There comes a time when you just have to make the call.
You can’t avoid the tough decision. You grimace and bite the bullet. Something has to go. Something has to stop. Something has to change. Something has to give. You got to draw the line, tighten up and hunker down. So much for ease!
It’s never a good thing to run out of money. Being short on cash can make your spending options pretty simple...unless your Credit Score (almost as an important a number as your ACT or SAT) will qualify you for the Platinum Card at Bank One. Then you can ‘charge it’ and run up a debt load via EBay or taking a vacation with Eskimos. If the load gets too heavy…ask your Creditor to raise your credit limit. Now, there’s a solution!
Maybe you heard about the guy who said that he loved his kids too much to leave them anything that might cause a sibling squabble when he departed from this life. To eliminate the infighting, he intended to leave them his indebtedness, instead. He felt that it would be the ‘gift that would keep on giving’. Actually, the guy was a comedian that I heard on Sirius. At first I thought he was a financial analyst for Bloomberg Radio.
Sad is the day when the politico is debating how much MORE to raise the national debt ceiling. The National Debt Clock says that each day our nation plunges 3.82 BILLION more dollars into debt. Us Baby Boomers may be able to dodge some of the crushing impact of the 14.3 TRILLON of existing US debt, but what about our kids and their kids? The Millennial Generation (born between 1980-2000) is about to get the hammer. One thing that the Boomer Generation owes big time to the Millennial Generation is an apology!
You might be surprised to learn that the Bible has quite a bit to say about money. It’s not bad counsel either. The fact is that God cares about our take, our attitude and our use of money. He loves us too much for our households to be turned upside down with debt. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). God is always more gracious than mortgage companies.
I am not a politician. I am a just a married guy with grown kids with a couple of grandsons who happens to be a Christian and a pastor. I have made my share of financial blunders in the past, and have regretted every one of them. I have witnessed marriages busting wide open because of an unnecessary family debt crisis. I have counseled my children and my churches to be grateful and wise stewards of their finances through the years, and to experience the freedom and the joy of knowing and loving God more than ‘mammon’ (Matthew 6:24).
Before we raise the debt ceiling, let’s raise the roof with prayer and intercession for our duly elected decision makers. These are critical days of making the tough call, getting it right and dealing with the yoke of our national debt.
Looks to me that we may need to revisit that currency motto imprinted on our coins and dollars; “In God We Trust”.
