Posted by Jason on Aug 13, 2011 in Faith, Money | 0 comments
In my previous post I began to discuss the reasons why I believe credit cards are particularly dangerous for those who strive to live a disciplined Christian life. It is my conviction that pastors and other church leaders should warn their people of the many dangers associated with credit cards and encourage their people to discover other ways of navigating the financial world. Beyond the mere temptation to purchase things irresponsibly, I believe many of us find a false sense of security in what we carry in our wallets.
Credit cards, for some, are less about being able to make purchases as they wish and more about a sense of security that should be found somewhere else. My wife would confess that she is less concerned about whether we can purchase something on a whim and more concerned about whether we can overcome any financial crisis that may come our way. Credit cards offer us a sort of financial security blanket and eliminate some of the fear of the unknown.
For those of us who look at credit cards in this way, we must remind ourselves that our security is in God and our salvation comes only from Him. In Isaiah 41:10 we are reminded: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. When we turn to credit cards instead of God, we deny Him the opportunity to meet our needs.
About eighteen months ago, our older appliances started going out on us. First it was the dishwasher, then the oven, and most recently the microwave. In each of these instances we decided not to purchase on credit and instead waited for an inexpensive replacement on Craigslist or until we had the money to purchase with cash. Going without theses appliance allowed us to discover that they were not as essential to daily life as we might have believed and encouraged to use some of the old-fashion ways of getting things done around the kitchen. You might be surprised at how amazing popcorn tastes when it is prepared on the stove top as opposed to the microwave.
Ron Blue writes in Christianity Today: The bottom line is that we should avoid putting a lender in the place of God by depending on them to meet our needs, and we should not play God in our own lives by deciding that the only way to meet our needs is to borrow.
In the midst of trouble, how often do we turn to our credit cards to resolve whatever crisis is at hand? How often do we pause in the midst of our frustration and ask whether our decision to fix, purchase, or replace something is even God’s will to begin with. Has access to quick financing interfered with our ability as a church community to respond to one another needs?