According to Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org), there are many ways to get into debt but only one sure way to get out and stay out of debt: self-discipline.
Regardless of income, disciplined debt elimination is mandatory in order for a money management plan that keeps Christians out of debt to function properly. Proverbs 27:12 says, “A prudent man sees evil and hides himself, the naive proceed and pay the penalty.”
Debt can best be eliminated by following these steps.
- Transfer ownership of every possession to God (Psalms 8:6, Deuteronomy 5:32-33)
- Allow no more debt, including bank and personal loans, and cut up all credit cards if unable to pay them off each month (Proverbs 24:3)
- Develop a realistic balanced budget that will allow every creditor to receive as much as possible monthly (Proverbs 16:9)
- Start retiring the debt (Psalms 37:21, Proverbs 3:27-28), beginning with the smallest debt first. Once the smallest is paid off, put all the money on the next, and so on.
If these steps are followed, the average family will be debt free in less than five years and the problem that caused the debt in the first place could very well have been corrected.