The Christian Perspective on Debt

I've previously written on what I think the Bible says about debt, but Nickel recently pointed out a comment on his post titled Dave Ramsey is Good at Psychology that stated my thoughts in a similar, though unique way. He gave me permission to share it with you today:

Everyone mentions the psychological aspect of the “feel good” approach that Dave recommends. Did you know that there is a spiritual side to this approach that actually has higher value than just feeling good?

The basis for this approach is found in the Bible. Proverbs 22:7 says “Just as the rich rule the poor, the debtor becomes the slave of the lender”. So when you are in debt you are in bondage. 1 Corinthians 7:21(b) says, “but if you are able also to become free, rather do that.” So if we are in debt slavery and we are able to become free, we should try to do that. There is more scripture to elaborate on this point, but I will leave it to these two passages.

Here is a key assumption and if you don’t agree with it you might as well stop reading.

The assumption is that if you have lots of “lender masters” (i.e. lots of individual debts) you are in more bondage that if you owed the same amount to just one master. So if you can get one debt paid off quickly you have one less “lender master” in your life than if you just tried to save interest by attacking a large high interest debt. Thus you are more free and in less bondage than the guy that still has the original number of “lender masters” but is saving a few bucks in interest.

Dave’s approach of attacking the smallest debt first eliminates your bondage faster than any other approach because it gets the lenders out of you life faster than any other approach.

Folks that follow the biblical principles of financial management do so not to get rich or save money, but they follow the bible out of obedience to God’s word. The biblical approach to money management is based on the view that we are stewards over what God has entrusted to us. We are not owners. God is the owner, and we honor Him by how we manage His money. In short a biblical stewards demonstrates Who they serve by how they manage.

Well said.

Comments

[ed]

I think you are really reaching here in order to support your viewpoint.

[Sick of Debt]

I know this feeling very well. Having had 20+ creditors calling me asking for money is a lot more of a burden than having just 5 creditors calling me asking for money. I don't think your really reaching here to support God's viewpoint. I just can't wait for the day I'm calling my investments to see where they are at.

[ChristianPF]

Well put Nickel,
You lay out two good points of why Biblical finance is different than everyone else's way. The slavery of debt and the stewardship principle are just two things that God says about our finances that are often different than conventional advice.

[Elena]

I would like to propose a challenge to Mr. FMF!
FMF, can you find any verses in scripture that OPPOSE Mr. Ramsey's advise?

Because you know what they say: the eyes find what they are looking for, and what they are looking for is what is already in the mind. So, it is easy to fall victim to "selective perception," when the things that support our views seem to jump out at us while things that don't quite fit tend to slip our attention or be disregarded as "too confusing".

So? Could you do that? Search the bible for verses that advises something OTHER than the debt approach that Mr. Ramsey suggests?

[fivecentnickel.com]

Hi all (ChristianPF in particular),

I just wanted to point out that the quoted comment isn't from me. Rather, it's a comment that a reader posted on my site.

Thanks for the link, FMF.

Cheers, nickel

[Mrs. Micah]

I think Ramsey makes a lot of sense and fits well into the Christian picture on why one shouldn't be in debt. I wonder, sometimes, about his views on wealth and how Christian they are. It's great that he proposes giving lots away, I'm just not sure if he goes as far as I think the message calls us to. But then, I'm coming at it from a certain perspective within Christianity. I'll be posting sometime this week (I hope) about my thoughts on his Total Money Makeover.