Proverbs 22:7

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

We read yesterday that Jesus had a lot to say about money. In fact, He said that it is a huge competitor for your heart. When your personal finances are “out of whack,” your heart is too. You can’t follow God when your heart is wandering around after your dollars.

With that in mind, Solomon wrote in Proverbs 22:7 that the “borrower is slave to the lender.” Here’s why that is true – if you have “bad debt,” you are trapped until you get it paid off. The debt becomes your number one financial duty, which means you can’t serve God whole-heartedly because you are bound to someone else. 

“Bad debt” does not necessarily mean your mortgage. I’m talking about debt that causes you to make payments on things that you don’t use anymore or that are not appreciating – a meal charged on your credit card, tickets to the big game, a television upgrade, a shinier car. These are things that have no appreciation of value, yet because of debt you are in bondage to them. By the way, debt is packed with pressure, worry, and stress. 

If this describes your situation, get help. Talk to a financial counselor or a pastor at church. In Matthew 6:24 Jesus said, “no one can serve two masters.” Serving money is the opposite of serving God, because your heart and your money are linked. So if we are going to follow Christ, we have to surrender that arena to Him.

Examine your heart. Have you been “serving” money? If so, how can you change that