I have had the wonderful opportunity to get introduced to Tom Copland of Copland Financial Ministries after I heard about Tom through my mother in law (I was commuting with Reni one day when the “Paid-For Express” needed maintenance. Copland Financial has “Financial Moments” on Life Radio.
I’ve been participating in two of Tom’s Zoom courses; Financial Management God's Way and Discerning God's Will In Managing Money.
I’ve been given the privilege of helping a new friend and mentor of mine Randy who is leading Financial Management God’s Way in discussions and assisting with some of the case study materials during the Zoom meetings.
A core concept is coming up that needs to be addressed: no, debt isn’t sinful.
However, there are no verses in the Bible that encourage debt or even condone debt.
So, debt’s not sinful but...
It can be a reflection of preoccupation: Matthew 6:19–20, Col 3:1, 2
It can speak to not being content with God’s provision: 1 Timothy 6:6-11, Hebrews 13:5
It can cause us to become enslaved: Proverbs 22:7
It can fracture relationships (co-signing!) and hence waste time spent doing better things that paying off debt: Proverbs 6:1-5
It can encourage idolatry: Matthew 6:24
It can facilitate jealousy: Exodus 20:17
Debt is a broken promise. Debt enables people to live a lie (secured lines of credit!) Debt is a thief. Borrowing money - and especially for things that are temporal (which...all of it is - 1 Tim 6:6,7) is not how God intended us to handle money.
God’s Word does talk about:
Budgeting: Luke 14:28-30
Humility: 1 Peter 5:5
Contentment: 1 Timothy 6:6
Partnership with your spouse: Genesis 2:24
Seeing yourselves as stewards: 1 Corinthians 4:2
Tithing: Proverbs 3:9
Christina, HJ and I have been living this lifestyle for a couple of years now and it’s been very encouraging to get to know more about what God’s Word has to say about money. Frankly, it’s a lot. And almost none of what it has to say about money is on tithing (less than 3% of verses relating to money management talk about tithing). It’s interesting stuff, and as Christians we don’t talk enough about it.
I really want to encourage people reading to take back their lives.
While Christina, HJ and I have been journeying, we’ve had friends and family members who have continued to struggle - guys, this is difficult, but with God’s help, you can do it! (Isaiah 40:31)
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