Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes. ~It takes too long to save up before you buy things.
~Debt gives you a strong incentive to go to work everyday
~Let’s people who produce more than they spend do something useful with their money.
~It allows you to enjoy a lifestyle you haven’t earned yet, which is lots of fun.
~It must be good since everyone does it.
~It’s really important to have a nice car.
~Everyone should own their own home.
~Who doesn’t like to eat out at nice restaurants?
~I deserve a vacation.
~If everyone stopped their deficit spending, the economy would contract violently and collapse.
~The government has lots of it, how bad can it be?
~If there were no debt, there’d be no bankruptcy and no sense of forgiveness that comes from it.
~Sometimes you have to go into debt just to survive.
~Business investments require debt.
~It spurs the economy.
~Are we really to say that bankers are immoral?
Post-Show Thoughts: Debt is greed. In short, debt proves that you consume more than you produce and that you have chosen a lifestyle that you don't deserve. There's no other way to say it and be honest. And the vast majority of Americans are aptly so described. The simple fact that all people who have debt want to be debt-free and no people who are debt-free want to be in debt should indicate pretty clearly whether it's good to be in debt.
I would have a difficult time working in an industry where most of the people are buying something that is financially disadvantageous to them, such as mortgages, credit cards, or new cars. If a thing is bad to use/buy, then it is also bad to manufacture/sell. The reason stripping is bad is because watching strippers is bad. The reason it's bad to be a drug dealer is because cocaine and heroin are bad things to use. Speaking as someone who once had $25,000 in credit card debt and today is truly and totally debt-free, I can't imagine going into debt again for any reason other than as a business venture. And I'd be sure to do that in a way that did not make me personally liable.
The sheer relief of pressure from not owing anyone anything (except love) is impossible to communicate to you if you haven't experienced debt and the absence of it. But the amazing thing is how defensive people are about their financial stupidity. Amazing. You're more likely to get a positive response from criticizing someone's parenting than his spending habits. And the notion that our money behaviour is private and nobody else's business is just another way we use to cover up the foolishness or evil that revealing our behavior would show. There is a reason the Bible talks so much about money, the love of it, and the importance of not being driven by it.
If you have debt, here is a good place to start: Dave Ramsey
Proverbs 22:7
7The rich rules over the poor,
And the borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Proverbs 22:26
26Do not be among those who give pledges,
Among those who become guarantors for debts.
Romans 13:5-8
5Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
6For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing.
7Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Luke 6:34-35
34"If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
35"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
Matthew 6:21
Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
4 comments:
"you have chosen a lifestyle that you don't deserve."
Sounds akin to Christianity, seeking a reward we do not deserve.
Of course the major difference between the two cases is that God wants us to have the undeserved reward as a gift, whereas the lender has no intention of making his money a gift to us.
But there's another problem. Debt involves such a materialist set of values about what matters, whereas God is offering something of real meaning for us.
Finally, and I'm glad you posted because I wouldn't have though of this otherwise, debt gets us our pleasure now whereas salvation secures it for us later. In this way, the delayed gratification of heaven while enduring suffering now looks much more like putting off purchases until we can afford them than borrowing on the future to enjoy them now.
I feel like something was missed in what I've read here about debt. Often questions such as this that are asked in a yes/no way, such as "Is debt bad?" cannot be answered by a simple "yes" or "no." Often the answer is "it depends."
I hope I'm not being pedantic here or nitpicking about corner cases but it seems to me that debt can be a good thing in some circumstances. Imagine a society where debt was illegal so it was impossible to borrow or lend. Now imagine that I come from a poor family but wish to better my position in life by getting an education. How will I pay the tuition? I'll probably have to postpone my education until I can save up enough money (even if it takes decades). So I need a job, but the problem is that I can't afford a car but to get a job I need to drive to work. And so on and so on. In other words, debt is not only for buying big screen televisions and houses twice the size of our paychecks. Debt, that is the the kind of debt that allows one to better oneself, is actually beneficial for society.
Another thought experiment: Imagine a society filled with only God-fearing, loving people. If my neighbor was poorer than I but was in the situation I described above, would the most loving thing be to give him the money he needed to attend school or to tell him to wait however many years it takes to earn the tuition? Now what if I'm the one in need? If my neighbor takes money away from himself and his family to help me in my need, what is the most godly way for me to respond? Wouldn't I seek to pay him back as soon as I was able? This looks a lot like the lending/borrowing system we have except that none of it was legally agreed upon.
Maybe I could understand better if I knew what aspect of debt makes it morally questionable. Is it that lenders charge interest? Is it that debt is often fueled by greed? Or is it something else that I'm missing altogether?
There's no problem with limited use of debt for the purpose of creating a business or making money. That's a very normal thing and good. The problem is that most debt used in this way is partially the necessary borrowing of capital (a car, an education, etc.) and partially the overpaying for personal preference (a new or nicer car than is necessary, a more expensive education than truly needed, etc.) And once you get accustomed to having it and using it, it's very difficult to really keep it where it should be. Basically, debt allows people to do some good things, but it also allows most all people who use it to get themselves into much greater trouble financially than they could without it.
I once had a debt counselor/financial counselor come and talk to my students about credit, and his analogy was that debt is basically like heroin. Though the responsible, licensed, trained professional might have a good use for morphine, the vast majority of people can't handle access to it. So, too, with debt. And the tactics of drug dealers and debt dealers are the same, by the way.
"Here's a little for free, just to try. Okay, here's a little more, but at a price I reserve for friends. Oh, you want more, alright, but I have to charge you the going rate. Now you can have as much as you want because once you're hooked and in trouble, you're mine."
This story is all too familiar to anyone with a heroin addiction or with $10,000 on their credit cards.
As for a simple reason it's generally bad? It's poor stewardship given the way it wastes your money. But I expect that's fairly clear when it comes to "consumer" debt.
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