Meditations

“‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and sell themselves to you, do not make them work as slaves. They are to be treated as hired workers or temporary residents among you; they are to work for you until the Year of Jubilee. Then they and their children are to be released, and they will go back to their own clans and to the property of their ancestors. Because the Israelites are my servants, whom I brought out of Egypt, they must not be sold as slaves. Do not rule over them ruthlessly, but fear your God. Leviticus 25:39-43

“The seven-year cycle of debt cancellation has behind it the weekly Sabbath as a public, visible declaration against money as reality. That seven-year cycle, moreover, has in front of it the practice of Jubilee, that is, a fifty-year cycle of restoration of property and land to those who have lost them in the predatory transactions of the economy. The well-known Leviticus 25 is a collection of many different provisions that gives great complexity to the matter of Jubilee; but the general intention of the stipulation is unmistakable. Neighborliness trumps everything! It allows no change of interest on loans (v. 36). Property shall be returned (v. 27). Most of all, persons in debt shall be respected and held in hock only temporarily. No permanent underclass!

In verse 42, the double use of “servant-slave” (same word twice) insists that all “neighbors belong to the God who has emancipated them, and they cannot be drawn back into the predatory practices exemplified by Pharaoh. They cannot be reduced to debt slaves. The warning, “Do not treat harshly” is contrast to Pharaoh’s treatment of slaves with ruthlessness (Exodus 1:13-14). That same harshness of relentless predatory pressure is common against the poor in our current ruthless economy.”

Walter Brueggemann in Money and Possessions (Interpretation; Louisville: WJKP, 2016) 52-53. For those looking for the most recent comprehensive biblical theology of money and possessions from likely the most brilliant biblical scholar alive today, this book is it!

What does God think of debt (our current topic of study related to generosity)? In a word, God’s answer is Jubilee! God never designed people to rule over others in perpetuity. The economic idea of dominating and getting ahead of the next person runs contrary to God’s pattern of neighborliness. It stomps on it. Even as His provision is intended to be enjoyed and freely shared, He never desires people or nations (like America or any other country) to dominate over others. Never ever! Brueggemann continues with these words:

“It may be imagined that such a stance on money and possessions is sheer fantasy in the “real world.” Such an act of imagination, however difficult and complex, continues to evoke and revivify courageous alternative imagination. Thus Sharon Ringe has shown that the tradition of Jubilee did indeed fund gospel imagination in the listening community around Jesus. And even in our time, the turn of the new millennium has featured major initiatives around Jubilee debt cancellation. It is impossible to overstate the importance of this continuing tradition for issues of the real economy in the real world. The tradition attests that such practices assure well-being in the land, whereas disregard of such practices guarantees land loss. Current attentiveness to care for the environment stands in important continuity with the Jubilee summons. Surely the predatory economy is causing among us “loss of the land.”

Methinks that we will not experience such a Jubilee until we fully enter the eternal kingdom of God. Most assuredly that world will be characterized by unselfish neighborliness and unending Jubilee. In the meantime, we must, with “alternative imagination” or more precisely “gospel imagination” choose to live differently or, in a word, live neighborly, with regard to debt as followers of Jesus. This is actually not as complicated as it sounds, and precisely what the New Testament teaches. “For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:27

“Mammon’s work is the exact opposite of God’s work. Given this opposition, we understand why Jesus demands a choice between Mammon and God. He is not speaking of just another power, just any other god; He is speaking of the one who goes directly against God’s action, the one who makes “nongrace” reign in the world. Of course any other power and any other god is in a sense God’s opposite, but none is more opposite than Mammon from the standpoint of behavior…

We are always trying to bring about, one way or another, a conciliation of the two, but it is out of the question. The parable of the unforgiving servant shows this [Matthew 18:21-35]. When he had received grace (remission of his debt, renunciation of the creditor’s rights), this debtor entered the world of grace. This assumed a new behavior on his part: mercy expressed in giving. If we refuse grace for others, we refuse it for ourselves also, which means that we have not yet entered the world of grace.”

Jacques Ellul in Money and Power (Wipf & Stock: Eugene, 2009) 88.

I am shifting my focus to see what biblical scholars and theologians say about debt. Ellul reminds us that parables like the unforgiving servant bring to life the difference between Mammon and mercy. The former takes (nongrace) while the latter gives (grace). “If we refuse grace for others, we refuse it for ourselves also, which means that we have not yet entered the world of grace.” The world of grace offers remission of unfathomable debts.

