Evangel Daily

One of the major causes of the financial dilemma these days is the pressure from advertising agencies. Their message is that your financial state has nothing to do with your ability to purchase something or satisfy your desires. Some of the phrases used by these agencies include: "Get it now; you deserve it." "If you don't have cash, you can buy it on credit."

By this kind of satanic subtlety, we gradually get trapped in the bondage of debt. Unfortunately, it never dawns on us that every form of financial bondage has a flip side of spiritual bondage.

The Bible strictly warns against surety-that is, assuming a debt without an absolute sure way of repayment; taking on an obligation to pay without a specific way to pay it. The danger is that it leads to poverty and spiritual bondage. If we don't want the shame and shock of losing our night sleep and continual embarrassment by creditors, we must resolve to practice the discipline of deferred gratification. Some items can wait until we are ready to pay for them. We must withdraw from the foolishness of buying things we do not really need with the money we do not really have just to please people who do not really care.