A Christian Can’t Afford His Home
Posted on August 30th, 2008 by catalyst into the Christian Pop Culture categoryChris 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.
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August 30th, 2008 at 6:30 am
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.
August 30th, 2008 at 7:58 am
My sentiments exactly. Why does the government feel they need to bail these people out with yet MORE of MY money???
August 30th, 2008 at 7:12 pm
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
August 30th, 2008 at 7:19 pm
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
August 30th, 2008 at 8:30 pm
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.
September 1st, 2008 at 6:35 pm
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.
September 1st, 2008 at 7:34 pm
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.
September 1st, 2008 at 9:14 pm
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.
September 2nd, 2008 at 6:50 am
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.
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:51 am
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.
September 3rd, 2008 at 6:06 am
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.
October 16th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Just can’t afford my house anymore, I am always miserable and hate life!
October 16th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Walk away, then. Owning a home shouldn’t make you miserable.