Chris sends in this link to a Christian whose house is in foreclosure. And the home-owner does not know what to do.
The Homeowner asks, "So what do we do, as Christians? Are we getting what we deserve? Are the greedy builders partly to blame? The banks who were unwilling to negotiate their rates back down or do short sales?
What I know is that I have to start looking for a rental home, moving my family and belongings, and repairing my credit. And we are very stressed."
This guy is absolutely doing the right thing by walking away from his home. But ultimately, it’s his fault. It’s not the banks fault. It’s not the builders fault. He bought a home he couldn’t afford, and now he’s paying the price.
Next time, don’t buy more house than you can afford. I’m not sure that’s in the Bible, but it should be.
The question shouldn’t be “what”. What did he do? He bought a house he couldn’t afford.
The question should be why. Why did he buy a house he couldn’t afford? What was the motivation to enter into a binding financial contract to assume debt that was well beyond his capability to repay? Why was he motivated to sign that contract?
A good honest look at the answer might be very revealing. I suspect for most people who are “caught” in this difficulty the answer is something like:
- I was trying to keep up with everyone else. If all my friends have big houses, don’t I need one too?
- My family needs a big house to live. We absolutely needed that big yard, 4 bedrooms, living room, unfinished basement, games room, kitchen, dining room, and three bathrooms. Do you expect us to actually live in a simple, small house we can better afford, like the rest of the world? Just because we’re Christians? Phffft.
My sentiments exactly. Why does the government feel they need to bail these people out with yet MORE of MY money???
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.”
Luke 14:28-29
Leviticus 25:25-28. Even in the OT God’s grace was on people who became poor. This was God’s plan for those who lost their homes – they were to regain their homes during the Jubilee year. Somewhere I cant find the scripture but it also talks about the year of release – every 7 years all debts were to be forgiven and all endentured servants to be freed – think Jacob serving 7 years for Leah and then 7 for Rachel.
Before the bankruptcy laws were changed in the US – you could only file for bankruptcy every 7 years. I’m thinking they got that from the Bible.
I’m not saying this bailout will be good for this country – but for pete sake! people come on hard times. Yes there are irresponsible people but bad things do happen to good people. Even those who tithe
I dislike the fact that we are pushing for folks who made poor decisions to be bailed out while responsible people get bupkis.
Job related moves and some financial awareness have moved our family from home ownership to renting. We had to make a decision for financial security rather than looking good. Homes are great investments but for the long term (30+ years). Too many folks have used their home equity like an ATM or slush fund believing that home prices always go up. I know that we did. The answer is to have some liquid cash available for situations great and small.
To Living Life’s point, it is not great for our long-term economy to bail these folks, individuals and banks, out. Prices for homes, have risen faster than incomes. This is why people can’t afford their homes. How does that change? Home prices have to level off for an extended period or go down. With a bailout the prices will stay higher than they would without a bailout. This is bad for investors and people who bought at the peak of the market. Good for people who stayed within their means and kept their equity because they still have flexibility. On an individual basis, you don’t actually lose any money until you sell you house.
On another personal note, I am currently unemployed and we are doing OK for the time being because we actually have a bit of money. When I owned my home, we were always down to our last dime. We moved from a 3200 sq ft brand new house into a 2100 sq ft house. We feel great in the space, family of 5 with 2 teens and a pre-teen. We have downsized our vehicles. I honestly feel like I am pleasing Christ with my finances more now than I ever have.
People are losing their homes for various reasons. I agree with you that a large number of people were hypnotized by advertising and the “American Dream” mindset into buying something much bigger than they would ever need or could ever afford.
But there are news reports documenting how a very large percentage of well-qualified minority buyers were “steered” into subprime mortgages by lending agencies even though they could easily have qualified for conventional loans and even though steering is supposed to be illegal. Lenders were able to get away with this because of the refusal of the Bush administration to properly oversee the banking “industry.” In other cases, predatory lenders would send sales agents into minority neighborhoods to aggressively push subprime home equity loans. In all cases the predatory lenders misrepresented the terms of the contracts they presented to borrowers for signature.
