Most Christians are familiar with the Bible's statements about not lending money to one another. A lot of this prohibition has to do with charging interest. And any student of Dave Ramsey knows you should have the cash in hand before you buy.
The Bible even goes further by creating what is called the Year of Jubilee. In the simplest of terms this was a time in which all debt would be cancelled.
It may seem surprising that God would concern Himself so much with our banking systems but I think there is a greater reason behind this. When we borrow we are indebted to someone for a period of time. To at least a minor extent the have control over us. Now that might seem fine when we take out the loan but how do we know where our lives will be at the end of that loan in 5 or 20 years?
Several times I have begun to fill out application for joining the staff of different ministries. But almost always I get stopped in the same spot. They ask about my finances. Which is fair enough, it's not like I'd be bringing in the big buck there and they want to make sure I can afford to live on what I would make. But I am tackled by debt. Student loans, car loans, credit card debt make it impossible to survive on a staffer's pay.
God does not want us deep in debt because His plans for us may not allow us to pay off that debt. Debt holds us captive. We cannot follow the path He would have for us if we are tied down by debt.
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