Financial Freedom
Financial Freedom
Friday March 2, 2018
The average American consumer pays close to $7,000 a year in interest payments and approximately $300,000 over their lifetime. That is a heck of a lot of money! 94% of college students will graduate with debt. 60% of American households don’t or can’t pay off their credit cards every month. And only 3% of Americans systematically pay extra on their mortgages. The truth is that we are paying a high price financially, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually for the things we buy on credit.
I will admit that unless you are an independently wealthy person, if you are hoping to buy a big-ticket item like a house or a car, you are going to have to do it using credit. But be aware that credit is not your friend, so use it wisely and only when necessary. The problem is that our present culture has deceived many of us into believing that credit is a good way to elevate our lifestyle. That if we purchase something at 0% interest it is a good deal or that 90 days same as cash is a good deal. Let’s briefly look at each of these three myths:
- Credit is a good way to elevate your lifestyle. This myth allows you to briefly enjoy the perks of an upgraded lifestyle, but you will end up paying for those perks long after they’re gone.
- 0% interest is a good deal. This offer is meant to entice the consumer to buy things that they typically cannot afford. So the consumer is presented with a 0% interest offer and if by the end of the terms the consumer has not paid off the debt in full in the best case scenario they have to pay a high interest rate on the remaining balance and in most cases the interest accrues and they end up paying interest on the entire purchase price. 0% interest is a good deal only if you can actually afford the purchase.
- 90 days same as cash. This offer just like the 0% interest offer is meant to entice the consumer to purchase items they cannot afford. And if by the end of the 90 days they’ve not paid off the full purchase price, they also end up paying interest on the entire purchase. Once again, this type of offer is only good if you can actually afford the full purchase price.
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. – Proverbs 22:7 NIV
There are no exceptions; the borrower is always a servant to the lender. He works day in and day out to send the lender his hard-earned money. Please understand that the reason for your debt is irrelevant to this principle. No matter what your reason for acquiring debt is, the borrower is slave to the lender. Now the problem is that when we choose to consume using credit to purchase what we cant afford, we are surrendering our freedom. And if we are serving the lender then we are not completely free to serve our Heavenly Father.
When it comes to personal finances your Heavenly Father does not want us to be enslaved to a lender or financial institution. On the contrary, He wants us to be free so that we can voluntarily choose to serve him. The first step to financial freedom is to pray and recognize our mistakes and stop the habit of purchasing things we want but really cannot afford.
Questions:
- Do you have any idea how much you pay in interest every year?
- How do you view credit?
- In what ways do you see debt limiting your freedom?
- How does debt hinder you from fully serving God?
- What is your plan to get out of debt?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I have not managed my personal finances according to your word. Today I take that first step towards recognizing my mistake; I ask your forgiveness, please help me to correct my mistake and I pray your word would to take root in my heart so that I can trust you more and more each day. I don’t want to be a slave to the lender; I want to be set free to serve you and your kingdom. Help me today to do things according to your wisdom and not my desire for things that I neither need nor can afford. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
