Financial freedom
One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.” “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” 2 Kings 4:1-2
From the text, Elisha was sought to help a widow that might lose custody of her two sons to become slaves as payment for the money she owed. Here in the United States, the Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution declared that slavery should no longer be practiced. There is another form of slavery that continues to put people in a bind that they find difficult to detach. Financial debt can place a person in this kind of dilemma. “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Being freed from debt begins when you realize that God provides for your needs and not wants. Once you allow your selfish desires to get caught up with humanities’ desire to acquire things, there will be a tendency to use up the money God provides to satisfy your needs. The tendency is to use credit cards to buy things that you do not need. If this attitude will not be addressed immediately it could lead to bondage and your debt increases. You will be stressed out to find the means to pay and this will rob you of the joy that you initially intend to satisfy by acquiring the things you want. Over time this will lead to the loss of your financial freedom. During this time of the year, there is a great temptation to obtain something that might be just to satisfy your emotional impulses. No matter what emotional pain you might go through when you could not have what you want because you do not have enough to afford to have it, bear with it. Discipline yourself by letting the Holy Spirit take control of your emotions. Determine to begin paying your debts and make it a goal to continue to decrease what you owe. Even the little increments in the decrease of your debts could someday lead to financial freedom. When you are overwhelmed with debts, realize that it did not happen overnight. To overcome such debt might take time to pay up but realize that once you settle this matter it will be worth the effort for you will find the joy of being freed from the bondage of debt.
Blessings.
