Experts tell us that today, as never before; our society is overwhelmed with anxiety. The greatest single reason for this emotional upheaval is attributable to money problems. The staggering debt with which most people are forced to live is more than their emotional systems were created to bear.
Please note that I am not speaking of financial deadbeats (those who borrow with no intention of repaying). I am speaking of good, honest people who have foolishly acquired more debt than they can repay.
Our society is full of these folks. They suffer tremendous psychological pain. Their inability to manage their debt gives them a feeling of hopelessness.
More sleepless nights are attributed to unmanageable debt than to anything else. This had been greatly responsible for America becoming an around-the-clock society. Stores, television stations, and bars remain open twenty-for hours a day, primarily catering to the needs of the sleepless.
Debt Attributes to Divorce
Many Christians have a hard time believing that God is concerned about their finances. Yet all Christians would agree that God has extreme concern for the sanctity of marriage.
Well, beloved, here's a simple fact. Unmanageable debt is the leading cause of broken marriages! In 1988 over 50 percent of the 1.3 million newly divorced couples listed money (or more precisely, more debt than there was money to repay) as the main reason for their divorces.
It's no wonder that financial trouble is the leading cause of divorce. When debt is out of control, wives become afraid to answer the telephone. They fear hearing the harsh voice of another bill collector demanding payment.
They are afraid to answer the door because they may be greeted by one of the utility companies that has come to shut off their service. Every time a truck pulls up on their street, they fear it is the man from the finance company coming to take back the television or the family car.
With a day of debt-induced terror behind her, you can easily imagine the warm greeting this housewife is going to give her already stressed-out husband when he walks in the door.
Can you imagine the inadequate feelings this husband experiences as he listens to his wife's broken-hearted description of her day? Do you see how debt tears at marriage?
Christian marriages are not exempt! Husbands become threatened, even intimidated, when they fail to provide the basic necessities for their families. This strikes at the essence of the husband's manhood.
Breadwinners Become Bread Losers
Even though man wives work outside the home, the husband is traditionally looked upon as the family's breadwinner. However, if he fails to adequately provide bread for the family, as least in his own mind, he becomes the family's bread loser.
Financial failure causes him embarrassment, making him feel unattractive, even unworthy of his wife's attention. When the husband begins to feel inadequate in providing the basic necessities for his family, that family is well on its way to destruction.
The results are predictable. The most intimate relationships in that marriage start to fall apart. All meaningful communication stops as the relentless pressure of unpaid bills increases. Loving care is quickly replaced by short tempers.
Family fights start over such things as whether it is really necessary to take junior to the doctor. The real issue ceases to be whether the child needs medical attention, but the underlying issue is "How in the world will we be able to pay another doctor bill!"
Divided Families
This same tragic pattern often repeats itself among other family members. When son borrows from father, or when sister borrows from brother, and fails to pay back the debt, something much more serious than the loss of money takes place.
Fathers and sons stop talking. Brothers and sisters cease to visit each other. In short, borrowing from relatives often results in a permanent breach in normal family relations.
The Great Commission Becomes the Great Ommission
The over-extended Christian can have little, if any part in the Gospel outreach. Instead of his primary purpose being to reach the world for Christ, he must now allocate all his money to debt payments. To put it simply, his debt now rules him.
He can no longer give properly to the cause of Christ. His new master will not let him. Debt always says no to the preaching of the Gospel. For all intents and purposes, the overburdened child of God has, by his own hand, canceled his part in the Great Commission.
When the spirit of debt rules, the biggest goal the local church has is making the monthly mortgage payment. Satisfying the lender has replaced satisfying God. When this happens, the Church is no longer the servant of God. Her own foolish actions have made her the servant of the lender.
Child of God, I hope the seriousness of this nightmare is beginning to sink into your spirit. Debt rules! Debt ruins!
Remember, the Word of God says, "...the borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7).
How Can It Change?
Here is a comforting statement for those of you who still cannot believe that God really cares about such basic things as the bills you owe: "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
God wants to take the excessive responsibility of the debtor off your back, "for He careth for you"!
Debt cancellation must be preceded by putting a stop to the increase of debt. The spirit of debt must be bound from your finances before any significant changes can be accomplished. You will find behavior modification becomes relatively easy when the chief spirit that caused the adverse behavior is removed.
Say It Out Loud
Oh, say it out loud. "The power of the spirit of debt is broken from my life!" Say in until it rings in the devil's ears. Debt has controlled your finances for the last day!
If you are married, go immediately and tell your spouse that the spirit of debt has been broken from your lives. If you are single, tell the next person you meet that the spirit of debt has been broken off your life. Join together in proclaiming your financial victory.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (John 8:36).
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
John Avanzini was born in Surinam, South America in 1936. He preaches the message of financial prosperity and teaches that God wants believers to be wealthy. He speaks in conferences and seminars worldwide about biblical economics.
