Atkinson Diet
Nathanael Szobody on God is continually hounding us to move from that familiar country of selfishness toward the state of generosity whose capital is contentment.
— Neil Atkinson
And we all nod our heads in agreement at such a perceptive observation. So…anyone in debt?
My New Testament prof has recently challenged the class concerning debt. In American culture we tacitly accept an assumed standard of living that for most of us requires debt. Someone told us that college was only supposed to take four years. Somewhere we got the idea that our automotive transport should reflect who we are–or want to be (i.e. social status, originality, etc.). And in order to keep up with our piers we will be expected to buy a house that will inevitably take half our life time to pay off. All these assumptions are a Trojan horse packed with a life of bondage to debt. When I told my financial advisor at school that I was going to stop out of school for a year to avoid debt her response was: “But you’re going to be in debt for the rest of your life!” I think she missed her calling.
I believe this quote from Niel Atkinson sets forth a world view that is tuly Christian and which is completely foreign to most of us.
To deal with the question of debt let’s first look to our relationship with God; for I am convinced that it is only in the context of relationship that any truth can be fully understood. Spiritual debt is the status of a relationship when sin meets love. As Adam and Eve commited the first sin of selfishness they became debtors to God. Love gives without limit for the good of another; selfishness/sin takes for oneself. So debt arises when the sin meets the love. For just as the law, which is summed up in the command to love, is what reveals sin and incurs guilt, so it is the giving which points out the selfishness and gives rise to the concept of debt.
Now, how might this relate to pecuniary debt? Clearly the lifestyle that I described at first has its roots in selfishness. It’s not too complicated: we want a certain kind of life sustained by certain kinds of things and we don’t want to wait for them. When stated this way we see how diametrically opposed this is to the life of Christ. For Christ is the one who has all and gives all, even to the last drop of his very life!
Now in this world the one who lends us money is not in the least bit a sacrificial person, but the selfishness of borrowing from this person in order to sustain our fantasy of life is shown by the the giver of all things both physical and spiritual. Do we just not believe Christ when he says to look at the sparrow, see how God provided for it, and know that he will do the same for us? Is not God the giver of all good things and the creator of all physical things? Did the agent from the bank bring that money into the world when she was born? How stupid! It is all the providential sustenance of God! He has provided you all that you need and will continue to do so. Does that mean you might have to get a job and live in the real world for a few years before you can go to school? Quite possibly. But what’s the problem with that? How much more would we benefit from school if we were first forced to live in the world for a bit so we could see what all the education is for. How humiliating would it be to drive a 87 Honda until you can have the money to get something more dependable? If it is humiliating, then let that push you to question yourself and your motives. But no, it is the familiar country of selfishness that we feel most at ease with.
Comments ( 5 )
Second, I definitely respect and admire your resolution to graduate without debt, even if that means stopping out for a year. I will also graduate debt-free, because of scholarships I have received. Wonderful.
But what we need to remember is that not everybody gets the same blessings. I didn't really "earn" these scholarships (though doing my homework in high school helped)-- they were given to me, and not given to a lot of other (possibly more deserving) people. As I understand it, your opportunity to take this job for a year pretty much fell into your lap by "chance" (but I don't believe in chance, so we'll call it Providence). It's a wonderful opportunity for you, but not everybody gets a business offered to them.
I guess my point is that the way in which God is providing for you may not be the way He chooses to provide for everyone. I believe God is calling me to the mission field (and from what you've told me, you are looking toward mission work as well), so it makes sense that He would provide us with ways to finish our educations without debt. Someone who is going to have a more "normal" job and a steadier source of income will have less of a problem paying off student loans.
This comment is going to end up being as long as the original post, but I have one more point. I definitely agree that we should strive to be content with what we have/what we can afford rather than trying to live up to our society's expectations. However, some debt may not be avoidable. In many cases, it probably makes more financial sense to take out a loan to buy a house, for example, rather than continuing to pay rent on a piece of property you will never own. Assuming that your monthly payments for rent or a house loan are roughly equal, doesn't it make sense to be buying the house (which you will eventually own and not have to make payments on anymore) rather than renting the apartment which will always belong to the landlord? Just a thought.... you didn't really talk about buying houses.
In principle, I agree with you. 100%. But practically, would you take your conviction to the Nth degree and never, ever carry debt for any reason? Like Sarah, I'm curious what you think about buying a house. The average person would have to save for decades before being able to pay cash for a house. Is there not 'decent debt' (a Neil Atkinson label, actually) which might be permissible, so long as we are careful to still live responsibly (not the biggest house on the block), and strive to pay it off as quickly as possible?
Larry Burket held this position, saying that some forms of debt were fine and good, particularly for items that appreciate (like a house). Interestingly he included education in the category of acceptable debt.
In response the great questions above I've posted a continuation of the subject.