Bad Fruit

Debt represents bondage. Proverbs 22:7 acknowledges this. “The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is slave to the lender.” However, the kind of bondage that debt brings is not only in what its owed to a bank or an individual, but it goes beyond that into a deeper level. Granted some types of debt, like medical debt, may be unavoidable. And home-ownership may be thought of as an investment in one’s future; but it’s the other debt that causes deep spiritual angst. 

Unfortunately, the same Christians who proclaim their liberty in Christ Jesus continue to carry around a tremendous weight. Even in the church saints are locked in bondage as a result of unforgiveness, lust, or food addiction. Debt brings similar kinds of pain into our lives. Getting out of debt is not an easy process because it requires that we deal with its root in our lives. When calling the people to repentance, John the Baptist used the image of trees that bear bad fruit. He said, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10). At some point in our lives a tree has grown up that has caused sleepless nights and fights over money. The added pressure of debt collectors calling every day is enough to destroy families and break up marriages. 

The process of getting out of debt is relatively straight forward: stop borrowing, make a budget, knock the debts out one at a time. While the process is simple, it is not easy, and in fact many have become free from their debt only to find themselves in the same place a short time later. In order to truly break the bondage of debt the axe must be laid to the root of the tree.  Each situation is different, and if you have found yourself eating fruit of some bad decisions, I invite you to spend some time prayerfully considering what root is causing your slavery. 

For some individuals, envy causes them to amass debt. When all of your friends live at a certain standard of living there is a pressure to “keep up with the Jones’s.” This is why the scriptures admonishes us “For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work” (James 3:16). 

Others are controlled by vanity. Do you buy things for function or for status? Do you have to have the latest name brand item, or will generic brand serve the same? Is your insecurity mandating that you prove to others that you are not a loser by the clothes you wear or the car you drive? “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (I Timothy 6:6-9). 

There may be other reasons why debt may have taken root in a person’s life, but another common reason is an improper understanding of the Biblical idea of stewardship. In my life, I threw myself into ministry and thought that if I was doing the work of God and paying my tithes, I didn’t need a budget or a plan…I could just “Seek first the kingdom of God.” I believed that doing ministry meant that we were supposed to live as close to the poverty line as possible. It meant that Jesus was my emergency fund. When God finally got my attention, I realized had financed crisis after crisis, and had some trees growing in my life and I didn’t like the taste of the fruit. I Timothy 5:8 tells us “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” I needed to plan for my future and the future of my family, meaning it was okay to live by a budget and save some for tomorrow.

Tearing roots out of the ground is hard labor. In many ways getting out of debt is a lot like losing physical weight. Both require a dramatic shift in our way of thinking. In the same way making a significant change in your health can’t be fixed with a fad diet, debt can’t be conquered by a half-hearted attempted at a one- or two-month budget. An unhealthy body is the result of years of bad habits in the same way that a debt problem is the result of years of bad behavior as well. Cutting out roots will only be accomplished with a long-term commitment to lifestyle changes. Old ways of thinking will need to be challenged and overcome through prayer, fasting, and with a new set of attitudes.