As Godly voters, we should examine candidates’ position on public debt and their plan of action to tackle this huge problem. This is an important Biblical and practical issue. A governmental leader should be conservative in spending and aggressive in paying off the public debt. Just as parents are called to leave an inheritance for their children, we should hand over the wealth of our country as an inheritance to the next generation rather than burying them under our massive debt.
For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you. Deuteronomy 15:6
Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7 (TLB)
God told the Israelites that a sign of blessing was that they were going to be in a position to lend money but not borrow from other nations. Just as the above scriptures state, when a nation borrows it takes on the position of servitude and slavery to another nation. This is a dangerous position to be in. We owe money to nations who are not our friends nor our allies. Our governmental leaders need to be unyielding about reducing the public debt and not presume on a rosy future. Additionally, there are scriptures that tell us that it is wickedness not to pay off our debt (See Psalm 37:21).
Years ago when I taught Civics, under the categories of government spending, it showed that about 25% of the government income was spent on public debt and its interest. The current data, no longer addresses paying off the debt anymore; it only states that the government pays about 6% interest on public debt every year. In my opinion, our governmental leaders are trying to minimize the significance of the problem, and they have given up paying down the debt. They are just trying to keep their head above the ocean of debt!
When it comes to spending, Democrats and Republicans have been spending our money. They just choose to spend them in different areas. As Godly voters, we need to look for candidates who are not promising the world to people, but they are promising that they will leave this country in a better shape fiscally than they found it.
Every year the government has a deficit. That means they spend more than they bring in. If the government has not shown that they can live within their means, should we trust them with higher taxation and more borrowing powers? Let’s continue to pray for wisdom for our leaders as well as American people. We cannot afford to get derailed from important Biblical issues and jeopardize the future of our nation.
