The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender. Proverbs 22:7
“Consumer debt gips millions of people in plastic shackles every bit as powerful as the iron chains that once bound slaves. A bold, even audacious, statement, I know, particularly considering the historical atrocities of slavery in our country. As a descendant of some of those slaves, I do not make this analogy without recognizing the gravity of its implications. I do not make such a comparison lightly or for the sheer effect of its cultural shock value, although the ongoing enslavement of millions of Americans should shock and concern all of us.
While many of my fellow African Americans may be particularly upset or offended by my literal comparison, I find that enslavement is the only adequate word to express the dire, life-draining, debilitating condition in which we find ourselves today… We’ve come to accept, as normal, a lifestyle in which we are always behind, borrowing from our future earnings to assuage our present bill collectors to pay for a forgotten past… This pattern of widespread behavior is historically unprecedented.”
DeForest B. Soaries Jr. in Say Yes to No Debt (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015) 17, 20.
I am shifting my focus for the foreseeable future to one of the leading limiters to generosity: debt. My posts will aim at shining biblical light on this dark topic. From the lips of the wise sage, Solomon and, much later, Soaries, a pastor from New Jersey, we start by proclaiming the truth that debt is enslavement.
Soaries gives it the name “plastic shackles” because it often starts with credit cards and their relatively high interest rates as compared to other forms of debt. Debt make promises about products and services that actually limit a person’s ability to live, give, serve, and love like Jesus. In that sense, it may be one of Mammon’s greatest tools.
Why does everyone fall for it? Soaries notes that greed is celebrated by advertisers who employ celebrities to convince us to buy things with money we don’t have. Common forms of debt range from consumer products to education. We believe the messages that “everyone is doing it” so we fall into its trap.
We must call out advertising messages that are lies. When marketers says we “deserve” something or “have to” possess the item they are selling, we must call it out. Do this with your spouse, your children, or whomever is with you. We must help each other avoid debt because it limits our living and our generosity.