Today's blog post is an excerpt from The Blessed Life by Robert Morris. It touches on an important financial principle that is one of the foundations of living the blessed life:

Getting out of debt.

The truth is that if you’re going to live the lifestyle of a giver, you’re going to have to make the lifestyle adjustments that allow you to have something to give. One of the first ways to do that is to get out of debt.

God told us [Robert and Debbie] to work toward getting out of debt, so we did.

It took us one year. I know you may be thinking that it would take you much longer, but let me tell you what we did to make it a reality.

We didn’t buy anything that wasn’t a true necessity.
We didn’t go out to eat.
We didn’t go to the movies.
We didn’t buy any new clothes.
We didn’t even buy a new microwave oven when ours broke midway through that year.

We bought nothing during that time because we had made a solemn commitment to get out of debt—no matter how long it took. We said to the Lord, we are serious about this, and we showed it.

When God saw that we were serious about our commitment to get out of debt, He began to bless us tremendously.

That’s the great thing about this principle. You’re never on your own. God stands ready and willing to provide all of heaven’s help if only you will take a step of faith and begin.

So let me ask you, how serious are you about obeying God in your finances?

Debbie and I have come to understand that all of our money belongs to Him. Thus, we need to ask Him before we spend any of it. A valuable practice is to pray about every significant financial purchase and wait overnight before you commit. 

About 80 percent of our purchases are made on impulse. A little prayer and a brief cooling-off period can keep us from making countless spending mistakes.

One of the biggest rewards of obeying God and getting out of debt is the freedom to do the right thing when God speaks to you about it.

Copyright © 2002 by Robert Morris