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Living in Debt-Free Blessing

For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations,  but they shall not reign over you. (Deuteronomy 15:6)

IN the Book of Deuteronomy, God renewed His covenant with His people. There He laid out for them what they could expect from Him and what He required of them. If they continued in His ways, they could look forward to many rich blessings. However, if they departed from the way of blessing, the only thing left was the curse (the way things were before). These blessings and cursings are presented in chapter 28. The first section (vv. 1-14) sets forth the promise of great provision, success and prosperity in every aspect of life. The rest of the chapter (vv. 15-68) paints a picture of lack, defeat and failure for those who depart from the way of blessing. The choice is powerfully summed up in Deuteronomy 30:19, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life.”

In the midst of all this, God shows us something very powerful about what it means to be in debt. First, take a look at the blessing.

The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not beneath. (Deuteronomy 28:12-13)

The promise is that the people of God will have so much provision, they will be the lenders and not the borrowers.

Now look at the curse: “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:43-44). This is lack and failure so thorough that God’s people have nothing at all to lend and instead must borrow just to meet their own needs.

These passages show that God takes a very negative view about debt. It is not presented as blessing. Nor is it presented as God’s way of supplying His people with what He wants them to have. Debt is not a provision but a lack of provision. The borrower is not the head, but the tail. He is not on top of things, but “under the circumstances.” He is not lifted high, but brought down low. He does not exercise authority, but has authority exercised over him by others.

God’s Way of Blessing

Fast forward in the history of Israel to the time when they were coming out of exile. They departed from the ways of the Lord and ended up in Babylonian captivity for 70 years. Only a remnant returned. The Book of Nehemiah shows a group of them returning to Jerusalem to restore the walls of the city, but they are still beleaguered by the effects of the curse — they are under the oppressive burden of debt. This is not old debt from previous generations, but new debt, recently incurred. Nehemiah tells it this way:

There were also some who said, “We have mortgaged our lands and vineyards and houses, that we might buy grain because of the famine. There were also those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our lands and vineyards. Yet now our flesh is as the flesh of our brethren, our children as their children; and indeed we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have been brought into slavery. It is not in our power to redeem them, for other men have our lands and vineyards.” (Nehemiah 5:3-5)

Again we see debt presented in a very negative light. It may have looked like a blessing when they first got into it, a provision that would solve their famine problem. But now they realized that it was really a curse which led only to a greater problem. They thought they were simply mortgaging their lands and houses and vineyards to buy grain and take care of taxes. But now they saw that this had a profound effect on their sons and daughters — for they had mortgaged their future. What had first seemed like a solution was now revealed to be a slavery. They could only watch helplessly as their children were forced into servitude. They had no power to redeem them because they had mortgaged that power away to others.

That is what debt does. It enslaves. It does not give you power; it takes away the power you already have and gives it to others. The Bible says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). The root of the Hebrew word for “borrow” is lavah and means “to twine.” When we borrow, we become entwined, twisted together with the lender. He now has the advantage over us and we are no longer free to do what we desire, for debt makes us his servant.

Debt is not God’s way of blessing; it is the way of the world, a substitute for blessing. The blessing of the Lord means that we do not need to borrow. When we borrow we are walking outside of the blessing, getting into covenant with the world rather than looking to our covenant God to meet our needs. Going into debt is always an Ishmael, never an Isaac. It is always plan B, never plan A. It is the way of the world, not the way of the Kingdom. It is man’s way of doing things, not God’s.

God’s way is to lead His people out of debt, not to lead them into it. The Bible says, “The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22). The reason debt does not belong to the blessing is because you cannot be rich and in debt at the same time, and the blessing makes one rich.

God has an anointing for His people that does not include debt. “It shall come to pass in that day that his burden shall be taken away from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck, and the yoke will be destroyed because of the anointing oil” (Isaiah 10:27). Debt is a burden. Therefore, it does not belong to the anointing, for the anointing removes the burden and destroys the yoke.

God delivers His people out of bondage. When He called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, the land of bondage, He said,

And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be, when you go, that you shall not go empty-handed. But every woman shall ask of her neighbor, namely, of her who dwells near her house, articles of silver, articles of gold, and clothing; and you shall put them on your sons and daughters. So you shall plunder the Egyptians. (Exodus 3:21-22; this was fulfilled in Exodus 12:36.)

The favor of the Lord means that He will lead us out of bondage, and we will not go out empty-handed. “He also brought them out with silver and gold, and there was none feeble among them” (Psalm 105:37).

Notice that the abundance with which the Lord led them out extended also to their sons and daughters. Instead of being enslaved by the bondage of debt, as in Nehemiah 5, they were clothed with silver and gold. God’s blessing goes even further: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (Proverbs 13:22). Our children and our children’s children for many generations may be affected by whether we choose to trust in God’s provision or enter into debt.

There are many other passages which show that God’s way of blessing is provision and not debt. For example, “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want” (Psalm 23:1). “He also blesses them, and they multiply greatly; and He does not let their cattle decrease” (Psalm 107:38). “He raises the poor out of the dust, and lifts the needy out of the ash heap, that He may seat him with princes” (Psalm 113:7). “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2). There are many other such promises and not a speck of debt in any of them. You will not find any place in Scripture where God provides for His people by means of debt.

