The scripture has much to say about debt. I did not grow up with credit cards and didn’t know what they were until I applied for a Macy’s credit card right after college. We are a debt-driven society!! Our taxation system even encourages debt in hope of a return at the end of the year. Most debts are discouraged in scripture with the exception of one debt! I will discuss financial debt and spiritual debt in this devotional.
Financial Debt
As it relates to financial debt, the scripture looks down upon the idea of borrowing and considers borrowing a form of slavery to another. Years ago, we used to lead Crown Financial Bible Studies, and one of the chapters covered the issue of debt.
One of the scriptures shared was:
“The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender. “ Proverbs 22:7
We had a Filipino lady in our class. This lady was amazed at how the scripture was telling the story that she had seen played out before her eyes. She said that in my country if a person borrows money from someone and can’t pay them back, they become their servants for a time period until the debt is paid off. She had seen a form of slavery due to unpaid debt!!
In our American culture, people can be in deep debt but not have it be visible to others. Their debt can be to a bank or other lending institutions, so as a result we don’t see the slavery in its true sense. Nevertheless, it still keeps people in bondage of paying off debt for years to come.
When it comes to financial debt, the scripture discourages all kinds of debt. If you borrow money for an investment with a hope of return on your investment, then that generally is a better reason to borrow. However with the recent economic crisis we saw that even money borrowed for an investment such as a house, still needs to be done with great wisdom, moderation, and care. The person should be able to afford to pay the debt for the long haul and stay committed in paying it off. Borrowing should be done in moderation, not as a get rich quick or trying to obtain a dream house on a shoe lace budget!!
Besides purchasing investment properties, most debts are caused by overspending and impulsiveness. Credit cards or store credit cards are all ways that businesses encourage people to purchase items they can’t afford and do it impulsively. Then they are left with paying off the items along with high interest rates added to the original price. Those kinds of situations can keep people in perpetual debt. To the degree that is possible, and it is not an emergency situation, we are called to save for what we desire to purchase. Steady plodding will eventually bring prosperity in the long run. In the short term we will have money to pay for things rather than being compelled into borrowing. This also develops self-control and patience in our lives. I have found many times if I just walk away from something and decide to get it in a couple of days, the urge to purchase it goes away!!
The scripture discourages us to lend/cosign for someone because it puts us under a financial obligation if they can’t pay their debt. That’s why it is so important not to get into situations that could possibly affect our relationship with someone or put us in financial jeopardy because the other person can’t afford to pay the debt.
For further study on financial debt, I would recommend taking a Crown Financial Bible study in your area. Many churches offer this or they have similar Biblical financial principle classes that are very helpful in building our financial house on the Word of God.
Spiritual debt
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12
When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus prayed a prayer that we now call “The Lord’s Prayer”. One of the things that He prayed was the above scripture. We recognize that we have a debt towards God due to our sin and rebellion before a holy God. Jesus took on our sins and became the sacrifice for the remission of our sins. This was a debt that we could not repay because the consequence of sin before a holy God was death. Jesus, the perfect one was the only qualified person to be able to die for our sins. He was sinless, so he had no debt to pay for His own sins.
Since we are tremendously blessed by the forgiveness of our sins and get to enjoy a fellowship with a Holy God, we in turn are called to forgive our debtors.
Debtor: one who owes another, one who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured.
A debtor is one who has sinned against us, offended us, hurt us, or owes us something. The scripture is clear that while this person may not make amends with us, we are still called to forgive the debt they owe us and release them from our grip.
Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
The scripture adds to Matthew 6:12 by basically saying that not only we need to forgive our debtors, but also as a believer the only thing we should owe one another is love. We don’t owe someone hatred, revenge, or indifference. When we think of people, we want to think about how we can express love towards them next time we see them. This would not happen if we haven’t already forgiven their offenses towards us. Forgiveness brings us to a position of giving rather than expecting something of people. The only debt that pleases God is to owe love towards our brothers and sisters in Christ!!
This is a good time to examine our heart and our finances to see the areas that we owe others money, or an apology. It’s time to settle the matters or at least start working towards paying off the debt. If there are individuals who owe us something, it’s time to forgive them and put the past behind and start loving them. If they owe us money, while we may want/need our money back, we can still release them spiritually, so whether they pay or not, it won’t affect our relationship with them. We are also making a statement of trust that if this person doesn’t pay us back, We are trusting God’s provision for our needs.