Sunday, May 08, 2005

The Hazards of Borrowing

There are too many to list here, but let me focus on some basics that lead to the many other hazards.

1. When you borrow it obstructs your ability to do what God wants you to do with your life, or your business. You may not even know the opportunities you miss because you borrow, but when you do it causes you to divide your commitments between serving God and delivering on your promise to a lender. (Matthew 6:24)

2. Taking out a loan to solve a financial problem delays the inevitable decision you must make to reduce your expenses, no matter how difficult. We take out the loan hoping things will get better than they ever have been, so we can pay off the loan and keep up with other expenses. (Proverbs 22:3)

3. Borrowing adds unecessary stress. (Proverbs 14:12) The constant unforgiving payment schedule of debt payments force you to work hard every day to make sure you have the means to meet them. It wears you down. The more you borrow, the greater the pressure. If something happens that prevents you from meeting your commitment, you fail. God doesn't intend for you to borrow, He provides for your needs - and that doesn't include loan payments.

Larry Burkett has a good book titled Business By The Book for business owners who are often sucked into the myth that it is a requirement to borrow, and personally guarantee business loans.He also discusses other business issues in his book. This book completely changed my perspective on running a business. I wish I had read it before my business died. I might have survived.

1 comment:

DEBTective said...

Bub, just wanted to drop a line and say a big-time thanks for spreading the word about debt freedom and Dave Ramsey. Thanks, also, for letting people know about how The Man Upstairs. Here's looking at you, kid. www.debtective.com