The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7

Hey, y’all, hey! It’s time to talk money again! When you read that verse, what were your thoughts? I cringe every time I see it—it’s a punch in the gut. For me, this is student loans, maxed out credit cards, and a car loan. What happened to make me think I needed those to obtain the things that I wanted? How have I benefited from those debts? I haven’t because I didn’t finish college, I can’t use those cards anymore, and that car is an entirely different crap story.

Debt is dumb. Cash is king. Dave Ramsey

The beauty of this is I’m not wallowing in shame about these debts. Are they stupid? Certainly. Does it hurt to have them? Absolutely. Yet, I’m encouraged to dig beyond the pain. As I reflect on my life when I first got into debt, I was in a different mental state. I was an immature teenager who thought she knew it all at 18. I barely listened to sound parental advice encouraging me to stay away from loans, develop a positive approach to financial management, and keep applying for scholarships. Also, I didn’t heed the warnings about not allowing people to use my credit cards. Even in my 20s, I didn’t grasp the concept that I could find a reliable, road-ready car without payments. Yet, praise Jesus that I’m able to rectify those mistakes! I don’t have to be a slave forever to these lenders. I get to glorify God as I clean up my mess.

This brings me to another point.

As humans, we vaguely understand how credit, debt, and repayment works (even if it is after we get burned). We know we’ll soon have to pay our debts back. The same is true spiritually. Many people go through life foolishly incurring sin debts with the notion, “I’ll get it together when I’m older,” or, “YOLO. I’m living on my terms. After all, God knows my heart.” He sure does, so He wrote that 66-book love letter that many people refuse to read or obey. The Lord knows we’re not wise enough on our own to get it right, so He’s been trying to guide us in the way we should go. He inspired some of His faithful sons to write to us on wise living, enjoying unbroken fellowship with Him, and how to define true success. The living God also gave us real-life examples of life when we live contrary to His will and ways.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23

As we’re getting our finances in order while dealing with our money mindsets, let’s all get our lives in order and deal with the sin that’s been running us. Together, we can seek the Lord and turn from any spiritual wickedness lingering in our lives. Sin has a master that we don’t want to serve, and this undealt with debt has eternal repercussions that we don’t want to pay.

Love,

*Disclaimer: I am not an affiliate of Ramsey Solutions in any way, shape, or form, nor am I a financial coach. These are merely my opinions and convictions about a program I happen to find beneficial for my family and myself.