What Does the Bible Say About Debt?
Read Proverbs 22 and Luke 14 in context, then build a debt plan your household can follow.
What borrowing changes
Proverbs 22:7 describes the power a lender can have over a borrower. Read it as a warning about the obligations borrowing creates. A payment due next month claims part of next month’s income before you decide what to do with it. The proverb does not tell us how much every household should borrow or give us a payoff deadline.
Count the cost before you commit
In Luke 14:25–33, Jesus uses a builder and a king to illustrate the cost of discipleship. The passage is about following Jesus. The builder’s example also gives families a useful question to ask before borrowing: can we finish what we’re starting if the cost is higher or the income is lower than expected?
Build a plan around real balances
Sit down together with your latest statements. List each balance, interest rate, and required payment. Compare those obligations with income and essential bills. Decide together what extra amount you can realistically commit, and review it after the next statement arrives.
A question for your next check-in
Which obligation limits our choices most right now? Pick one step you can take together this week, such as confirming a balance or reviewing a bill before it renews.
Read the passages
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