So what does this mean for us as we think about generosity? We must consider three applications: (1) Extend compassion or mercy rather than condemnation to others, if we want to receive compassion and mercy from God. (2) Release others from debts they owe us, even as we want others to release us from debts. (3) Forgive others, like we we to be forgiven. If we do those three things, our generosity will indeed reflect God’s generosity toward us: mercy-filled giving. Make it so Lord Jesus.

Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce. Proverbs 3:9

“This matter of debt competes with our love and devotion to Christ. If we do not find a way to control our spending habits we will continue to find giving a burdensome and difficult matter. The best way to break out of this pattern is to give our first fruits to God, and live off what remains. Until we learn to give to God regardless of our circumstances we will never be fully committed to Christ and His kingdom.”

Wesley K. Willmer in God and Your Stuff: The Vital Link Between Your Possessions and Your Soul (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002) 64.

As we continue to explore debt together, I appreciate what my mentor and friend, Wes Willmer says about it. Debt really does compete “with our love and devotion to Christ” because it tries to get priority in our hearts and control our use of money.

The way to counteract this pattern is to give our first fruits and live on what remains. Jenni and I start by giving each month and don’t see “the rest” as “ours” but live simply so we have resources to share during and at the end of the month.

Join us. Give, live within your means, and have margin like the Good Samaritan to share with the needy. Willmer sums it up well. “Until we learn to give to God regardless of our circumstances we will never be fully committed to Christ and His kingdom.”

I want to honor my wife, Jenni, today as it’s her birthday. I married up, for sure! I am thankful she is committed to Christ, eager to give first, live simply, avoid debt, serve humbly, love richly, share openhandedly, and willing to trust God to sustain us rather than ourselves.

Will not all of them taunt him with ridicule and scorn, saying, “‘Woe to him who piles up stolen goods and makes himself wealthy by extortion! How long must this go on?’ Will not your creditors suddenly arise? Will they not wake up and make you tremble? Then you will become their prey. Because you have plundered many nations, the peoples who are left will plunder you. For you have shed human blood; you have destroyed lands and cities and everyone in them.” Habakkuk 2:6-8

“We are callous and blind to the world’s naked and hungry, be they our Christian brothers and sisters or our fellow human beings. While a devoted Christian woman is bothered because she cannot find her hair spray before setting out for her Sunday School class, a Sudanese mother is watching her baby’s eyes settle into the empty stare of death.

There are two sides to the question, of course. It would be unjust to accuse the Sunday School teacher of murder by hair spray. There are huge economic and logistical problems about the transfer of wealth and food from rich nations to starving ones. We need not feel condemned because we are surrounded by abundance. Rather we should praise and thank a bountiful God who pours unmerited blessings upon us. On the other hand, we have not right to brush the problem aside because of the complications.

At the heart of the matter lies our dependence upon material things. We take them for granted. We accumulate them. We go into debt to acquire them, work longer hours to earn them. They enslave us. They enslave not only our bodies but our hearts which no longer have room for the crying, the needy, the starving and the dying.”

John White in Money isn’t God: So why is the church worshipping it? (IVP: Leicester, 1993) 44-45.

White brings a prophetic voice, much like Habakkuk, to the issue of debt seeking to awaken the church from slumber. While his “death by hairspray” word picture sounds harsh, he pinpoints the heart of the matter. We depend on things rather than God. The world tells us we need them, and we believe the lies. We take on debt, become enslaved, and though we are “surrounded by abundance,” we do little to show care of the needy, convinced the issues are too challenging to address.

The question we who are surrounded by abundance must ask ourselves is do we depend on things rather than God? Will we be like everyone else, and as slaves to debt, do nothing but squander abundance? Or will we live differently, avoiding debt and materialism so that we can minister to the starving? The prophets would remind us that God is watching, and our actions reveal whether or not we are people who depend on God and understand our role as His servants.

It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Ecclesiastes 5:5

“Why is the topic of debt so important? For many people, debt has become not the exception but the rule. The average American family devotes one-fourth of its spendable income to outstanding debts. Since 1945, consumer debt in the United States has multiplied thirty-one times. The IRS calculates that the average filer spends ten times more paying interest on debts than he gives to charitable causes. If evangelical Christians were out of debt, hundreds of millions of dollars would be freed up for God’s Kingdom. Our families would be stronger, because financial pressure caused by indebtedness is a major factor in most divorces…