But you are right about those who tried to ride the housing bubble to supposed riches or who used their homes as ATM machines to finance extravagant lifestyles. The present financial crisis is a symptom of a society whose systems are starting to break down, as oil and other natural resources become scarce and as it is revealed that this nation has far less intrinsic wealth than it pretends to have. We are all probably going to suffer over the next few years. I doubt that we as a nation have the maturity or wisdom to gracefully endure suffering.
Great comment, Th in the SoC. You hit the nail right on the head.
Since the church has been busy teaching on the tithe all these many years they should have had some classes on what to do to with the other ninety percent. I really don’t think the younger generation has a clue.
Teaching people that all they had to do was pay their tithe and let God do the rest is one of the biggest lies in the church today. So many Christians have been sold a false sense of security through this teaching that they are now losing their homes over it.
TH in SoC: yeah, I may come off a bit harsh because I had to go through it a bit myself. We were able to do it on our own terms while others were not. Personally, all of the folks that I personally know that are or have been in trouble have made a long series of mistakes to be in the situation that they are in. I know a lot of people who rolled the dice believing their salaries would go up and interest rates would continue to go down.
Well qualified minority would generally mean well employed minority. So, these people could have done a bit more homework. I ignored some advice I was given because I did not think certain things were a big deal. I would beat fees by living in the house for an extended period of time. We bought a house then moved 2 years later and we did not beat the fees. Unfortunately most of us learn through pain.
Oh yeah, I am a minority and did not sign a sub-prime. I really wanted to though.
Um, yes? I really don’t know what this question has to do with anything. He made a series of bad financial decisions, and he doesn’t even defend himself regarding them. So why even ask this question? Is he hoping for some kind of sympathy – an appeal to the sense of persecution of Christians, that the world is somehow out to get them? Christians would do well to stop blaming God or the Devil for their own self-inflicted troubles. It’s not that I don’t have any sympathy for the guy, I can’t even imagine being in his shoes. But let’s call a spade a spade, OK? If anything I would hope that he could turn to his local church for support.
Belteshazzar said: But let’s call a spade a spade, OK? If anything I would hope that he could turn to his local church for support.
That’s my point. The only support he’s going to get from his local church is to pay his tithes regularly and trust God to take care of the rest. People are being lulled into a false sense of security by this teaching. Stupid I know, but when the church comes across as having all of the answers for your life and you believe them you are crippling yourself financially (not to mention a lot of other areas) When the government or bank comes across with a deal too good to be true, buyer beware.
Yes there are a lot of people in this sort of mess because they put themselves there – and they shouldn’t be hoping for others to clean up the mess that they themselves have made.
However, there are also a lot of foreclousres happening that are not at all due to homeowner’s fault. Let’s take Ohio for example where massive amounts of manufacturing plants have been closed down and moved to cheaper 3rd world countries. When you have 1000′s without jobs, someone is going to lose their home! Or how about all the people working in banks and mtg companies that have closed down or the title searchers left without work now that there are so few sales and some states are making laws with grace periods for foreclosures. Our economy is frankly in a mess!
It’s a dual problem – people who signed up for mtgs beyond them as well as loss of jobs.
Just can’t afford my house anymore, I am always miserable and hate life!
Walk away, then. Owning a home shouldn’t make you miserable.
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GO BACK TO TENNESSEE THEN!!!!!!!!!!
What about all the honest, hardworking people who lost their jobs – and can’t pay mortgages now that they maybe took into account 7 or 8 years ago? What do you tell them? We’re pretty heartless when we begin blaming all those who purchased homes, no matter when… the people who purchased homes purchased them approved. End of story. I just took out a car loan, at a rate I know I can afford and a monthly payment I know I can make. What if, in a month, I’m unable to work (lose my job, lose a leg, or lose an eye). Okay, drastic (and let’s pray and hope it doesn’t happen), but would it be my fault for taking out a loan that honestly is super low, but that I can’t pay in one lump sum? I can afford it right now – and I anticipate being able to afford it for the next 3 years of my loan. Would you blame me if I defaulted (when that default was no fault of mine but of an unforseen situation)?
Funny questions and typical answers. I think the bible has something different to say:
the Bible tells us.
