There’s a topic I haven’t discussed in this little column. It’s the subject of finances. Jesus talked about money more than anything else. He viewed it as the one thing that could take people’s attention away from him. Since it was important to Jesus, I suppose I ought to talk about it. Let me tell you about an experience I had.
For the most part, I don’t touch the money at our house. I sign my paycheck, hand it over to Darlene, and that’s it. However, anything I get for work outside, teaching, weddings, funerals, etc., that’s considered my ‘fun’ money. One time I had accumulated a nice little stash. Golf season was coming so I ordered some new grips for my clubs and some more balls. Of course, I did it online. I clicked a few times, typed in some numbers, and less than a week later the stuff arrived. It was great, but it didn’t feel like I was spending money. It was more like they gave me the stuff for free. I ordered some clothes I needed and a new pair of shoes. About a week later I looked at the receipts to figure out how much I had left in my stash. Guess what? It was almost all gone. I didn’t intend to do that. I wanted to hang onto to some of my cash to pay for rounds of golf I played away from Riverview. But that wasn’t going to happen.
My experience is not unique. A lot of people have a problem with their credit cards. It’s so easy to just pull out the card whenever you need to make a purchase. And even if you get a little carried away and can’t pay for everything at once, they let you carry a balance over to the next month. It’s great! That is, until you realize what happens to that balance you carry over. After that low introductory rate runs out, most credit card companies charge around 18% interest, or even higher. So, if you carry a balance, it grows exponentially. Most people don’t even realize what’s happening, and before they know it, they’re buried under a mountain of debt. In 2022, the average credit card debt in this country was $94,000. Wow.
There’s a verse in Proverbs that says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.” If you owe the credit card company a pile of money, you know exactly what that verse means. You’re a slave to them. You have to keep paying them, or it won’t be long until you start getting collection notices. I’ve watched people go through this, and it’s not pretty. Their lives become very stressful. It’s no way to live. So, be smart. Don’t charge anything you can’t pay for at the end of the month. Pay off your bill in its entirety and don’t carry a balance. If you owe them money, tighten your belt, limit your spending and pay off your debt as quickly as possible.
I’m just glad I learned my lesson before I got myself in trouble. Darlene would not have been happy…
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