Say Something Important About Your Money Situation
The word of God say, “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7.) YolandaHarrison.org is about empowering and inspiring women to become better and do better- especially as women of God. One of the areas most people are failing in, has to do with money. So, in our, “Say Something…” series, I’m challenging you to say something about your money situation.
I’ve been on both sides. I was the borrower for a lot of years- well into my marriage. Something always seemed to come up. We were always borrowing to help make a car payment, to make a mortgage payment, to pay the gas and electric bill, or to buy food. I remember the day, I consciously told myself, by the grace of God, I will never borrow from my parents or my pastor again. Instead, I want to be in a position to help them if needed. I was 37 years old. I talked to myself about my money situation. “…the borrower is servant to the lender.” I did not know this verse at that time. Even though it’s in the bible, I learned it from Dave Ramsey.
Are you borrowing from the people you love? You have created awkward relationships. You can barely look them in their eyes. There is a heaviness in the air when you’re around them. You try to smile, in politeness, but feel fake. It has nothing to do with anything they said, necessarily, just the fact that you are indebted to them…you owe them. Have a conversation with yourself about your money situation. You may need to have a conversation with those you have been borrowing from, too. It depends. You may need to talk to them about when and how you will pay them back and/or your new commitment. Make sure it’s something you can really commit to and then proudly move forward in
doing it. Whether you decide to say something to someone else or just keep it between you and yourself, it is an important step as a woman- especially a woman of God. And there are plenty of things you can do to help bridge a financial gap if you have one. There are things you could do that you just never thought of. Reach out to someone you trust to help you.
On the other side of this situation, I have been the lender. When cash ran low, I continued to loan using credit cards. I didn’t have any financial goals at that time. I was living check to check with a little annual tax money each year (which gave me a false sense that I was in a good position). In 2017, when I began my financial journey, I had another conversation with myself. I was 47. I committed to not loan out anything that I needed to take care of my own bills or anything that would inhibit my financial journey.
Want to be on the other side of an awkward relationship, loan someone money who promises to pay it back by a certain date. When you loan out money that you need, you create a stressful situation for yourself and the other person (in the end). You are angry or upset at the person you leant the money because you have to scramble to pay your own bills. It is not a situation that is Christ honoring as a woman of God. If you are lending money, have a conversation with yourself. Make a commitment to give (not lend) only what you can afford not to get back. If you have the ability to lend/give and not get back, make sure you’re not giving so much that you hinder your own debt repayment and wealth building plan. Either way, you will likely have to have a conversation with whomever you have been lending money. Share a little of your commitment and why and what that means. As you improve and grow in your own money situation, share your tips and tools with others. Be generous; but we wise. Don’t enable; empower.
No, we cannot continue to make the same poor choices and honor God. We have to learn and grow. Ladies, let’s do better.
