Life After Debt

Debt is never your friend – it’s always an enemy. For the average believer, consumer debt is a trap to be avoided at all cost. Behind the shiny metal or slick promotion is a giant waiting to enslave you and force you to give up your time and money to satisfy its never-ending hunger for more. The only thing the growing giant gives in return is anxiety, sleepless nights and a host of other painful propositions.

The devil is the master of offering you everything you want now – just use that little plastic thing in your pocket and all your needs will immediately be met – and there’s no faith required. He used the same trick on Eve in the garden and he’s been using it on God’s people ever since. He says, “You can have it all. God’s the one holding things back. You deserve it and you deserve it today!” But the reality for her and us is much different.

The Bible says that through faith and patience we inherit the promises (Hebrews 6:12). And that “an inheritance hastily gotten [by greedy, unjust means] at the beginning, in the end it will not be blessed” (Proverbs 20:21 AMPC). It’s always better to do it God’s way because in the process we will learn the skills necessary to grow and sustain the increase God brings. It’s so sad to say that Eve, and her husband Adam, already had everything they needed and more. After all, they were in the Garden of Eden, or the Garden of God’s presence. Unfortunately, they followed their flesh and fell, and mankind has suffered ever since.

My friend, if you have a problem with debt, I want you to know there truly is life after debt. God will help you escape debt’s grip and enter into the glorious liberty of the Lord. But you will have to make a serious decision to free yourself from debt’s tantalizing hold. James 4:4 states, “Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” First John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The first step to financial freedom is to love God more than things and the world. Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). The second step is to, “Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the first fruits of all your increase” (Proverbs 3:9). That means faithfully bringing our tithes and offerings to the Lord.

The final simple step is to see yourself free from debt. What you see you will always move toward. By following these steps, order will come to your finances, your priorities will align with His, and God’s blessing will find a place to rest upon.

For further study: Proverbs 22:7, 1 John 2:15-17, Matthew 6:25-34. From Dr. Siddiki’s teaching series Life After Debt.