Today we are going to look at a famous story from the Old Testament.  As I read over this account, it brings to mind old felt-board Sunday School lessons!  But aside from the nostalgia, there is a principle hiding behind this awesome passage of God’s delieverance.  For those of us who know the story, the Lord miraculously refills the widows jars of oil to deliever her and her sons from their desperate situation.  While the events that occur after Elisha shows up is full of great lessons and applications, I am approaching this scene from a different angle.  I want to focus in on what happens before the jars are filled.

“The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”  Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”  “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” (2 Kings 4:1-3, NIV)

The scene is desperate.  A widow and two children have nothing.  This situation on its own is a prescription for hard times, but there is another dynamic–the widowed home is drowning in debt.  The Bible doesn’t tell us how or why they got there, but we do know that the creditors are coming to take the sons away to work off the unpaid debt.  It is a hopeless situation (which is just the kind of place where God loves to show up…but again, a post for another day!).  A poor widow has lost her husband and is in danger of losing her two sons.  It is a bleak picture–one we would never hope for our own household.   There are a lot of lessons we can learn from reflecting over what this passage teaches us:

1. Debt caused desperation at death.  The creditors are coming for the two children.  The provision of the oil is used to pay off the debt (7).  Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone should be debt-free in case they die an untimely death, but we should consider what the “creditors” might come for in the event of our own passing.  Luckily for us here in America, no one will be hauling away our children to cover for debts, but a foreclosure, repossessed car, and garnished wages don’t exactly ease the losing of a loved one.  I know that widows are not personally liable for debt signed only by the deceased, but the deceased’s remaining assets are.  If you run your household united (as the Bible calls you to), then your very way of life will come under attack from creditors.  This will create  a mess any loving spouse would do their best to avoid.

2. Where would your “household” be if you were to pass away?  Death is taxing enough on our emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual reserves (even losing someone we will see again in heaven).  Adding financial chaos into the equation only makes it worse.  A father of two children, this story resonates strongly with me.  I think about what my family would be up against if I was to go home to my Maker.  I think, for those of us willing to be honest, these words give a chilling call to financial responsibility.  Out of love, we should do the utmost to make sure our spouse and children would not find themselves in a similar circumstance.

3. We are foolish to think we can wait until we are “old” to prepare for death.  I am just taking a shot in the dark here, but it doesn’t appear the children are old enough to take over and run the household.  I can’t say this for certain, but it seems the kids are relatively young.  (We at least know they were young enough not be married off and having households of their own.)  In this case, we might presume that the husband died relatively young.  Again, this is a chilling call to all willingly to take it to heart. 

In conclusion, I think we would be wise to consider the financial obligations we are placing upon our household–and what those debts would mean if we were to head to heaven before we were “ready”.  We can write off this passage to “cultural irrelevance”, but to do so would be foolish…and certainly not in our family’s best interest.

“Freedom from anxiety is characterised by three inner attitudes.  If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety.  This is the inward reality of simplicity.  However, if what we have we believe we have gotten, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we ill live in anxiety.”

This is a great quote.  It is part of his analysis of Matt. 6:25-33.  If you have a moment read this passage of scripture here and then read the quote again.  We will look at each inner attitude in detail:

1. What we have is…received as a gift vs. earned by effort.  I find this attitude to carry its weight in our outlook towards the future.  If today we believe God has given us all we possess, then our thoughts of tomorrow carry the same theme: God will provide what is necessary for us.  On the other hand, if we got all we have by the sweat of our brow all thoughts of the future hinge upon our continued ability to prosper (and we all know our own shortcomings, thus = anxiety).

2. What we have is…cared for by God vs. managed and protected by us.  This is the simplest to connect to anxiety.  If we believe God is our keeper, we find worry almost laughable.  However, if the protection, preservation and prosperity of our assets depends on our wit, savvy and luck, then we are plagued with the thought of a bad decision as we watch our efforts pan out.  I think the easiest way to judge yourself on this one is to reflect the condition of your heart as we went through the recent insanities in the stock market.

3. What we have is…available to others vs. not.  Strange at first, this principle has a profound truth hiding in it.  It compares the generous to the selfish.  Plainly stated: selfish people are prone to a form of anxiety simply because they are, by nature, consumed with thoughts of self-interest.  Self-interest is a bottomless pit.  Once again the importance of giving comes to light.  Through generosity you divorce yourself from worldliness–you begin to operate according to the rules of God’s economy not man’s.  In this light, you reap the joy of a life that can live up to the call: “Do not be worried about your life…” (Matt 6:25)

“The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it.” (Prov. 27:12)

How does this proverb make me think of debt, you ask?  Simple: The wise live looking towards the future and responding to its projections, while the unwise live as if tomorrow (and its consequences) will never come. 

The wise look down the road and prepare for what they see coming.  I have read in countless books (Christian and secular) that a common characteristic of successful, purposeful, and “inspirational” living is the ability to think long-term.  I have found this to be true in experience as well.  Those who live a life worthy of respect often are future-oriented people.  My experiences and the proverb above leave me the following principle:

The wise decide what to do based on what will happen tomorrow; whereas, the foolish decide what to do based on what will happen today. 

The wise pass on an extra scoop of ice cream because they know “bikini season” is just a month away, while the foolish dig in and then wonder why they are too embarrased to spend a day at the beach.  Now that is funny example, but it bears a lot of deeper implications.  The Bible clearly challenges us to look towards the future and make the best possible decisions based on future outcomes.  Is not living for the life-eternal the perfect and simplest example of this? 

So what does this have to do with Debt?

Simple.  It is always wisest to make financial decisions based on their future implications.  Walk away from “12 easy payments of $199″ and think about the best way to use $2388 (12 X 199) instead of dwelling on how nice it would be to have a 66 inch plasma to watch the Superbowl this weekend.  When thinking long-term, debt almost never makes sense.  Yet, it always appeals to our desire to have our wants satisfied today.  Watch out!  Lest you, “keep going and suffer for it.”

“What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.” (Prov. 10:24) 

In this verse, we see a little of what we might call “the self-fulfilling prophecy”.  The wicked live in fear of the future, and rightfully so.  On the other hand, the righteous live with desire–and not only this–but live to see those desires granted.  The wicked live in fear, and the righteous in desire.  This is an excellent dichotomy.  One person lives for fear of what might happen, while another lives for what could happen.  As the people of God, we have nothing to fear:  “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Rom. 8:31). 

I pray that the saints would not live with the worry of fear, but with the passion of desire.