Should I have a credit card?

We’ve had many people ask our ministry, “Is it wrong for me to have a credit card?” We don’t believe that credit cards are evil in themselves, but their easy-to-spend and hard-to-pay nature makes them a major pitfall for many people. When we meet with people struggling financially, we find that most of the time, they have been relying on credit cards to meet their daily needs. Whether it be a credit card from the gas station, department store, grocery store or a platinum card with your pet’s picture on it, all credit cards have hefty interest rates that will steal your future if you allow them. Credit card companies know that most people will not pay off their balance at the end of every month.

Relying on credit cards makes it very difficult to get out of debt and make the decision to trust God with your finances. As it says in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Until someone makes a clear decision to trust God and serve him instead of debt, it is very hard for them to be free. We encourage people who have a lot of credit card debt to cut up the cards and learn to live with debit cards until they learn self-discipline in this area. Just as you would not put a bottle of wine in the refrigerator of someone overcoming alcoholism, it is not wise to have credit cards hanging around if you’re trying to pay off debt.

One time, our ministry met with a couple with serious credit card debt. I encouraged them to cut up the cards and learn to live within their means. A few weeks later, they talked to our ministry and told us they had taken our advise (or so they thought). We found out they had frozen their credit cards in a bowl of water in the freezer. One problem: they owned a microwave! They were still holding on to their back up plan.

At one time in my life, I had ten maxed-out credit cards, three finance company loans, two car payments, back taxes, and $20,000 owed to relatives. Now, at that time God showed me I was trusting debt to meet my needs. My wife and I cut up our credit cards and decided to never used debt again. It would have been unwise for us to keep the credit cards because we were so programmed to use them for everything. However, in three years, we paid off all that debt. Sixteen years later, I use credit cards for most everything, but I pay off the balance at the end of every month, never allowing our balance to outgrow our income for that month. Using credit cards helps me keep track of my finances, but I have learned the lesson of living within my means and avoiding the deception of debt.

So, no; it is not evil to own credit cards. But is it wrong for YOU to have them? That depends on HOW you are using them. Freedom is worth any upfront sacrifice. Do what it takes to get on track to financial freedom today. If that means cutting up the cards and only using debit cards and cash for a time, do it knowing that the lesson will be worth it!