Tiny Devotional for Friday, 10-22-2021

A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, let us be thankful for breakfast.

The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Proverbs 22:7, NASB

I don’t like hard words, but all the wisdom I have on this verse comes from hard experience.

Chattel slavery was outlawed in the US, although the repercussions are still with us. Meanwhile, aspects of debt slavery seem to be expanding in our country, and I don’t see an end to it. (Mortgages and student loans need a separate treatment.)

Here’s how I became a debt slave: I got my first student-account credit card with a $300 limit in 1978. That was used to buy things to eat, drink, or fuel my car; when catastrophic items, like a broken transmission, came along, I applied for a different card. Before the credit card ride was over (DECADES later), that single card with a $300 limit had become eight(?) cards with $5000 limits, with too many of them maxed out.

I’m leaving out all of the years of associated mental torment, including time spent trying to come up with a solution that would keep my household running and satisfy my creditors. 

Here’s how I got out of debt: I shut down all my spending, except essentials. No more buying the faster computer on sale, or the associated electronic fripperies. No more eating convenient fast-food. It helped a LOT that I had quit drinking years earlier!

It took a LONG time, and it took the cooperation of the household, but eventually, it was better. It meant driving old cars, which didn’t bother me, and wearing old shoes, which I actually preferred. 

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. Tobhiyah EmioheOctober 22, 2021 at 10:14 AM

    I read something yesterday that said paying off credit cards is like putting money in bags with holes. Once you pay off a credit card, unless under dire circumstances, NEVER USE IT AGAIN!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Moose45RiderOctober 22, 2021 at 12:29 PM

    Credit cards are one of the most dangerous traps out there. Paying them off is like coming unchained.

    ReplyDelete
  3. v, NoOctober 23, 2021 at 5:04 AM

    Godly contentment is great gain!

    ReplyDelete
  4. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandOctober 23, 2021 at 9:05 AM

    Wonderful, The Word of God plus your experience that leads to change my Brother Pat.As it says, Godliness with contentment is Great Gain. Praise God!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Mai CoopOctober 24, 2021 at 5:48 AM

    Yes, GODly contentment is great gain! Also, who wants to be anyone's slave? So glad you came out of that bondage.

    ReplyDelete

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