Held Hostage By Debt

We live in a debtor society. Most everybody owes somebody. It is a rare thing to meet someone who is not in debt. Debt is so common place these days when you go to buy a car the salesperson immediately asks how much you can afford on a monthly payment. I even heard recently some people are financing vehicles for as long as ten years.

I hate debt and am working and praying for a day when I am completely debt free. That means we've had to say no trying to keep up with everyone else. I have neighbors who have boats, brand new houses and vehicles. Many of them also sport fancy golf carts. How much debt are those people in.

The Bible has a lot to say about money. It has something to say about debt.
Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV)
7  The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.

I recently heard about a businessman worth around 900 million dollars. I heard about another businessman worth several hundred million dollars. One of these men has made a fortune by other people borrowing his money to finance his products. When people get indebted they become enslaved like a servant. Until that debt is repaid the rich man rules over the poor.

Consumer debt is high. It is nothing to whip out a credit card and just charge it. You can get what you want now and worry about paying for it later. By the time interest is paid on the purchased item ,what looked like such a good deal is not so great after all. It would be better to wait, save and pay cash than to be enslaved in debt.

Churches are not exempt. Rather than praying, waiting, raising the money for their many projects it is quicker to finance them. Churches often struggle under the weight of those debts for years and even decades. Why not trust God on the front end for the money rather than on the back end. The banks do not need our interests. They are getting it from several others.

When I first came to Heritage we were enslaved to well over $100,000 in debt. One man thought it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $132,000. I was not even the pastor yet when God first put it in my heart to believe Him to pay that debt off. I was just filling in for them until God brought them a pastor. It took some time but God showed me I was that pastor.

We began praying earnestly for God to pay down and pay off the debt. We started seeing God whittle it down. We rejoiced when we finally got under $100,000. At the end of 2018 we prayed, fasted and took up a special offering to go toward debt retirement. With only a few dozen of us we celebrated when God supplied $14,000 through people's generosity and sacrifice.

Yesterday we got a chance to celebrate again. In one week God supplied and we were able to pay down $9,000 on our debt. We sit now at $75,000. What is that to God? It is not an immovable mountain. I have seen people give pocket change, sell possessions and reach deep to give generously and sacrificially toward this goal. We have debt retirement thermometer in the fellowship hall. The red ink marked in keeps inching up. We keep rejoicing and keep praying for God to remove the remainder as well.

Heritage has been held hostage by debt for a number of years now. God is slowly setting us free. I have already seen in my mind's eye the celebration when the last penny is paid off. What a day of rejoicing that will be. I believe God for the same thing for Brenda and I. Debt free. Financially free to give even more to Kingdom of God causes. What if a whole church lived that way. I hope and pray I live long enough to see a people who are not held hostage by debt.