Session 6

Slave or Free?

From The Blessed Life

None of us wants to be a slave to anyone other than Christ. Yet the Bible says in Proverbs, “the borrower becomes the lender’s slave” (NASB). When we borrow money, the obligation to pay it back puts us in a financial bind, sometimes for years. The rising rates of home foreclosure reveal this truth.

An earlier verse in Proverbs 22 points out one reason we fall prey to this slavery. The temptation to use credit to buy things we want but don’t need may be rooted in spiritual immaturity and an inability to wait on God to provide. Proverbs 22:3 says “the prudent sees the evil and hides himself, but the naive go on and are punished for it.” In a moment of impulse, we don’t see enslavement to bills. We only see the stuff we want, and we naively swipe the credit card or sign the loan.

Doing without or waiting on God to provide takes maturity, humility and trust. Proverbs 22:4 says, “The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, honor and life.” When we obey God’s financial principles, such as tithing, working hard and avoiding debt, He will reward us with the good things He has for us, and the good things He has for us are always better than what we have for ourselves.