Ok, so I have made some pretty foolish decisions regarding money. At the time of crisis the problems we (my wife and I) were facing definitely seemed larger than they actually were. In spite of the challenges, there is something beautiful that happens when financial struggles come: purification.
I needed purifying. God says we cannot serve both God and money. It is true. My things had hold of me rather than the other way around. I found it way too easy to say, “yes” to more credit.
When I wrote it down our budget on paper we could afford “it”. When life actually happened I had not figured in enough of a safety net. Who knew things would break down?
Shortly after we were first married we made the decision to purchase a brand new car. A car with zero miles on it. A car with shiny paint and no rust. A car with tires that actually had tread on them. The car we had worked but my pride told me we needed a nice car. Apparently nice cars have payments attached to them. Apparently there is some master plan in the universe that I would be violating if I didn’t purchase a brand new car since we were newly married. I mean every other successful married couple did it. So, we drive to the Ford dealer and signed our freedom away and we were handed the keys to a brand new car. There was apparently something wrong with the car because it did not scratch the itch of my pride as well as I had hoped. We struggled along and when we got tired of struggling we sold the car and with it regained an element of freedom we had lost. Stinking pride.
I grew closer to God through the pain we experienced with our loss of freedom (payments came every month, regardless of how I felt). I also gained more appreciation for the teachings of God’s word. Who knew the borrower is the slave of the lender still applied.
Many purifications have happened down through the years. Now I ask a different set of questions when my pride kicks in telling me I need the new shiny thing. Questions like: How is this going to help me serve God’s kingdom? Is this a wise choice at this time? I even ask friends for their opinion if it a large purchase under consideration. Will I really enjoy this or is it just an accumulation that will sit in storage after the first few months? You get the idea.
