When we don’t have enough money to buy food, should the government give us money? Whose responsibility is it to feed our families, to pay for our houses and cars and businesses? Is it the banks responsibility? If all loans were canceled, and we could only buy what we had money to afford, how different would our country look? Thankfully, a growing number of people and businesses are starting to act more responsibly, and live within their means. What does the Bible say about it?

My child, suppose you agree to pay the debt of someone,
who cannot repay a loan.
Then you are trapped by your own words,
and you are now in the power of someone else.
Here is what you should do:
Go and beg for permission to call off the agreement.
Do this before you fall asleep or even get sleepy.
Save yourself, just as a deer or a bird tries to escape from a hunter.
You lazy people can learn by watching an anthill.
Ants don’t have leaders, but they store up food during harvest season.

Proverbs 6:1-8

With debt, you are in the hands of someone else. Your money is being gathered in, to line the pockets and accounts of someone else. Paying interest will eat your financial future. I also think that the last verse is very applicable in this financial time. The government is not in control of your family’s financial future. There is no way that the government is going to make you rich. If they ever give you anything, it was yours before they took it anyway. You have to take responsibility for your own finances. Ants work hard and store up food for themselves. Learn from the ant, and don’t expect any leader to bail you out.