Paul informs the believers in the church at Corinth that, “their bodies were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men” (1 Corinthians 7: 23). You will recall that Proverbs 22:7 reads, “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender” (TLB).
Why does the Lord not want us to become slaves to debt? Maybe it is because the debt and materialism in the 21st century competes with Him. Maybe it is because the battles that we face are spiritual battles. When we are slaves to debt we are not as free to serve Him or to fight the good fight.
Again, Paul in his first letter to the church at Corinth reminded believers that their bodies were a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom they had received from God. Paul wrote, “You were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your body” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Let us recognise that getting out of debt is part of a battle that is not just being fought here on earth. Any debt mortgages the future as it presumes upon tomorrow and assumes that you will have the income to repay what is owed.
1. Establish a debt repayment plan
There are a number of accepted approaches to repaying debt. One that is effective and popular is the debt snowball approach.
With this approach, you list your debts with the smallest first and largest last. Then, you repay the minimum amount on all debts with the exception of the smallest, on which you repay as much as you can – and as quickly as possible. When it is repaid, roll the amount you were repaying on that debt and add it to the amount you are paying off on the second debt. In this way your repayments will snowball from debt to debt.
2. Consider earning additional income
Many people hold jobs that simply do not pay enough to meet their needs, even if they spend wisely. If you are able to earn additional income, decide in advance to use it to pay off debts. Whether we earn much or little, we tend to spend more than we make, so be careful not to fall into the trap of spending the extra income. Remember that word of instruction from Ecclesiastes 5:10: “whoever loves money never has money enough.”
“Christians who are trapped by borrowing have violated one or more of the scriptural principles God has given. He says that when someone borrows, he or she becomes a servant to the lender; the lender becomes an authority over the borrower. This clearly defines God’s attitude about borrowing.”
3. Be content with what you have
The advertising industry uses powerful methods to persuade people to buy. Frequently the message is intended to create discontent with what we have. Television, the internet, and magazines all resonate with the message that we need to buy more ‘stuff’ – ‘because you deserve it.’
In the consumer driven economy:
The more television you watch, especially the shopping channels, the more you spend.
The more you look at catalogues, magazines, door leaflets, internet advertisements etc, the more you spend.
The more you shop, the more you spend.
It is probably something to do with the way we have all become wired because we are so accustomed to spending. Some even regard it as therapy! Paul writes, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). It is godly to be content and not always having something that we think we “must” buy. Someone who is addicted to drugs must have the next fix. In a similar way, our lack of contentment can be assuaged only by another dose of buying (generally we do not have the funds to actually spend).
4. Consider a change in lifestyle
Some people might decide they have to lower their standard of living to become debt free while others might sell a home and move to a smaller one, or even move to rented accommodation. As tough a decision as it might be, some people have transferred their children from private education to a state school. In short, they have temporarily sacrificed their standard of living or preferred options to be debt free in as short a time as possible. Then they have the financial freedom to really enjoy living again.
5. Pray
We end where we started by encouraging you at all times to submit your finances to God. With over 2,300 verses - about seven and a half per cent of the Bible – referring to financial matters, there is much wisdom in God’s economy, and now that you have started on the road to getting out of debt I encourage you to continue the journey to biblical financial freedom. Spend much time in prayer, you will be given wisdom for your day including the ability to resist the temptation of debt or excessive spending. Jesus said, “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Luke 22:46). Prayer unlocks the power of God to work in our behalf.
6. And finally - love for the day is near
Paul charges the church at Rome to, “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).
“Neither a borrower not a lender be; for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.”
“A big part of being strong financially is that you know where you are weak and take action to make sure you don’t fall prey to the weakness. And we all are weak.”