Wow. Never thought I would have any great revelation or insight on this topic! No one has ever confused me with the inimitable Dave Ramsey, but here are my two cents worth (pun intended) on debt.
Okay, get ready for this! It’s really going to be a life changing, shocking revelation. I’ve got two words, and eight letters for you, if I did the math right. H-A-R-D W-O-R-K! Notice the heavy, overuse of the hyphen, I think that means you’re supposed to like spell out the words or something. Anyways, HARD WORK!
Yep, that’s it. That’s pretty much how to avoid and stay out of debt. The Bible does actually teach on this topic, in fact, as a parent I’ve referenced Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) many times, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” However, we don’t completely grasp the entire context of this thought by continuing on to the next verse. Proverbs 22:7 (NIV) “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” Ouch. That kinda hits me right between the eyes. I’m all about teaching and training up my children, and encouraging them to develop the right habits, but I have not done a very good job in my personal life of developing the right financial habits in avoiding and staying out of debt. Yes, I agree, we should end slavery…even financial slavery.
While reviewing my financial portfolio, which basically means looking at my checking account on my bank’s iPhone app, I discovered that my wife and I are finally gaining some ground in this battle of avoiding and staying out of debt. Now this is where Dave Ramsey would be really proud of us! We’re getting control of our finances by HARD WORK! It’s not glamorous, it’s not flashy, but it’s good stewardship! My wife has taken on a new job, and is working 50-60 hours per week, I’ve picked up an additional job that only requires a few hours of my week, and now, only about 3 months into this new chapter of our lives, we’re already starting to see the difference!
Trust me, if we can do it, so can you! No one ever said it was going to be easy, but then again, has any challenge that we’ve ever faced in life been easy? I guess it wouldn’t really be considered a “challenge” if it wasn’t “challenging”!
It’s not only physical, mental, and emotional hard work, but it’s the hard work of daily discipline in saying no to some things, and to other things, simply saying, not yet.
So, the little deposit (see there I go again) that I would like to make into your life today is, don’t shy away from it, don’t ignore, don’t reject it…buy into it (I just can’t stop can I?)…HARD WORK!
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