We have all heard about the debt crisis in the United States and we all probably understand that going into debt always carries some financial risk. This risk can be measured since it is simply the economic cost of that debt.  But what about the spiritual risk of taking on debt? 

There are two spiritual dangers that I think about in regards to taking on debt. The first danger is that, when you borrow money, unless you have a guaranteed way to repay the amount that you’ve borrowed, you are presuming upon the future.  You are effectively putting God in a box, saying, “God, You’ve got to provide for me because I’ve borrowed this.”  I’m not sure God will obligate Himself to get you out of a debt situation.  I know that in my particular case, when I’ve borrowed money, I’ve always had to repay it.  I can’t expect God to drop a whole bunch of unexpected money in my lap to bail me out of my debt decisions.  So, I never want to presume upon God.  I never want to presume upon the future.

James says which of you should even think about saying, “I’m going to this city to make a profit.”  We don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring.  We’ve got to be really careful about presuming upon the future in our debt decisions.

The second spiritual danger of debt is whether or not you are denying God an opportunity to provide by letting your banker or credit card company be your provider?  God has promised to provide for us.  So, am I borrowing because I can’t wait?  Am I denying God an opportunity to bring something into my life that allows me to see His hand in it? 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had my plan, and then I’ve seen God do something unexpected and different (not to mention better). If I had presumed upon the future or used debt to provide now, I would never have experienced the joy of getting to see God provide in a wholly unexpected way. When it comes to making a debt decision, I always want to err on the side of waiting on God and not presuming that the future is certain.