One hundred years ago, debt was regarded as an earned privilege for the few — entrepreneurial businesspeople or farmers who faced hardship such as their crops being devastated by a tornado. Now it’s seen as an inalienable right for all. Borrowing has become an integral part of our lives. Why do banks and credit companies repeatedly beg me to borrow from them, listing dozens of ways I could use the money? The answer is simple — they want me to borrow because they will profit greatly from my debt. In some cases I also may benefit, but in most cases, unless I have chosen very carefully, I will experience more harm than benefit…

What should we ask ourselves before going into debt? Before we incur debt, we should ask ourselves some basic spiritual questions: Is the fact that I don’t have enough resources to pay cash for something God’s way of telling me it isn’t His will for me to buy it? Or is it possible that this thing may have been God’s will but poor choices put me in a position where I can’t afford to buy it? Wouldn’t I do better to learn God’s lesson by foregoing it until — by His provision and my diligence — I save enough money to buy it?

What I would call the “debt mentality” is a distorted perspective that involves invalid assumptions: We need more than God has given us. God doesn’t know best what our needs are. God has failed to provide for our needs, forcing us to take matters into our own hands. If God doesn’t come through the way we think He should, we can find another way… Those with convictions against borrowing will normally find ways to avoid it. Those without a firm conviction against going into debt will inevitably find the “need” to borrow…

It’s one thing to trust God to provide for our present needs. It’s another to presume upon Him by dictating the terms of His future provision. Do we dare try to maneuver God into a position by which we significantly increase our future needs through debt, then claim He’s promised to meet our needs? In such cases, debt is not only unwise but evil. To expect God to meet needs we manufacture through indebtedness is an attempt to manipulate the Almighty. Assuming the role of master, we demote God to the obedient genie who exists to grant our wishes, underwrite our causes, and fulfill our agendas. If debt has become your master, I highly recommend finding wise advisors.”

Randy Alcorn in Managing God’s Money: A Biblical Guide (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2011) 165-177. These excerpts come from an outstanding chapter, entitled, “Debt: Finding Freedom and Wisdom.”

This post is admittedly long, and the startling statistics and truths speak for themselves. They urge us to avoid debt at all costs! So, here’s all I will add. I dedicate today’s post to a dear brother that helps people get out of debt. His name is Travis Shelton. He’s a faithful reader of these Daily Meditations, but more than that, he’s a wise advisor that roots his get-out-of-debt counseling in biblical teaching. For an example of how he helps couples get out of debt, check out this episode of Life Starts Now: Becoming Debt Free that features a young couple that paid off $42,000 in debt in 11 months. Share it with anyone you know who has debt, and let me know if you want me to connect you to Travis.

You are good, and what You do is good; teach me Your decrees. Psalm 119:68

“Though I do believe God has used our financial mess to break and rework me, I can’t in all good conscience say God caused it. He didn’t will it. I believe He allowed it; I believe He chose not to rescue us many times when He could’ve (and, frankly, I still wonder why). And while plenty of the circumstances that caused our financial breakdown — a terrible economy for one — were beyond our control, plenty were well within them. Plenty that we chose unwisely — even sinned — in.

God didn’t, for instance, tell me to encourage my husband to keep at his business even when he was ready to let it go, years before we had to let it go. I did that on my own because I was afraid, because I had married a business owner and wanted to keep it that way… and while most of the credit card bills we tried to pay each month had little to do with the “typical” overspending one associates with credit card debt, still. Still. We made bad choices. I overindulged, spent money we didn’t have — especially when it came to my kids. I sinned. I didn’t respect my husband and his prompts from God as I should’ve. I didn’t trust God as I should’ve…

I’d be remiss if — at the tail end of a book about how I found God and found Him good amid financial calamity — I didn’t talk about giving. This is the area where so many criticize the church — like all churches want is people’s money. And while, perhaps, this is what some churches or preachers or organizations are after, it’s not what God’s about.

He doesn’t need our money, and He doesn’t want our cash. God wants us to trust Him with our financial resources and love Him more than money. When we give (aside from helping others, which if course is a huge component of this), and give faithfully and generously, we show this love and trust.

Or course, through my own financial journey, I have failed at this discipline more than any other. Perhaps it’s because giving is my “top” spiritual gift that I’ve failed so dramatically. But it’s been hard, when faced with losing so much, to keep giving. God and I (and my husband) are still working through this. But I want to give — long to give — because I know that, when we offer up what we barely have, and when we hand over what we so desperately need, we find God and we find Him good.”

Caryn Rivadeneira in Broke: What Financial Desperation Revealed About God’s Abundance (Downers Grove: IVP, 2014) 63, 161.

