Debt Paints a False Image of Success

Debt paints a false image of success.  Using credit, almost anyone can look as if they are prosperous - for a season.   Debt will allow them to buy things they could otherwise not afford.  Eventually, though, the truth will come out as the bills come in and have to be paid.  

When I worked as a financial planner I encountered this situation many times.  I remember a visit to one couple in particular.  As I pulled up to their large, impressive home with a Jaguar parked in the driveway, I wondered, Why have they invited me here? It looks like they are doing just fine.

When I began to talk to the couple about their finances, the wife broke into tears and began to reveal their true financial picture.  Monthly payments to creditors - along with back taxes and stress - had taken a toll on their home life.   She said they just could not keep on going like they were.   Something had to change.

It was at that moment I decided never to be intimidated again by what someone else seemed to own or by the title their occupation gave them.  I realized that for far too many families, the accumulation of material things did not represent financial freedom but rather the bondage of debt.   
 Over the years, I have met with thousands of families.   The sad truth is that no matter what their income or profession was, most were severely in debt and only a paycheck away from financial trouble.  The good life in America is portrayed as a life full of things and leisure, but I don’t think anyone truly understands the price we pay for this way of thinking.  I have found that freedom is of greater value than things, if by acquiring those things, we have put ourselves into the slavery of debt.

The Bible speaks of contentment along with godliness as great gain.  In contentment, fulfillment and peace can be found.  However, in America we are not content.  We want more and more things, and our lust is never fulfilled.   There is no house or car that can answer the demand of the lust for things.  There is always going to be a faster car, a bigger house, and people who seem to have it better than us.  

Jesus said in Mark 4 that the deceitfulness of riches chokes out the Word of God.  Many Christians think they will be happy if they can just get more things.  Truly, things can be a blessing, but true happiness comes from who we are in Christ and not from what we possess.  I have learned to be content with what I have, when I have it.  The Apostle Paul said, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am in therewith to be content.”

Being content is not to be confused with being satisfied, however.  God has created us to always be advancing forward, and being content does not mean we should stagnate and be satisfied with a lack of advancement.  We simply need to be at peace as we progress forward in God.   

The quest for material things and success in America has become the idol of the land.  Families have been trained to sacrifice their home life and their relationships in order to have the things they want or the things they think they need.  I remember watching a Daffy Duck cartoon where the devil promised to give Daffy fame and fortune if he would sell him his soul.  
This cartoon portrays the same mentality as that of relying on debt.  Even if we do not have the money, if we will sell our future to the lender, he will give us what we want today.  This kind of lifestyle brings with it the inevitable bondage of the debtor to the lender.  We live in a consumer generation with only one main objective: to have the most and enjoy the most.  Debt seems to offer a shortcut to obtaining this way of life.

The American family is in a dire financial state.  We use 30 year mortgages to finance our homes and 7 year car loans to buy our cars.  Visa pays for our clothing, and finance companies supply our carpeting and furniture.  Basically, debt can instantly purchase anything we want, with the result being that most families never get out of debt.  They simply trade-up throughout their lifetime for nicer things and a heavier burden of debt, until they find themselves in the same situation as the couple I told you about earlier.  Along with the impressive home and the Jaguar in the driveway comes an increasing burden of debt that holds them captive and keeps them from enjoying the true freedom they were meant to have.