I'm Debt Free!!

I realized I never blogged about being debt free! I gave my testimony of what God did on my journey to becoming debt free at church, so I'm just going to copy and paste it here. Maybe it will encourage someone on their journey. (Feel free to reach out if you want to talk while you work to becoming debt free.)

Sorry there are no pictures or anything to break up the long text. :)

Money is one of those topics no one wants to discuss. It’s personal. It makes us uncomfortable. When Pastor Nathan asked me to share about what Christ did for me on my journey to becoming debt free, I immediately thought--no one wants to hear about budgets and Dave Ramsey and debt snowballs. But in reality, my journey had less to do with money and more to do with surrendering myself to Christ.

When I started the Dave Ramsey program eight years ago, I had never written down a budget, much less calculated how much debt I had, so I was in complete shock when I realized I owed 59,496.03. Other than a car and a few thousand dollars of student loans, I honestly cannot tell you what I bought. I serve as a school librarian, so I’m guessing it was a lot of cardigans.  

I began working the plan, full of optimism and determination to make a budget, stick to it, and get out of debt. But regret over bad decisions only gets you so far. Some months I would do well, but many months, I would drain my savings or use my credit card.  

I continued in that cycle until a year and a half ago. On a Wednesday night, Pastor Nathan talked about reaching unreached people groups. He said there were people who had not heard the gospel because they are in such remote places that we’d have to build roads just to reach them. He spoke about the money it would take to build those roads and the training for the missionaries to share the gospel and the cost of translating Bibles into that language.

I can’t tell you what he preached on that night because I couldn’t quit thinking what 59,496.03 plus interest throughout the years could have done to advance the gospel. I know God doesn’t need my money, but I had missed a chance to join him in the work he’s doing to make the name of Jesus known around the world.

The regret I had over bad financial choices turned to godly sorrow that I had put stuff I can’t even remember buying above the advancement of the gospel. I went home, got on my face in my prayer closet, and repented for not trusting His plan for the money He had given me. I realized God’s goal wasn’t just for me to be debt free--it was for me to completely surrender control of my finances to him.

I had only told two people ever how much debt I had. Now, I was sharing my monthly totals on social media with strangers. With a changed heart, I began to make different decisions, not just with the mindset of getting out of debt but with pleasing the Lord with my money.

I wish I could tell you that I surrendered to his lordship, and it was easy. It was still a year and a half of hard choices, of lonely weekends, of dying to my selfish desires. But, it was one of the most beautiful times, as Jesus poured out His grace to me through His word and encouragement from friends and even strangers.  

On February 15th, I made my last payment to Discover, and with the next paycheck, I paid to go on my first mission trip with NEHBC. While being debt free feels amazing, the true blessing was Christ using the long journey to fill my greatest need--more of him.

Throughout my journey, I kept coming back to Philippians 4:11, where Paul wrote “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” Even though I hated dying to my selfish desires, the more I surrendered to Christ, the more content I became despite my circumstances. He is enough.

We all have areas of our lives that we don’t want to surrender completely to Christ’s authority. Maybe yours is finances like mine was. Maybe it’s something else. I want to encourage you to trust Christ and His authority over every aspect of your life. When we surrender things to Him, He never leaves us empty-handed. He will always give us more of Himself. And when we have Him, we can be content wherever He has us

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Don't Believe the Lie

Many of us believe the lie that debt is normal. School loans. Car payments. 

But it's not. 

Proverbs 22:7 says "the borrow is slave to the lender." If I clear 1, 686 dollars a paycheck but have to pay 800 or more to either Bank of America or Discover, I'm not in control over that money, the credit card companies are.

So, that's 800 a check (1,600 a month) that I have no say over. It's money I can't give to organizations like A21, a non-profit fighting human trafficking. It's money I can't use to go on a mission trip or give to a missionary spreading the gospel to unreached people groups. It's money I can't use to buy books to give to kids who don't have books at home. 

And that sobering thought is why I'm up at 2:30 in the morning writing this blog.

Debt is unacceptable because it keeps me at the mercy of credit card companies--how much interest will they charge and what will my minimum payment due be? Debt keeps me tied to earthly things when my heart wants to invest in spiritual things. 

And so I'm left with sorrow, great sorrow at what my sin has cost me--the chance to give lavishly to the kingdom of God. But the beautiful thing about Christ's grace is that it is always there, whether it's the first time I've sinned or the hundredth. 

So it's not too late for me. Or you. When I look at my debt numbers (read about it here and here), it makes me sad to think of what I could be using that money for. It also makes me mad I was selfish and greedy. It breaks my heart that I let sin guide my choices.

"For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." -2 Corinthians 7:10

So I lie here broken but thankful. Because godly grief over my sin changes me, it produces a repentance that refuses to live in sin any more. And that is incredibly freeing.

But to be financially free, we have to take action. First, we can take a long, honest look at our debt and what our selfish choices have cost us--not just financially but emotionally and spiritually as well. And then we can let that grief and anger change us for the better. Because I don't know about you, but once I climb out of this hole, I'm never going back again. 

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