In the United States of America, our founding fathers recognized the importance of bankruptcy. In the U.S. Constitution, they provided our government with the right to make bankruptcy laws. The bankruptcy laws and procedures we have today, instituted by our federal government, provide relief for overburdened debtors. Persons/entities who are over-their-head in debt can get a fresh start. Normally, a bankruptcy will discharge the debtor’s obligation to repay some or all debts.
Bankruptcy contemplates the “forgiveness” of debt. The Bible, likewise, contains debt forgiveness laws. Under U.S. law, a debtor may only receive a discharge of debts in a Chapter 7 bankruptcy once every eight (8) years. Under Biblical law, the release of debts came at the end of seven (7) years.
“At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts. And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD’s release” (Deuteronomy 15:1-2).
The Bible refers to debt as a type of bondage: “…the borrower is a slave to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). Thus, the debtor is a slave to the creditor. Interestingly, the Bible declares, at the end of the sixth year:
“…in the seventh year you shall let [your Hebrew slave] go free from you. And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; but you shall supply him liberally from your flock…” (Deuteronomy 15:12-14).
Modern bankruptcy laws, like the Biblical provision above, allow debtors to keep certain property when they file bankruptcy. This gives debtors a fresh start and discourages debtors from going into debt-bondage again, after the bankruptcy is over, in order to survive.
Jesus taught us that sin is a type of spiritual debt. Jesus also taught us to ask God to “forgive us our debts [sins] as we forgive our debtors [those who sin against us]” (Matthew 6:12, Luke 11:4). Sin creates a spiritual debt. Borrowing produces a financial debt. Regarding our spiritual debt, the law of justice declares: “the wages of sin is death [separation from God]” (Romans 6:23a). However, the law of grace and mercy states that “the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Jesus paid for our debt of sin on the cross, a debt too big for us to pay.
Likewise, economically, the law of justice states that if you agree to borrow money and repay the debt, you must pay back such debt. The law of mercy, on the other hand, states that if you cannot pay the debt back, you may, through bankruptcy, obtain forgiveness for your obligation.
As with any act of mercy, someone must bear the cost or the burden, just as Jesus did in dying for our sins. With bankruptcy, the creditor and ultimately the consumers must, in mercy, bear the burden of the unpaid debt, but God said He will bless us for such acts of forgiveness and mercy (Deuteronomy 15:5,10,18).
Jesus, in two (2) parables, used the illustration of forgiveness of a financial debt to teach about God’s forgiveness and the requirement that mankind forgive (see Matthew 18:21-35 and Luke 7:36-50). “And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both” (Luke 7:42). On a spiritual level, by the grace and mercy of God, Jesus gave us a “fresh start” by canceling all our “sin†debts through His suffering and death on the cross. On an economic level, our nation will graciously help overburdened debtors, if necessary, by giving them a fresh start economically.
A guiding principle of U.S. bankruptcy law requires persons who file for bankruptcy to have “clean hands.” Accordingly, a debtor may not be freed from debts involving fraud, drunk driving, and deliberate wrongdoing. Moreover, bankruptcy law does not allow the discharge of child support and alimony debts. Further, most student loans, taxes (Romans 13:1,4,7) and secured loans are not forgiven in bankruptcy. Through these restrictions, bankruptcy laws seek to balance justice and equity (Proverbs 1:3).
As with most biblical principles, there is a balance. If you can repay your debts, you must. If you cannot, then you should determine how God would have you freed from the bondage of debt. Our modern bankruptcy laws were derived from the Bible (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). Further, the Bible describes financial miracles (2 Kings 4:1-7). Ultimately, you must seek wisdom and guidance from God as to the direction He would have you choose. God promises to give such wisdom to those who ask with a trusting heart (James 1:5-7; Proverbs 3:5-6). Further, the Bible admonishes us to seek Godly counsel (Psalms 1:1; Proverbs 12:15, 11:14, 15:22).
If you have mismanaged your finances, confess your failings to God now. You can receive, by faith, His forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9). Remember, there is no condemnation or guilt to those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Jesus, by His love and mercy, gave us a fresh start, a new birth. Bankruptcy, based on the law of mercy with divine origins, if necessary, may provide you with a fresh start – a new and brighter economic outlook.