Owe no man anything, except love. Romans 13:8
Passages like James 4:13-16 say it's sinful to presume upon God with regard to the future. All that we can be sure of is the present. God willing we may be alive tomorrow. But if we obligate ourselves for the future (which is exactly what indebtedness does) we're robbing from God. Jesus says (Matthew 5:34) "Never swear". He's not talking about four-letter words. He's talking about solemn promises to repay debts or do some other task in the future.
The strongest argument against indebtedness is that it doesn't work. If the desired goal is happiness, anything you can buy with money isn't going to achieve this anyway... especially if you try to buy it with someone else's money.
Poverty is a bully. If you let it push you around, it'll control your whole life. But if you stand up to it, you need never fear it again.
If you don't have money for something, don't even think about buying it. And if you are in debt, the simple facts are that you don't have money for anything!
But what about food, clothes, and other basic needs? It's like Jesus' instruction to cut your hand off if it offends you. If you are prepared to take drastic steps, then (and only then) will you get drastic results. If your credit card is what got you into this mess, then cut it up. If your car, house, phone, business, or some other enterprise is operating at a loss, sell it or have it disconnected. Don't fall for the gambler's trap: hoping to recoup your losses by doubling the bet. Next, sell everything (and we do mean everything) that you are not using. Don't cry over the fact that it's going for a fraction of what you paid for it. Anything that you can get for it will help to break the chains of indebtedness, and that's what matters most.
Some people would rather cut their hand off than wear second-hand clothes, or live in a dilapidated house. But that's only because they've forgotten just how much fun 'roughing it' can be. We all did it when we were kids, and many of us still do it on our holidays even now. So why not return to the carefree contentment of childhood by selling up now!
A few GOOD quotes
"Never spend money before you have it."
Thomas Jefferson
"The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach."
Lin Yutang
"Debt is the slavery of the free."
Publius Syrian
"Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt."
Benjamin Franklin
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