“Debt can enslave our lives, even if our spirits are free.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – October 31, 2024
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. Proverbs 22:7, ESV
When we were in our early 20s, my wife and I longed to serve the Lord abroad and joined a missions organization to help spread the gospel in some of the least-reached corners of the world. We were filled with zeal and boundless energy, yet we barely had two nickels to rub together. Though our lack of resources may have been discouraging, a wise mentor said something in passing that I’ll never forget. “You may not have great wealth, but you don’t have any debt, and so you are free to say ‘yes’ to the Lord’s call!”
It’s easy to frame our relationship to finances in entirely self-serving ways, and this is true in wealth or in poverty. We assume that great wealth enables us to live the life we’ve always dreamed of, and conversely, when we are poor or in debt, we see our limited resources as holding us back from a fulfilled and meaningful life of pleasure. However, natural though they may be, these categories fail to reveal an even more foundational truth, that of bondage and freedom.
When we are indebted to others, it isn’t just that we lack financial means. We are not free to say yes to a life of complete allegiance and service to Christ. Even if our hearts and desires are free from the love of money or desire for material comfort, debt means we have two masters. Debt can enslave our lives, even if our spirits are free.
You and I are called to a life of singular allegiance, serving Christ and his kingdom. This includes a radical reorientation of our understanding of the purpose of wealth and our relationship to it. If we are able to live debt-free, we are not simply liberated to pursue wealth, but we are liberated from the bondage of wealth and the empty promises that it makes. We are free to live a life of liberty that transcends earthly categories of rich and poor, instead giving ourselves wholeheartedly to the cause of Christ, wherever he may call us to go.
Prayer
Father, keep us from a life of slavery to debt or slavery to wealth, instead longing only for the life of your kingdom, and to be found as your faithful servants, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Application
Take time to mediate upon today’s verse throughout the day: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.”
Related Reading
Romans 6:18; Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 2:16
Worship Resource
Steffany Gretzinger: Forever Amen
Donate
If you are blessed by these daily devotionals please prayerfully consider a donation to support Wisdom Hunters Resources. We are trusting the Lord for His provision.
Download our app!
