Episode 780 Is Debt a Sin
[00:00:00] Scott Maderer: [00:00:00] Thanks for joining me on episode 780 of the inspired stewardship podcast. I'm Jennifer Lozado, author of inheriting chaos with compassion. I encourage you to find the ways to be loving with your family both before and after you pass. And one way to be inspired to do that is to listen to this, the inspired stewardship podcast with my friend, Scott Mader.
[00:00:32] paying the debt off gives you options. It gives you choices. It gives you the ability to do things that perhaps you wouldn't have been able to do. If you have the debt's still there and that freedom, that ability to make different choices, that ability to do things that God is calling you to do that.
[00:00:56] Welcome. And thank you for joining us on the inspired stewardship [00:01:00] podcast. If you truly desire to become the person who God wants you to be, then you must learn to use your time, your talent and your treasures for your true calling in the inspired stewardship podcast. We'll learn to invest in yourself, invest in others and develop your influence so that you can impact the world.
[00:01:28] And today's episode about investing in yourself through stewarding your treasures. I talk with you about how the Bible does and doesn't describe death. I talk about good debt and bad debt, and I share why it's not the debt that creates any sin, but our response, I also share why not having debt may be an important goal.
[00:01:47] If you really want to live out your calling. As we talk about stewarding your treasures. Wouldn't it be great. If you could support this podcast and do it without costing yourself an extra dime, [00:02:00] it turns out you can. All you have to do is use inspired stewardship.com/amazon. When you're ready to make a purchase via Amazon and a small commission, we'll come back to support the show.
[00:02:13] If you enjoy the show, when you're ready to buy from Amazon, just use inspired stewardship.com/amazon. In Monday's episode, Marcus and I talked a little bit about debt and what the Bible describes debt as. And I wanted to go into that a little bit more, I've talked before, I've referenced it a few times about is debt a sin.
[00:02:36] And one of the things that I would say is it's not a sin in the terms of being something that's eliminated or shown in the Bible to be. One of those quote listed sins, but it could be a sin in your life in some ways. And the way I talk about it is like this, sin is anything that [00:03:00] gets in our way between us and our relationship with God.
[00:03:04] And so debt could certainly do that. So it's not the act of going into debt that creates a sin in that and using that definition. It's the fact that it could be something that blocks us from that relationship. But let's look at what the Bible actually says about debt. One way it describes debt is the debt we owe God and using that kind of definition, it's the debt that we can never repay.
[00:03:33] It's a debt that has to be paid for us. It's the debt of a covenant that we have with God. But there's other warnings about debt that are more about the kind of debt that you're probably thinking about. What'd I say debt debt of money from Proverbs 22 seven, the rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave of the lender.
[00:03:55] Now I'm not going to compare being in debt to being a literal [00:04:00] slave. Being a slave is a horrible thing. And the fact that has ever existed is one of those things that I can't. Really fathom. I couldn't imagine being a literal slave and what that must be alike, but it's using that analogy because it's saying if you owe money, you're not free to make decisions of your own.
[00:04:20] You're not able to make your own choices because you've entered into an agreement to pay it back. And in fact, it goes on later in Proverbs, 22, 26 and 27 to say, but not one of those who gives pledges, who puts up security for deaths. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?
[00:04:41] In other words, the idea is if you don't pay back your debts, they can come in and take property of yours, your a you're at the mercy of someone else able to do that. It also says in Proverbs 17, one who lacks sense, gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his [00:05:00] neighbor. Basically, it's saying, if you go into debt, that's foolish.
[00:05:05] It's a lacking of wisdom. And of course, Romans 13, eight says, Oh, no one, anything except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The idea being that we shouldn't be in any sort of debt other than the debt of relationship. And in that way, that's why I would say that debt isn't and is a sin because the truth is if you go into debt, If you go into that dead and it keeps you from being able to live out and do what you want to do in terms of your relationship with God, it keeps you blocked off from that relationship than it is acting as a barrier.
[00:05:47] It's your response to the debt that creates the sin. You'll hear people talk about good debt and bad debt. How, if you are using other people's money to [00:06:00] finance something like buying rental real estate, that's quote good debt while something like a consumer credit card debt is bad debt because there's no asset to stand for it.
[00:06:11] And I would argue that. All of these things are debt, whether they're good debt, whether they're bad debt, it doesn't really matter to me. There's not a value statement of good or bad. That makes sense. Instead, you want to look at what the debt is doing in terms of your relationship with others. What is it doing in terms of your relationship with God?
[00:06:33] Is it blocking you. From being able to do that. Is it blocking you from being able to live out your calling? Is it blocking you from being able to do what God calls you to do? If it is, then it is indeed bad debt and so-called good. Debt could still do that because if you've got a lot of money that you owe one, two or three rental houses, [00:07:00] you are forced out of certain decisions and into other decisions.
[00:07:04] Now you still have great options. You still have things you can do, but. You don't have the same options of somebody who owns those same rental places completely free and clear. The debt creates a change in your relationship. And I think that's important because think about it. If you had a ton of debt and you're working a nine to five job that you hate and your ability to go on a mission trip.
[00:07:32] Or to be able to give towards something that you're called to give towards. Would it be limited, would you be able to do and give as freely? Would you be able to take time off work and be able to travel on a mission trip and do good deeds for others? And of course the answer is no, if you're completely debt free, would you be able to do that?
[00:07:53] And the answer is you'd be much more likely to be able to. So it's not so much that [00:08:00] you don't do good things while you're in debt and it's not that debt makes you a bad person or a good person. It's that paying the debt off gives you. Options. It gives you choices. It gives you the ability to do things that perhaps you wouldn't have been able to do.
[00:08:18] If you have the debt's still there and that freedom, that ability to make different choices, that ability to do things that God is calling you to do that is why debt can act as a sin. Even though going into debt is not a sin. Thanks for listening.
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