DEBT FREE for the time being.
All my adult life I have been in and out of debt. My most recent step out of it was just last week. We sold our house and moved into a hotel for a few weeks. The equity we made on the sale has gone to pay off the credit cards, overdraft protection, my wife's vehicle, and my mother who gave us a loan a couple of years ago to try to get out then, but due to some financial pressures we got back in trouble right away again.
This time we intend to stay out. I have all the best intentions, but my intentions are really not very good considering my past history. Everytime I go into something with good intentions it always fails. That is why I am glad that God does not look at my intentions for saving me. He sent his son to die so that I don't have to rely on my intentions to save me. Where my intentions are good, my will gets in the way and subverts my intentions. But Jesus died for me despite my intent and will.
Only with God's help can we expect to stay on top of our spending habits. We can't rely on our good intent to keep us out of debt. Sooner or later we will fail on our intentions if we allow our will to do what it pleases.
Luther's small catechism says it best when explaining the third article of the Apostle's creed
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.
I think this says a lot about how we can't do it without him. We need him for everything.
Don't rely on your intentions even when they are good ones. You will fail and that is guaranteed. Rely instead on Christ.
Proverbs 3:5-6 say: 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
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Notes and thoughts about my life after seminary, as a Divorced father of two daughters, and other things that I want to write about.
2 comments:
Howdy, Scott. Blessings as you move forward with two great adventures: seminary and debt-free living.
While we have a house that we are paying on, we have never paid any credit card interest in 35 years. That has been a life-saver. Our motto is: if we can't pay for it, we don't need it. Obviously there are times when that gets tested, especially with children. But it has served us well.
Rich,
In our present day American culture it is very hard because that is how the world wants us to work. The credit card companies want us to be in their debt. I know that it is going to be a real challenge to stay out of debt. We destroyed all of our cards by shredder after we made the payments.
We also know that they will be mailing new offers to us to get 0 percent for 6 mos. or some other such thing. We are going to batten down the hatches because it will surely be a bumpy ride.
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