To me...the teaching of God's Word was unmistakably clear: "Owe no man anything." To borrow money implied...a contradiction of Scripture -- a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given...
Could any amount of precedents make a wrong course justifiable? If the Word taught me anything, it taught me to have no connection with debt. I could not think that God was poor, that He was short of resources, or unwilling to supply any want of whatever work was really His. It seemed to me that if there were lack of funds to carry on work, then to that degree, in that special development, or at that time, it could not be the work of God.
~Hudson Taylor
The subject of whether or whether not to borrow is, granted, not a popular one. I do not seek to judge anyone here, or to heap on someone's shoulders a burden that is not from God. Rather, I would like to share what we believe, what our family's experience has been, and how much of a blessing it can be to cast aside the burden of debt completely, and be free from monetary bondage -- to "owe no man anything."
Soon after my parents were married in 1992 they made a very radical commitment to God that they would never borrow money for anything. They were given this advice by a very wise great-uncle, and were told that if they did not make a firm commitment, that at some point in life they were sure to make an exception and give in to pressure. Over the years there have been countless times when my parents would have been sorely tempted to borrow "just this once" if they had not made that commitment.
As a family we have seen God provide again and again, in His timing, and looking back we realize that God's timing has always been the best, and if we had given in and borrowed along the way we would almost certainly not be where we are now. God directed us through some large decisions, like the adoptions and purchase of property, by providing in His way and His timing, and His alone. Several examples come immediately to mind of instances where giving in to pressure and borrowing would have caused us absolute disaster later. If we would have pushed ahead and done our own thing, who knows what regrets and repercussions we would still be experiencing; who knows how drastically different our lives would be now. We are so blessed!
Just some food for thought. ☺ I'd enjoy hearing others' experiences or thoughts on the issue.
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They feast on the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your delights." - Psalm 36:7-8
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him...Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil." -Psalm 37
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