LISTEN TO THE DEVOTIONAL
When hard times come, everyone looks for a scapegoat: blame tough times on
the economy, or the government, or a mate whose use of credit cards has been less than frugal. Whether it is an organization, a church, a business, or a family, when the cash flow begins to dry up, there has to be a cause—a reason for the problem. Somebody, or something, has to be responsible, so the search for blame gets underway.
We tell each other, “This is all your fault! If you hadn’t spent so much money, our finances wouldn’t be in the shape they’re in.” Blaming someone else may point out why there’s too much debt and too little money, but it doesn’t cause the problem to go away. It only defines it.
Whether it is your government, your church, or your family, there is a common fault today. We’re borrowing from the future to pay yesterday’s bills, and sooner or later, a day of reckoning has to be faced.
Borrowing is like exhaling a bit more than you inhale, which may be possible for a few brief moments, but it’s bound to produce fatigue and eventual collapse. Nature is not as forgiving as our economic system.
When I was with a director of a national bank in a developing country where inflation hovered around 40%, I asked, “How can things continue like this?” He simply smiled and said, “It’s easy; we just print more money.” Now, a government may print more money, weakening its currency and avoiding facing the reality of debt, but you can’t escape the stark reality of debt in your family by doing the same thing.
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Proverbs 22:7
You have two choices: (1) Bring your spending into line with your income, or (2) Increase your cash flow. Borrowing money is not the solution. Like an alcoholic stupor, it only sedates the conscience and postpones the moment of truth.
Scores of people, as well as institutions, hope to outlive their problem; few actually do. Scripture says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7).
Today, our economic problems are the result of three fatal attitudes:
Fatal money mistake #1: Thinking that borrowing more money is the solution to my problem.
An economic professor who filed for bankruptcy was interviewed on TV by a reporter. The reporter asked him how he got into financial trouble when he knew better. His reply: “It was my credit cards. I kept thinking I would catch up with them, but they caught up with me.” Excessive debt is not only displeasing to the Lord, but it will ruin you financially.
Fatal money mistake #2: Thinking I’ve got to have it now.
Indulgence is dynamite; it can destroy you. Learn to sift through your wants from your needs, and realize God’s promise of provision extends only to your needs, not your wishes or your wants. The concept of “small beginnings which grow” seems to have been forgotten. The attitude: “I’ve got to have it now,” is selfish as well as dangerous.
Fatal money mistake #3: Ignorance.
An interview of several thousand people who were in deep financial trouble revealed the vast majority of them didn’t know how much they owed or how much interest they were paying on their debt. When Paul wrote, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Romans 13:8), he meant exactly what he said. It is still good economics today.
Resource reading: Proverbs 22:1-9