This book brings together my word for the year, abundance, and the theme I am currently exploring, debt, in gripping story form. If you fancy stories and want to grow in your stewardship, this book is for you! It’s basically the testimony of a family that had great material resources, made many of the choices that society tells us to make, and went broke. And, on the journey out of debt, desperation, and disaster, they found God and found Him good.

If you feel stuck in debt and are struggling, Rivadeneira would likely encourage you to confess the sins that got you into that mess, including blaming God for it, and start making good, disciplined choices. Live within your means and pay off your debt as soon as possible. Stop rationalizing disobedience. Make a list of the things you are grateful for and thank God. And don’t stop giving, because God never stops giving to you. Do these things and you too will “find God and find Him good.”

You open Your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. Psalm 145:16

“The pursuit of the satisfied life comes at a cost. Around us are real people buying real things. Some of these people are our neighbors, work associates, and — I hate to break this news — your sister and brother-in-law. There could be moments when you feel as if you are losing or, more poignantly, you may feel like a loser.

My point is that we may talk about comparison in abstract terms and readily sign off, reasoning that it is a poor idea. But realize that the pursuit of the satisfied, generous life must be achieved in the midst of our consumer-driven, debt-saturated, culture. Do not think it will be a simple thing to extricate yourself from the trap of comparison.

No matter what you receive, buy, or achieve, you will soon encounter someone who has something newer, bigger, or nicer… Living by comparison will inevitably lead you to focus on what you lack rather than what you have. Fixating on the blessings withheld may cause you to despise the marvelous blessings you possess.”

Jeff Manion in Satisfied: Discovering Contentment in a World of Consumption (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013) 77-78.

In a recent conversation, my wife shared with me that we had just gotten the payment plan sorted for the Fall semester of Sophie’s senior year at college. When I asked why it took so long, she said that the school administrator divulged that most families just click a button to agree to large school loans rather than working out a plan to pay cash for tuition and fees.

As we think about debt, our family could easily fall into the trap of comparison and justify clicking that button in order to spend like so many other parents of college students. In reading Manion today, I am remind afresh not to worry about what other families are doing and to stay the course in avoiding debt while steering clear of consumerism.

When we live within our means and prioritize giving, we marvel at how we always seem to have enough and how God also supplies resources for our generosity. When we focus not on things we might think we lack but instead focus on the blessings we have, we break out in worship and thanksgiving to God. We experience the satisfied life. Are you?

[Jesus] charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. Mark 6:8-9

“I wonder how much faster turtles could travel if they didn’t have to carry their houses with them. Without the heavy shell, turtles could slither over the rocks as fast as their cousins, the lizards. If birds had to carry such a load, they’d never get off the ground.

Possessions and the debt I incurred for them are slowing me down. I have too many things that need taking care of: clothes to wash and fold and put away, plants to water and feed, knickknacks and furniture to dust and sometimes repair, so much food I don’t know what’s in the freezer. And worrying about paying for all those things is heavier than any turtle shell in the world.

I am going to start traveling lighter. I can get along with a lot less than I have, and being debt-free will let me move through life without a burden.”

Kristen Johnson Ingram in Devotions for Debtors (Garden City: CrossAmerica Books, 2002) 1.

In this little book filled with 120 devotionals to inspire people toward debt-free living, Ingram opens by urging readers to “start traveling lighter.”

Are you a turtle? Do you feel like you are carrying the burden of a house on your back? What would it look like for you to “start traveling lighter” through life?

Notice the context of the Scripture that accompanies the devotional. Jesus is sending the disciples out on mission. They cannot engage in missional living weighed down by possessions. Neither can we!

Ingram adds these thoughts for further reflection: “Write down ten things you don’t need or even want very much. Decide what you’ll do with them: give them to charity, pass them on to a family member, or sell them at a garage sale. Every time you get rid of something reward yourself by listening to music, calling a friend or having a cup of [coffee or] hot chocolate.”

Don’t wait another day. Begin this week. Start traveling lighter. She concludes with this prayer. Dear Lord, turn me from turtle to bird. Help me to unload my burdens today. Amen.

