The Debt Monster is wreaking havoc on people’s lives today, and if you do not deal with him in a proactive and intentional way, he will bring great damage to your life. Now, there are many reasons people fall prey to the Debt Monster, like keeping up with the Jones, mistaking wants for needs, lack of waiting on God, believing the lie that you deserve better, the inability to delay gratification, and wanting bigger and better. But here is the deal: if you want to be freed from the Debt Monster, you need to admit to the damage that he will bring into your life.
Damage the debt monster can bring
If we are not careful, the debt monster can do some awful things to you and the people you love. Debt can lead to bondage. Owing money and not being able to pay it back places the borrower in a terrible situation.
Proverbs 22:7 (NLT) “Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender.”
The big question is: Who controls you and what controls you? Do you control your money, or do you feel like your debt is controlling you?
Debt can can also destroy families. In the Old Testament, when a debt was not paid in a timely manner, some of the children might be sold into slavery until the debt was satisfied.
2 Kings 4:1 (NLT) “One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, ‘My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.'”
The consequences of debt destroyed families way back during those times, just as they do to families today.
A very serious, but sometimes overlooked, consequence of debt is that is hurts God’s reputation. As believers, we claim to love and follow God, but when we don’t pay our bills, we can hurt God’s reputation in the community.
Psalm 37:21 (NLT) “The wicked borrow and never repay, but the godly are generous givers.”
Three actions to breaking free from the Debt Monster’s grip
First, admit you have a problem. Greed is our problem. Greed is a disease that we all have the tendency to catch and it can come in many forms. The truth is that all of us have probably had the greed disease at one time or another.
Luke 12:15 (NLT) “Then he said, ‘Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.'”
You can begin to gain financial freedom and victory by admitting that you have a problem. No more hiding, no more pretending, and no more defending. By admitting the seriousness and the severity of the problem, we allow God to begin to work and fix the problem.
Next, confess the mess. There comes a time when you have to confess your mess in order for God to do some real healing in your life.
1 John 1:9 (NLT) “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”
God loves you, and Jesus demonstrated that love by dying on the cross so that your sins could be forgiven. If you confess the mess, God will forgive you.
Decide to trust God to forgive and free you. Make today “D-Day” or “Decision Day.” D-Day needs to happen in your head and in your heart if you want to be free from the Debt Monster. You are going to need to ask God to help you wage war on your debt. It might be painful for a while, but in the end, you will experience God’s freedom and blessing in your life like never before.
