Stephen
Terry, Director
Dealing
With Debt
Commentary
for the February 4, 2023, Sabbath School Lesson
"However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the
land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will
richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to
follow all these commands I am giving you today." Deuteronomy 15:4-5, NIV
Several decades ago when I was a
young soldier stationed at the Fort Bliss Army Base outside El Paso, Texas, I
would enjoy spending weekends across the border in Juarez, Mexico. For someone who
had hardly ever been outside his home state of Washington, this was an
eye-opening experience. Things have changed some since then but in the 1960s
and 70s when I walked across the free bridge into downtown Juarez, I would
often be surrounded by dozens of street children begging for handouts. There
were even children in the Rio Grande beneath the bridge holding poles with
paper cones fashioned on the ends challenging the touristas to toss
coins into the cones. Several would do so, but sometimes the coins would miss
and fall into the muddy river where the children would dive to retrieve them.
The water was so full of silt, I never understood how they were able to find
them, but nonetheless they did.
While these children were desperate
to earn something to feed and clothe themselves, they also had a pecking order.
For instance, those with the cones looked down on those simply begging, not
only because they were competing for the same coins, but also because they had
done nothing to earn the money, such as making the paper cones. Recognizing the
need for them to retain their self-respect in the eyes of the other beggars, I
would take rolls of pennies with me and then I would challenge the street
children to a game of tossing pennies. I would stake them the first penny and then
subsequently manage to lose every round until the pennies were all gone. They
doubtless laughed about the stupid gringo who could not even win at
tossing coins. But my loss enabled some to eat that day with a sense that they
earned it.
Some might question why I used
only pennies instead of larger coins. It was a safety factor for all involved.
Several other tourists had been attacked and robbed when they were careless
enough to show that they had something valuable. But no one really cared about
someone who only had pennies they were tossing, and the children were less
likely to be robbed of their pennies also. One day when I was tossing pennies,
a young prostitute came up to me and told me she was from New York and ended up
in Juarez. She only wanted to tell me that she had been watching me and the
children and how much she appreciated that someone was taking an interest in
them. Then she left, and I never saw her again. I pray that someone was able to
help her like I was helping the children. The world would be a better place if
instead of looking down on one another, we could find ways to lift one another
up.
Our lesson quarterly this week
deals with the opposite perspective, those who grind down the poor with debt
and transfer all they can from the pockets of the needy into their own
overflowing treasuries. Simple things like food, clothing, and shelter should
be available to all as a fundamental right. But people starve on our streets,
shiver sleeping on cold, cement sidewalks in challenging weather conditions,
and have difficulty finding shelter and personal privacy to live out what
otherwise would be the normal processes of life. We have too often resigned
ourselves to accept these insults to human dignity, choosing to believe it is because
of the failings of these individuals that they do not thrive in an otherwise prosperous
society. Those who do not walk in the shoes of the poor do not realize how difficult
it is to thrive on the street or in neighborhoods where the only employment is
to work dealing drugs or some other criminal activity directed by the neighborhood
crime boss. It is a devil's choice that no one wishes to make. Those who stand
on moral principle against giving in to this pressure often pay a high price for
their morality, a morality that few give them credit for. If they lose their
home because they will not engage in crime, they just become another homeless
person, too lazy to deserve better according to some. This should not be the
attitude of a follower of Christ, but still is all too commonly expressed by those
who should know better. It is too easy to dismiss this abuse of humanity based
on our estimation of their worthiness, a worth that was established on the
cross two millennia ago. Christ traversed the entire universe to demonstrate the
value of each human being on a hill outside Jerusalem. On the other hand, we so
devalue the same individuals Christ died for that we do not see any value to
even cross the street to speak with them if we feel they can do nothing for us.
Our attitude becomes even more
egregious when we consider how the non-Christian world relates to them. Those
who are homeless and helpless are sometimes set upon by those who are not, and
they sleep openly on our sidewalks and in our parks at risk of their lives. It is a
mystery why those who have so much feel entitled to abuse the poor in this way.
But their abuse is only part of the picture. If the poor try to better
themselves through education, they are saddled with debt that may take decades
to pay off and can never be discharged through bankruptcy. And while they are
attending college, they are often beset by the same banks who provide those
non-dischargeable student loans with offers of unsecured credit cards charging
a gnat's hair under 30% interest. The trap thus set, too many see the "easy"
part of easy credit and fail to understand the chains that 30% will forge around
their future hopes and dreams. The Bible calls death an enemy,[i] but
debt can be death while still living when we realize how much we have given
away to have the latest glittering link in the chain of debt so many are
enslaved by. We should not encourage such usury. But we do. How often does
someone go deeply in debt for a new car, and we praise them for the purchase?
This not only encourages them to continue to make unwise choices, but by
example encourages others who may be even less able to carry the debt burden to
do the same.
This is why we do such inane
things as owning trucks that never haul anything. We are told incessantly in
the media how nice it would be to go into debt for several years to have such
handiness at the ready. Of course, the ads never mention that one can install a
trailer hitch on their family car and in most instances simply rent a U-Haul
trailer for those rare occasions when something does need hauling without incurring
years of debt. In my lifetime, I have seen the maximum auto loan term go from
two years to seven, eight, or more years because of the price increases for new
vehicles. That is a pretty hefty price, even at low interest rates to be able
to haul a few boards once or twice a year. I know math is hard, but if I need
to pay eighty dollars for a delivery fee to have landscape materials delivered
each year, that is still a bargain compared to five years of $500 per month
payments to own a truck to haul it myself.
Lest we get the idea that all
debt is wrong, I wish to point out that debt based on an appreciating asset is often
a route to financial security and a means to eventually overcome the debt
burden. In most instances, a home mortgage will build equity, both as the
payments are made and as the real estate appreciates year by year. The equity
that builds can leverage additional opportunities to broaden the real estate portfolio.
In many countries, this is how wealth is built, typically over several
generations. But one also needs the ability to negotiate a minefield of credit
offers for home equity loans, ever increasing property taxes, and the instability
of today's job market to succeed. It can be helpful to seek out those you know
who have done it for ideas on how to do the same. But weigh carefully what is
shared. The apparently successful person may be just as likely to be buried in
debt as a poorer person. They may look like they are enjoying a pleasant swim
but may instead be doing all they can just to tread water. The successful person
is not necessarily the one with the latest model car, the largest home, or the
most impressive title. They may be in hock up to their ears to people you know nothing
of.
All this being said, if you have
already fallen into the debt trap and cannot see your way forward, you need a
plan to do so. I had that experience after I graduated college, and my wife was
diagnosed with a chronic and progressive debilitating disease. She could no
longer work, and I needed to leave the ministry to be able to provide her the
care she needed. I had student loans I could not pay back. Some of them were
deferred which helped immensely. But those owed directly to the college, they
were unwilling to defer and demanded payment immediately. I have never forgotten
the name of the person who was so hard-hearted, but there is no purpose to be
gained by sharing it. We struggled until I learned some basic financial principles
and began to apply them. I found those principles in a book, The Richest Man in
Babylon, by George S. Clason.[ii]
For those struggling with debt, this book can lead you out. It is a better
guide for financial security than our quarterly this quarter that seems to only
want to increase the money flowing into church coffers. Those who wrote it fail
to understand that by teaching financial principles that will make each of us
more financially stable, there will be a more secure financial base for the
church as well. Repeating the mantra that if you give sacrificially to the
church, God will make you wealthy like Malachi promised[iii]
is NOT one of those sound financial principles for escaping poverty. God
provides for us because he loves us, not because he is a vending machine where
you put money in to get more money out.