how to live simply, give generously, and share our life lessons with others. Getting into debt was challenging for us, but getting out of debt was worth the reward. We can now breathe easier, rest better, and be free to focus our eyes on Jesus who supplies us with everything we need.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus,
As you have taught us how to get out of debt, may you teach others how to be free from their burden of debt. Help them to pay back what they owe, to live within their means, and to give generously. May they budget what they spend so that they can also save money. Open their eyes to see your leading, their ears to hear your voice, and their hearts to know your love. Thank you for hearing their prayers, for supplying all of their needs, and for giving them further opportunities to manage their money wisely. Amen.
Amen!
Thanks for this prayer, David! For some reason the church skips over the sins of greed and covetousness quite a bit. Oh that’s right, we currently have a (c)hristian cable channel and a large network of churches whose main theme is the elevation of greed as a good thing.
Debt is often a thing of shame. Thank you for sharing.