The Gifts of Debt
Debt is both a curse and a gift. Debt can ruin you. Debt
can also set you free to create a life of abundance. How is
it possible that debt can have such different effects? In
the theaters of ancient Greece, actors wore masks to
represent tragedy or comedy. Debt also wears two masks. One
face is familiar to us. It kicks us when we are down,
squeezes us when we are broke, hounds us when we can't pay.
It doesn't take much imagination to recognize this face of
debt. This type of debt robs people of their lives. This
debt can and does ruin people.
This face of debt is particularly acute at this time of
year. January is the month when many people open up credit
card bills and wonder how they will pay for the Christmas
gifts they bought on credit. It doesn't take much
imagination to outline all of the ways that debt can ruin
lives.
Yet, debt has another face. This face of debt can be a
great gift to those who recognize it and use it well. Why?
Debt allows you to take advantage of someone else's money
to buy something you could not afford to buy. Debt allows
you to do and be and have what you could not do on your own.
Let's start with mortgages for houses. Few people can
afford to buy houses with their own money. You can probably
buy a cartload of groceries, a meal at a nice restaurant,
and some new clothes by pulling cash out of your wallet.
But when you want to buy a house, how many people have
enough money in their checking accounts to be able to buy
houses for hundreds of thousands of dollars?
What is the solution? You take out a mortgage. A mortgage
is a just a fancy word for debt. You borrow money to buy
your house. And because of this mortgage debt, you have a
house you can call your own.
What else does debt give you? Debt puts college in reach
for millions of people who could not afford to pay tuition
up front.
Debt also allows you to start a business, using someone
else's money, when you don't have enough money of your own.
I can imagine that you might be thinking: Banks and lenders
are making a profit on all of this debt. And besides, you
are paying dearly to borrow the money. What about the
interest rates? What about the endless fees? What about the
banks that overcharge? All of this true. Banks and credit
card companies can be downright usurious in their charges,
especially for anyone who gets in trouble and falls behind
in payments.
And it is also true that debt can be a great gift because
it gives you a start. You borrow money to buy a house you
could not afford to buy without it. You borrow money to
start a business when you don't have enough to get started.
You start school you could not have started without the
borrowed money. These are only a few examples of the gifts
of debt.
Consider this. The only reason you have debt is because
someone with money believes that you will repay the money.
And with the money, you are able to do something you could
not otherwise afford that will change your life for the
better.
Debt has two faces. You can also choose what face you will
wear in front of debt. You can wear the face of fear. You
can be angry at your creditors and upset with yourself, or
you can put on the face of gratitude that someone trusted
you enough to loan you money for you to have and create and
be what you could not have or create or be with your own
money.
Abundance comes in many forms. One source of abundance in
your life comes in the form of credit from people and
businesses. This face of debt can be a great gift on the
pathway to living abundant lives. The most appropriate
response is gratitude for the gift of debt that leads to
abundance.
