What Would Jesus Do When it Comes to Debt and Responsibility?--Day 158 Through the Bible

                                                      Teaching children to work can be fun 
                                                            as well as teaching them patience and perseverance
                                                                              which they will need as adults.

In today's study, Dr. Stanley writes a section on indebtedness and says, "The price for indebtedness can be high indeed".  The widow in 2 Kings 4, was facing a creditor who would be taking her two sons as slaves in order to pay the family's debt.  God does not want us as His people to put ourselves under bondage to creditors.  Our culture makes it too easy, even for college students to get a credit card.  If all the private debt in our nation was called in tomorrow, we would perhaps be close to living in a 3rd world country. False premises of credit give us a false sense of security.  God intends for us to live within our means--to wait when we cannot afford to buy something we want.  Too many of us want things now rather than saving for what we want and saving for the future.

Psalm 71:17, reminds us that God can teach our children from youth--He uses mostly parents to do so.  However, we have too many young men and women who do not know how to take "no" for an answer.  If we do not allow our children to experience the consequences of their actions, they grow up without boundaries and with attitudes of entitlement.  Proverbs 18:9, instructs the reader regarding the detriment of "slothfulness" in our work.  Solomon writes under the inspiration of God that a person who is slothful is related to someone who is a great destroyer.  Using credit cards when there is no money to cover the bills has eventually destroyed many homes and families.

As parents, it is our responsibility to declare God's word to our children and teach them the importance of relying on God and following His ways--the importance of living in His strength which results in a solid foundation for their lives.  The "What would Jesus do?" book and bracelets were popular a few years ago.
Would Jesus live within His means or would He use numerous credit cards?  Jesus said in John 17:14, "I have given them Your word. . .I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.  They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth".

There are people who do live within their means.  They know the truth about credit and indebtedness. As Jesus' followers, we may not live in luxury, however, we have an opportunity to be role models for peace and contentment in a culture that is going deeper into debt almost on a daily basis in too many cases.  We need to set an example for others by working hard and having enough to share with the truly needy, and by living within our means financially.  This is a golden opportunity to be light and salt in a culture experiencing unfathomable debt and the accompanying frustration of being out of control.