Debt Bondage

Website designed by

Australian sites

Bully's Blog

Christian Family Study Centre

CultureWatch

Issacharian

Pilgrim Hill - News & Notes

Latest News

SNOW OFF THE BEN

The Australian Federation for the Family

The Drew Patch

International sites

American Vision

Biblical Horizons

Blog and Mablog

Chalcedon Podcast

Corrigenda Denuo

Doug's Blog

Family Reformation

Home Education Foundation

Kata Iwannhn

Peter J. Leithart

timgallant.org

Debt Bondage

Written by Mr. Trev McCallum
Friday, 02 July 2010

Views

137

Favoured

With all of the current economic uncertainty it is important for the church to be continually instructing the people of God. Christ's sheep must be fed, not only the milk but also solid (meaty) food. The Bible gives a blueprint for how we can live our lives in humble obedience to God. These blueprints extend to the field of our personal, family, church and state finances. This is particularly the case for debt. Much of what we have experienced through the ongoing global financial crisis roots in misuse of debt; governmental (i.e. sovereign), individual and institutional (e.g. purchasing and selling packaged debt via an investment vehicle). Mainstream economists and most Christians follow some form of Keynsian economics. What is that you ask? Well, with regard to a depression/recession those economists who follow John Maynard Keynes "recommend deficit spending to moderate or end a recession, especially a severe one. When the economy has high unemployment, an increase in government purchases creates a market for business output, creating income and encouraging increases in consumer spending, which creates further increases in the demand for business output. (This is the multiplier effect)." What does this mean? Simply stated, "spend your way out of a recession!" That may seem absurd to many of you. But in practise that is what has been happening on a governmental level across the world. There are many problems with this approach, including: 1. today's debt must be paid for by future generations, 2. government spending is usually a mis-allocation of resources (due to prejudices and bureacracy etc), 3. government spending does not necessarily increase productivity (in fact historically governmental allocation reduces productivity), 4. government spending via deficit in effect puts us and our children (and grandchildren) in national debt bondage to other countries. But this form of economics pervades the church and most of society! It is rooted in socialism. It is rooted in the unbiblical notion that the state (i.e. government) has the authority to excessively tax its citizens in oder to allocate resources (i.e. spend) on their behalf. When this isn't enough deficit spending kicks in, wherein the government places us, our children and grandchildren into (long term) national debt. High levels of debt are a major problem in the long term.

Richard M. Ebeling argues that;

Government deficit spending and the resulting debt is a burden on both current and future generations. Today’s deficits have to be paid for out of current production and output. Those who lend the money to the government forgo the private-sector uses for which that money could have been applied. Every dollar borrowed by the government means one less dollar that a private investor could have used to expand his business, or start up a new enterprise, or spend on research and development that would have introduced product innovations for the benefit of the consuming public.

David Saeid reminds us that;

The principal problem with the current economic crisis is that the authorities are trying to solve the debt crisis by adding more debt — which is akin to trying to cure a viral infection by injecting more viruses...A debt crisis can only be solved by paying down and reducing debt; it cannot be solved by compounding ever-more debt on top of an extremely overleveraged economy....The only way to solve a debt crisis — a path demonstrated by other countries that have survived through similar crises — is to drastically reduce the total levels of debt. Individuals, businesses, and the government must all tighten their belts, reduce expenditures, and live well within their means. How can a monetary policy that promotes more credit and a fiscal policy that creates more debt solve the debt crisis? The answer is clear: it cannot.

Gary North's book, Honest Money, is a must read for all Christians. You can download a free PDF version at this LINK . North comments on debt (pp.143-144):

'The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender' ( Proverbs 22: 7). The man who 'mortgages his future' has in principle become a slave. He has publicly announced some version of the following statement: 'I know the future. The future for me will bring more wealth. With this wealth I will pay off my debts. I can therefore increase my lifestyle today by assuming a debt. I know the future so well, that I can say that for X number of years, I will not make a mistake that will bankrupt me.' This is a form of arrogance. The Bible says, 'For now ‘we see through a glass, darkly' ( 1 Corinthians 13:12). The New King James version reads: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly.“ In other words, we don’t see the future very clearly. What if a person living in Old Testament Israel couldn’t pay? He could be sold into slavery. Only in the seventh year could he get free, unless he could somehow work off his debt. They were commanded by God to take debt very seriously. In principle, the debtor was a servant (slave) to the lender.

The New Testament principle is even more rigorous: “Owe no man anything“ ( Romans 13:8). Emergency debt was tolerable in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, God sets forth a standard of personal indebtedness which is designed to keep His people out of bondage. Why this concern with debt freedom? God wants ‘His people' to be mobile. If a new opportunity to serve Him comes along, we are to be 'ready to walk.' If we are in debt, how can we walk into a lower-paying form of service? God wants us to be able to exercise dominion. If we are given an opportunity to start a new business, or get a better education, how can we do this if we are tied to a debt? We serve the lender primarily, not God. Sometimes we need to reduce our expenditures today in order to have greater income and responsibility later on. How many middle-management workers are longing to break free and start their own businesses, but of their debts?

Clarke and Dawes' video on the debt crisis is also fantastic. If it weren't so serious it would be absolutely hilarious.

At Anselm Study House we have highlighted the generational problem with current attitudes towards debt (see our debt slavery article and our economics articles). We also suggest that you follow the articles from The Daily Reckoning Australia, the Economic Edge, the Ludwig von Mises Institute and lewrockwell.com. Sign up to their newsletters or RSS feeds. We also recommend two great resources from our shop - Biblical Economics (book) and A Christian View of Economics (cds). You need to think about ways to build a family vision that reaches into the next few generations. High debt accumulation will simply cripple our families' and churches' Gospel impact upon society.

Published in : Worldviews, Economics

Keywords : Worldviews, Economics, Sovereign debt, debt crisis, economic crisis, Christian debt, Bible and Debt