Financial Freedom Series: The Consequences of Debt 

Welcome to part 6 of our Financial Freedom Series, where we’re looking into God’s Blueprint for Building Wealth and Managing Your Money Well!

We dive into biblical principles and cutting-edge money management wisdom to help you…

• Honor God with your money
• Build wealth
• Shrink your debt
• And build toward financial freedom

“The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7)

“But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

“Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity, but hasty shortcuts lead to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5)

“The wise man saves for the future, but the foolish man spends whatever he gets.” (Proverbs 21:20)

“I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” (Psalm 32:8)

So many people are…

• Battling to make ends meet, 
• Living above their means,
• Cash-strapped,
• Debt-ridden,
• Just trying to survive,
• Going through the motions, and
• Disillusioned with life.

Over the next few weeks, we are going to focus on DEBT. 

Over the past few weeks, we have looked at the horrific statistics on debt. We have encouraged you not to give up but to surrender your debt to God, as there is a way out. We have also looked at what debt is and what the difference between good debt and bad debt is. We have encouraged you to face your debt, be honorable and pay your debt, and we tried to motivate you to take action and decide to deal with your debt. We have also looked at a few ways to help you avoid the debt trap. 

Today, I want to look at the CONSEQUENCES OF BEING IN DEBT.

Over the next couple of weeks, we will share practical ways to help you SQUASH YOUR DEBT. We will follow this up by giving you a DEBT ATTACK STRATEGY that really works to help you get out of debt once and for all.

Once we have dealt with debt, we will then give you the tools to build financial freedom. I am confident that you can turn your financial affairs around. 

Consequences of Being in Debt

1. Debt leads to pressure, stress, and much heartache.

2. If you are in debt, you may find your income quickly depleted after paying off debt, leaving you in a cashflow crisis, with no money towards the end of the month to put food on the table. 

3. You may feel like you have a leak in your bank account or like you are putting your money into pockets full of holes. Just like a small leak can sink a great ship, so a leak in your budget can sink you financially. 

4. There are serious consequences if you don’t meet your debt repayments. If you default on your debt repayments, your creditors may have the right to repossess your home/car and auction it to the highest bidder. They will not necessarily be interested in selling it at market value but will try to get as close to the outstanding loan debt as possible. Any shortfall, interest, and admin fees will be charged to your account. This could ruin you financially and result in you being sued for the outstanding debt, resulting in additional costs to you (interest, legal fees, etc.)

5. If you don’t pay your bills, you may also receive a bad credit rating. You may be blacklisted or receive a judgment that will also affect your ability to get credit in the future. 

6. Furthermore, if you are a Christian, you should try to be a person of integrity and manage your money well. “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.” (Psalm 37:21)

7. Another consequence of debt is that you will have no reserve savings and, therefore, no cash flow to bail you out in the event of an emergency.

8. If you get into debt and cannot pay, you could be forced to sell assets to settle your debt. You could also face bankruptcy and be liquidated.

9. If you miss your insurance premiums (due to their debt woes) and then have an accident, your claim may be repudiated due to non-payment. 

• Imagine if your car is stolen and you don’t get paid out because you have missed a payment. 
• Imagine if your wife can’t have that operation because your healthcare contributions are in arrears.
• Imagine if your life insurance policy lapses due to non-payment and you die, leaving your wife and children destitute, with no life cover to settle your debts and to provide an income for your loved ones.

10. Debt can also leave you broken and feeling defeated, stop you from dreaming, and rob you of your peace and joy. It adds pressure and seems to stop people from daring to dream. It is difficult to dream and thrive when one is stuck in debt and battling to survive.

“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” (Proverbs 17:22)

Debt causes bondage. There are serious consequences to being in debt.

It is Time to BREAK THE DEBT CYCLE. 

It is time to declare war on your debt. Debt can be a major problem for most people. It is like a “financial cancer” – if you don’t get it treated early, it could have severe consequences.

Get determined to say NO to debt. Ask God for HELP. He wants you to bother him with your problems. He is interested in you. Set up a PLAN. Dare to DREAM. Get DETERMINED to squash your debts. DECLARE WAR on your debt. You can turn your FINANCIAL AFFAIRS around. You can get out of debt and BUILD TOWARD FINANCIAL FREEDOM. 

Next week, we will continue our discussion of Financial Freedom and look at a few practical ways to help break the debt cycle, and we will also give you a working Debt Attack Strategy to help you squash your debts and help you to  turn your financial affairs around. You can set yourself up for a brighter tomorrow. You can build towards financial freedom.