House of the Wise

Now that debt is conquered, give Praise to God that one is no longer a slave. What should the plan be now?

The absolute first thing to do when one has finally been unchained is Praise God! He has delivered one from the “Outer Darkness” of Slavery! The second thing to do is Honor God! One honors God by maintaining ‘good stewardship’. Keep the ‘indigent attitude’ and continue stewardship.

There is a very great temptation to ‘slide’ back into debt, with the thought, “Oh, I know how to get out of this pit. It is no big deal; I can just pay it off in a couple of months.” Beloved, that defeats the entire purpose of becoming free. This trap is especially tempting to one that has paid off a ‘large’ debt like a mortgage or a car. Compared to those debts, a $1000 credit card debt is ‘small potatoes’. Debt is still debt and debt is still sin. Resolve NOT to do that again, ever. Resolve to continue in ‘good stewardship’.

One could immediately start spending all the money one has been using to pay off debt. Would that be good stewardship? No, spending all the money in the budget that has been paying off debt is not good stewardship. “There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it.” Proverbs 21:20 This verse tells us that is not wise.

Therefore, we need to continue in ‘good stewardship’, and determine how to apply it to our new ‘freedom’. The application of continued ‘good stewardship’ requires a new plan. That means a ‘new’ budget. A new budget needs to reflect the freedom from slavery and good stewardship.

We keep coming back to budgeting. It is probably almost sickening, but without a ‘plan’ to maintain ‘good stewardship’, we fall flat on our faces… Remember the ‘Parable of the Talents’ in Matthew 25:14-30 (Into Outer Darkness). Each servant was ‘given according to his ability’. Each servant used a plan for managing their trust. Each one had a ‘budget’. God honored two of the ‘budgets’ because they showed a plan for ‘good stewardship’. So as sickening as re-budgeting may become, stop thinking of it as what one has to do. Start thinking of a budget in terms it being a way to serve God. The budget can become a ‘living’ thing that is evidence of a Living God, and our service to Him. It is a way to show our service, delighting in ways to honor Him.

It sounds a little ridiculous; a budget is a means of honoring God. Think about it. What are we doing when we ‘budget’ to be ‘good stewards’?
We are planning to be ‘living sacrifices’. Romans 12:1
We are planning to be ‘transformed’. Romans 12:2
We are planning to resist temptation. 1 Corinthians 10:13
We are planning to ‘submit to God’ and ‘resist the Devil’. 1 Peter 5:9 and James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
We are planning to “be conformed to the image of His Son”. Romans 8:29

The budget of a ‘good steward’ is more than just a plan to spend wisely. We are planning to honor God! We are planning to serve God!