Debt is Not Sin, But Slavery

For all that the Bible has to say about debt, however, the language is only descriptive. God discourages borrowing, but has no outright prohibition against it. So if you are in debt, please know that no condemnation rests upon you because of it. Borrowing does not make you a sinner, although it certainly makes you a slave.

Understand, also, that there are different kinds of debt. One helpful way to understand debt is this: Debt is when your liabilities outweigh your assets; your minuses are greater than your pluses. Liabilities take money out of your pocket; assets put money into your pocket. On one hand, there is credit card and consumer debt — these are liabilities. On the other hand, there is mortgage debt and borrowing for business and investment — these can be assets.

There is a difference between borrowing for things that quickly fade (credit card and consumer debt) and investing in things that increase in value (houses, lands, businesses, investments). One takes away from your net worth and decreases your future spending power. The other, when used properly, can enable you to add to your net worth, increasing your future spending power. Avoid the former at all costs; enter into the latter only after much prayer and wise counsel, and never without the peace of God resting upon you. (Ron Blue offers excellent counsel in his book, The New Master Your Money: A Step-by-Step Plan for Gaining and Enjoying Financial Freedom.)

Get Into the Blessing and Out of Debt

Whatever your debt situation, be encouraged. God has favor, blessing, anointing and prosperity for you:

Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the LORD be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."

(Psalm 35:27)

The Bible also says, “He brings out those who are bound into prosperity” (Psalm 68:6). God wants to bring you out of the bondage of debt and release you into His wonderful prosperity. Here are some ways you can begin entering into the debt-free blessing God has already prepared for you.

Trust in the Lord

It is important for you to understand that you don’t enter into the blessing by getting out of debt; you get out of debt by entering into the blessing. And the way you enter into the blessing is by faith.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

When you trust in the Lord, He will direct your paths, and His way will lead you out of debt. Not only that, but those who put their trust in the Lord walk in the favor and the blessing of the Lord.

Let all those who put their trust in You rejoice;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround them as with a shield.

(Psalm 5:11-12)

The Bible says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). If you will seek God diligently in faith, He will certainly reward you.

Getting into debt is never an act of faith. It takes no faith at all to go into debt — millions of people get into debt all the time without the first bit of faith in God. But it does take a vital and active faith for you to get out of debt.

Determine that you are going to repay your debts

The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But the righteous shows mercy and gives.

(Psalm 37:21)

Take a faith stance that you are going to repay your debts. God has no pleasure in those who shirk their responsibilities. It takes no faith at all to welch on a debt. In fact, it is a form of theft. But it honors God when you commit to repay, and He will help you. God wants to prosper you so much so that, not only are all your debts paid off, but you have plenty more for generous giving.

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)

Your faithfulness, or faith-filledness, in repaying your debts and giving generously will release the benefits of this grace into your life.

Determine that you will not go into debt anymore

Make a definite, qualitative decision that you will not go into debt anymore. This is a decision that is irrevocable — there is no back-up plan. Again, this is a stance of faith. You can’t be believing God to get you out of debt while you are making plans to go back into it. There is nothing of faith in that. “Ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7).

Making this determination may be a hard step, for the way of debt is so deeply ingrained in us by the world, and the opportunities for it are so prevalent. Many Christians believe that debt is an unavoidable fact of life, and that in order to keep up or get ahead, you must be finance it with debt. But they have learned that from the world, not from the Lord.

The testimony of Scripture is quite the opposite: “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). For God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Ephesians 3:20). Meditate on God’s promises of provision and then ask Him to help you take this step of determination.

Give

The apostle Paul said, “He who sows sparingly, will reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). So give — as much as you can, and even more than you think you can. Don’t let debt keep you from sowing bountifully, or you will limit the harvest.

We saw in Nehemiah 5 how the returning Jews responded to famine and got into the slavery of debt. Now compare that with Genesis 26 and what Isaac did when there was a famine in the land. He was tempted to go down into Egypt, which looked promising although it was actually the land of bondage. But he decided to follow the instruction of the Lord instead, “Live in the land of which I shall tell you. Dwell in this land, and I will be with you and bless you” (Genesis 26:1-3). In verse12 we find, “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the LORD blessed him.”

In the time of famine, Isaac did not go down into the land of bondage. Instead, he sowed his seed in the land God showed him and reaped a hundredfold — maximum harvest! Isaac saw the blessing of God flow richly into his life. Will not God do the same for you?

Sowing seed in time of famine and giving in time of debt takes a strong and ready faith, but the return is magnificent. Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time” (Mark 10:29-30). God always honors giving, and giving always brings a return, just as sowing always brings a harvest. That harvest will contain the answer to your debt.

Debt-free blessing

God’s blessing is debt-free. Learn how to walk in it by faith, determining that you are going to trust in Him alone. Honor your commitments and faithfully repay them. Give your giving and sow your sowing, believing God to bring you out of debt and into the freedom of His faithful provision all the days of your life. Then you will “owe no one anything except to love one another” (Romans 13.8). That is the only debt worth having.

© 2002 Jeff Doles.
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