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. 1 Corinthians 13:13

“Christ’s work on the cross is a display of the plenitude of divine charity (John 3:16), of God’s giving and giving again. The atonement is not a settling of accounts, an exaction of payment, or the calling in of a debt. Rather, it is a matter of God’s ceaseless generosity, of God’s graceful prodigality. It is a matter of donation, of divine donation for our sake. Thus Christ is not our offering to God but God’s offering to us (Romans 5:8). God has always given to humanity in the form of love, and when humanity rejected that gift, God forgave and gave again in the form of love incarnate, which is the Son. Christ’s work is that of giving again, of communicating God’s prodigious love and grace (which has never ceased to flow) to humanity again (and again)… In Christ, God has refused to render to humanity what is due sin, but instead graciously endures humanity’s rejection and extends the gift/offer of redemption and reconciliation through Christ (Romans 3:25)…

In the economy of salvation, Christ is given not too to pay a debt or appease an angry God but so that God’s desire for communion is satisfied. Christ gives, even to the point of death on the cross, that desire might recover its rest, its true end, its enjoyment in the communion of charity that is the divine life. For this purpose, this mission, in Christ we are empowered to give ourselves — all that we are and all that we have — in love of God and service to our neighbor. In Christ our life is so ordered economically that we reflect the divine economy of ceaseless generosity, of unending charity. The Christian (economic) life is a matter of living life as the gift that it is. How does the body of Christ live so that its life is one continuous offering? How does our life reflect God’s unceasing generosity? Are we producing and using and enjoying all to the glory of God?”

Daniel M. Bell Jr. in The Economy of Desire (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2012) 150, 159-160.

On this Lord’s day, as we think about debt, let us not see it wrongly in our relationship with God. As Bell put it, “Christ is given not too to pay a debt.” He is given to restore our relationship with God. “Thus Christ is not our offering to God but God’s offering to us.” Christ incarnates God’s ceaseless generosity, His unending charity toward us.

The reason we then avoid financial debt is because we aim at “producing and using and enjoying all to the glory of God” rather than for fleshly or self-serving motives. We deploy all we are and all we have in love of God and service to neighbor not to win brownie points with God but to show a watching world how to live life as the gift that it is.

That’s why we were redeemed by the blood of Christ and reconciled to God. We’ve been made alive to experience communion with God and help others grasp it, not to accumulate stuff. Society deems the church irrelevant because most “so-called Christians” are no different from the world. They are saddled with debt from accumulating things and not extending the unending charity they supposedly received in Christ.

Is God speaking to you today? If so, take time to repent. Consider the ceaseless generosity extended to you in Christ. Think about the reality that you are here not only to grasp this divine life but to share it with others. Now chart a new course. Map your plan to pay off financial debts so that you are free to extend “unending charity” in love of God and service to neighbor. It’s the only way to live!

Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give! Proverbs 21:26

“There’s a mentality that often drives debt reduction. It says, “Get out of debt and your life will be better.” “Just do these easy steps and you’ll be financially home free.” “Go without now so you can accumulate more in the long run.” “Don’t spend now so you can spend later.” But any solution that offers a quick fix to an entrenched problem reflects the consumer myth that we can have what we want when we want it. Any approach that subtracts something from our life without adding a better substitute just creates a craving for more. And the crazy idea that we should get out of debt now so we can buy more later feeds an unhealthy longing to acquire more when we already have enough.

Can we make this really practical? You might be reading this book while sipping a five-dollar cup of coffee, a daily habit that makes a large dent in your budget than you want to admit. Maybe you’re dressed in clothes you “paid for” with plastic. And perhaps you drive a new car to a job where your paycheck doesn’t cover your bills. Something inside you realizes, This doesn’t add up. You understand you need to change. So with fresh resolve you slice your spending right and left. You swear off your favorite coffee shop, shopping mall, and car dealer. We agree with you that unhealthy habits indeed need to change. But we want to suggest a different starting point: begin by adding more good stuff.

By adding “more good stuff” we don’t mean another round of spending. We’re talking about leading with generosity grounded in grace. Instead of putting all your energy into cutting, focus on giving. Start by volunteering. Spend time helping family, friends, and strangers in ways that also give life to you. Consider giving to a cause you care about, some dollars you didn’t give last time you saw a need. By leading with generosity you begin to quiet the gnawing hunger you thought you were satisfying by buying more and more stuff. Soon you will see the good results that come from an openhearted life. When you choose to live generously you break your persistent desire for more. And when that happens, it’s far easier to get out of debt.”

Brad Hewitt and James Moline in Your New Money Mindset: Create a Healthy Relationship with Money (Carol Stream: Tyndale House, 2015) 44-46.

Too many get-out-of-debt programs focus on not spending in the short run so you can accumulate wealth in the long run. This mentality deals with “slavery to debt” but fails to address the “love of money” problem that entraps people in perpetuity. How do we break free? Hewitt and Moline point the way: add a better substitute. Giving is the medicine that cures the sickness of debt. If you find yourself in debt, take their advice. If someone you know wrestles with debt, forward this post to them. Help them find freedom and life!