The following is a guest post on a timely topic by David Bonner, a financial consultant with a passion for helping people find freedom by becoming good financial stewards. Enjoy and stay fresh!
There are many biblical principles when it comes to finance. Perhaps the most often cited is Jesus’s instruction to “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s.” Like most of the times that Jesus is quoted in popular culture, this is taken out of context at least as often as not. While I am very much in favor of personal responsibility, good stewardship, and accountability to authority and government, the concept of rendering unto Caesar is not anywhere near so valuable as the biblical principle of Jubilee.
In the book of Leviticus, debts and enslavement are both addressed as coming to an end after fifty years. The Covenant Code, taken from Exodus, includes similar provisions after a period of seven years. This code adds a layer to the idea of rendering unto Caesar in that the debt or the term of slavery – note the biblical application as given to Moses’s audience would have been much more of a household servitude like an indentured servant than our modern interpretation of slavery – should be served out for a reasonable period but not leave people laboring their entire lives under its burden. Unfortunately, apart from bankruptcy, our modern society doesn’t have many allowances for this form of grace. And even bankruptcy does not extend the full protection that many believe it will.
The best time to be responsible with debt management is before taking it on. For this reason, tools like a home loan calculator are invaluable. A mortgage loan calculator or similar tool can help you determine what housing options you can reasonably undertake based on an in-depth understanding of your finances. However, with the soaring costs of education, the massive investment of establishing oneself in almost any career, and the instability of most markets, debt is a reality of modern American life.
The important thing is not to let debt overwhelm you. Part of avoiding this would be to utilize a good debt repayment calculator to determine what money you actually have available to work with. A debt consolidation calculator can help you view all of your debts, credit cards and mortgages, car payments and education loans, together in one focused picture.
This focused picture will enable you to see your finances in terms of available funds rather than seeing your monthly income as being available. A debt elimination calculator will help you select the repayment timeline that works for you, and commit to following through on it. Utilizing debt calculator(s) applications when considering undertaking a big financial step will allow you to make a clear headed and responsible strategy, enabling you to both render unto Caesar and celebrate your own Jubilee before too long.
Dave Bonner runs a small business in the Greater Philadelphia Area, where he lives with his wife and their one-year-old puppy. His consulting work includes applying sound Biblical principles in making economically sound business strategies, a subject on which he has also been privileged to teach. Debt consolidation has become something of a hobby, as he works to assist his friends and family in the pursuit of financial stability and good stewardship.