“Let no debt remain outstanding” (Romans 13:8 NIV).
This past week in our community group meeting we were discussing the importance of getting out of debt. I asked our group to answer the following question:
“What does our culture teach us about debt?”
Everyone agreed that the culture teaches us to charge now and pay later. We are brainwashed into buying things now on credit without having a clue of how we’re going to repay.
One person exclaimed, “Now they’re even teaching our little girls how to use credit cards! Fashion Fever Barbie comes with a cash register and a credit card!”
“No way!” I said.
“It’s true.” Another mom chimed in. “Our girls have one.”
A plastic doll teaching our little girls to buy things with plastic. Unbelievable!
But the Bible calls us to be a Kingdom culture, to offer a counter-culture to this world. We’re called to be salt and light. In this season of economic uncertainty, what better time to model biblical wisdom in money management?
So what does the Bible say about credit cards and Barbie dolls? Nothing. But it does have a lot to say about debt. The Bible tells us to avoid debt because it enslaves us to the lender. The Bible teaches us to get out of debt quickly and to live beneath our means, so that we can be free.
Free to do what? Free to live and give. Free to be a blessing and to answer God’s call.
Not in slavery because of a piece of plastic.