Getting Out of the Pit

All right, we made it this far. We have made the ‘mental’ and ‘spiritual’ leap to the choice of getting out of debt.

We know that debt is slavery, sin and a consequence of sin.
We know that to get out of debt requires:
Conviction - Debt IS sin.
Confession - “Father, Forgive me, I have sinned.”
Repentance - “I am sorry, and I do not want to live in sin anymore.”
Choice - “I want to get out of debt.”
Attitude - “Lord, help me change my attitude so my behavior changes.”

Now, “HOW do I actually get out of debt. What do I DO?”

When I was convicted to get out of debt, I did not have a clue what to do or how to go about it. I was convinced that I had to it, but I did not know how. During my military career, my job required that I be self-sufficient, able to survive in any environment, combat or geography with little or no help and support. I was trained to do that. All my money management training was experience in how to get deeper in debt. How could I get the training to become debt free?

The military has a manual to teach one how to do just about anything relating to the job. Additionally, they have schools that reinforce the manuals. I fell back on military training and starting looking for ‘manuals’ on how to get out of debt. Hours of searching libraries and bookstores led me to one conclusion...financial ‘success’ in America today is defined by how to USE DEBT to increase one’s standard of living, and increase one’s slavery. There are books on how to ‘leverage assets’ (use what little one owns to assume more debt), how to ‘maximize resources’ (use debt to get more debt) etc, ad nauseam.

I reasoned through this, and went back to my military experience. I learned far more in the military from other soldiers that had ‘been there, done that’ than I ever did from a manual or a school. Others' experience, passed on, was more valuable than books or training. I started looking around for people that had what I wanted; people that had a debt free life, and contentment. I found very few. It is a very unpopular position; it is almost un-American. In America, we are ‘defined’ by our credit rating and how far into debt we can go.

I went back to the source. I became convicted of the wrongness of debt slavery by the Holy Spirit and the Bible. The thought was ‘if’ the Bible was correct, then it would not only be the manual on how to get out of debt, it would also have the ‘experiences’ of people living debt free lives. IT might not have a ‘step-by-step’ how-to guide on balancing a budget, but it does have the principles of what to do.

I am constantly amazed at how much information on everyday living there is in the Bible. I am not talking about just our ‘Spiritual’ lives; I am talking about the ‘nuts and bolts’ of everyday living. It IS a ‘How-To-Guide’ for living life. The people in the Bible were not just prophets and evangelists. The Bible tells the stories of people from all occupations, from prostitutes to kings, from business magnates to slaves, and people who were all of the above. It is filled with people whose ‘experience’ covers just about everything.

I found the principles and promises on how to get out of debt and live debt free. I also found the ‘How-To’ guide with ‘experienced’ examples! The Bible does not specifically say, “This is how to set up a budget”, but it does tell us how to spend our money.

The Principles of Becoming and Living Debt Free:
Giving
Stewardship
Contentment


Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”