Let’s face it: student loans have become the norm. It’s expected that young professionals in their twenties or thirties will have thousands of dollars in debt following them around through their early years of employment. The cost of higher education is at a point where having a part-time job will not pay the bills.
According to employment-specialists site Glassdoor.com, the average part-time job in America pays $22,477 per year. The average cost of tuition and fees for 2019-20 school year at a four-year private college is $41,000, according to U.S. News, while public universities charge in-state students about $11,000 and out-of-state students $27,000. Asbury’s costs currently sits around $31,000 a year.
From a purely numerical standpoint, if students aren’t able to work their way to a fully-paid college education, what are we supposed to do? And how on earth did it become acceptable to go in debt five or six figures deep?
The standard these days is that you need at least a bachelor’s degree to get hired for any job paying more than minimum wage. So we’ll assume that no matter how overpriced higher education is, we still need to attend college.
Historically, the idea that one can spend money she doesn’t actually have brings with it a higher standard of living. According to americanhistoryusa.com, while credit has historically allowed card users to live beyond their means, it is also accompanied by lower retirement savings, a greater percentage of future paychecks going to debt service, vulnerability to large and unexpected expenses (like health care, housing and college), and a generally reduced level of freedom that comes with any kind of consumer debt. Site creator and historian Dan Bryan writes that despite these and other downsides, the credit card industry continues to flourish. Sophisticated advertising campaigns actually have spurred on a cultural revolution that encourages the mentality that the luxury standard of living is worth greater debt.
But what are Christians supposed to think about this? The Bible never promises an easy life of luxury, but it’s not a sin to desire a healthy standard of living. 1 Timothy 6:10 says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” Verses 17 and 18 then instruct the rich not to be arrogant or put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to trust God, be rich in good deeds, generous and willing to share. Basically, don’t get distracted by earthly standards of living.
Additionally, Proverbs 22:26-27 says, “Do not be the one who shakes hands in pledge or puts up security for debts; if you lack the means to pay, your very bed will be snatched from under you.”
If Christians know debt is bad, what are we doing about it? In the early 1990s, after experiencing his own financial failures, Dave Ramsey launched his financial advice radio show and wrote “Financial Peace,” becoming one of the great finance advisors we know today. But in the same way that salvation shouldn’t be used as fire insurance, his curriculum shouldn’t be viewed as strictly useful for combating existing debt. Don’t wait until you’re financially unstable to figure out how to be stable. Other resources like Crown Financial Ministries exist to provide Christians with Bible-based approaches to managing their money.
From the position of college affordability, I had a hard time distinguishing policies of secular and Christian universities. I found work study options, fully-paid tuitions, generous scholarships and state exemptions that applied both in public and private colleges. I can’t help but be a bit baffled at the similarities in generosity, considering there should be marked differences that set Christians apart. Have our own institutions become exempt from the distinctions of Christ-like living?
In Deuteronomy 15, God lays out laws for the Israelites in order to keep them from holding interest against one another and, in accordance with the Sabbath rest traditional, debts are canceled every seventh year. So are we supposed to go to Christian universities and demand they lower prices, or argue that they and the government forgive us all our debts? Of course not. Money doesn’t just go away.
Romans 13:7 instructs Christians to pay people what you owe them, whether taxes or revenue or even respect. We have to learn financial responsibility, and sometimes this means being held accountable for spending the money we did not have in the first place. It does mean you should think long and hard before investing in future costs.
Yes, to acquire normal things like an apartment you need a reputable credit score, which only accrues by having credit in the first place. According to the Washington Post’s finance columnist Michelle Singletary, the easiest way to build “safe” credit is with a secured credit card that sets your spending limit to the amount you deposit in a savings or checking account.
Since credit is such an ingrained part of our culture, addressing it isn’t going to be a black and white three-step fix. We’re going to have to take each monetary decision as it comes and prayerfully trust God to provide (both wisdom for what to do and financially to pay the bills). At the heart of the issue, we need to remember that whenever we spend money, we are stewarding what God has entrusted to us.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 says, “It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.” When you promise to pay something back, you are not only beholden to the lender, but to God, who has given you the resources in the first place. Don’t make promises – especially with your money – that you can’t keep.