GETTING OUT OF DEBT

“D”DAY

WE HAVE SO MUCH personal debt in our nation that the average person has been described as someone driving on a bond-financed highway, in a bank-financed car, fuelled by chargecard- financed gasoline, going to purchase furniture on the installment plan to put in his savings-and-loan-financed home!

“I hope I never pick up another one,” Allen said. “I just didn’t know,” Jean recalled. “I had no experience.” What were they talking about? Poisonous reptiles? Radioactive material? Hard drugs? No. Credit cards. The Hitchcocks had run up thousands of dollars of debt on credit cards and were paying a high rate of interest for that “privilege.”

This is a common predicament. The easy availability of credit has spawned a phenomenal growth in the number of cards held by customers. People hold hundreds of millions of cards, and the average consumer packs away more than five cards in his wallet. At the end of the initial conference with the Hitchcocks, Allen asked for my scissors. He wanted to perform some “plastic surgery.” As a symbol of their vow to get out of debt, he cut their credit cards to ribbons. If they follow through in their commitment, they will be in the minority. Less than 50 percent of those who take the initial step actually follow through on their commitment and become debt-free.

HOW TO GET OUT OF DEBT Because of your particular circumstances, your path for getting out of debt will be unique to you.

The following 10 steps are a guide for your journey. The steps are simple, but following them requires hard work. The goal is “D” Day—Debtless Day, the day when you become absolutely free of debt. 1. Pray. In 2 Kings 4:1-7 a widow was threatened with losing her children to her creditor, and she appealed to Elisha for help. Elisha instructed the widow to borrow many empty jars from her neighbours. The Lord supernaturally multiplied her only possession, a small quantity of oil, and as a result, all the jars were filled. She sold the oil and paid her debts to free her children.

The same God who provided supernaturally for the widow is interested in you becoming free of debt as well. The first step is the most important. Pray. Ask for the Lord’s help and guidance in your journey toward Debtless Day. He might act immediately, as in the case of the widow, or slowly over time. In either case, prayer is essential. I have observed a trend. As people begin to eliminate debt and accelerate debt repayment, the Lord blesses their faithfulness.