As I had mentioned in an earlier post I’ve had a paradigm shift in how I look at credit cards. My past attitude is that credit cards were evil without much in the way of exception. I don’t have the same strong opinion any more. Before I’m struck down with hate email or comments with great intensity let me clarify that most people who don’t like credit cards, when provoked to a good, long think, will agree with me. The credit cards that get abused are a symptom! Just like money isn’t evil by itself, credit cards are not evil by themselves. If you pay off your credit card each and every month and maximize your return on the credit card’s reward program then the credit card is not a problem for you.
The symptom of debt is actually a symptom of the root problem: lack of self control. If you understand where your finances are and you maximize your use of the card within the constraints of your budget, you might be able to pay for your family’s vacation in rewards. James, a long time reader of my blogging (I don’t recall how James found me, but I’ve been grateful for the things I’ve learned from him and his commenting), actually left a comment stating that’s what he does some time ago.
My dad, a financially astute guy, uses his Discover card for as many expenses as he can and maximizes his rewards this way. I have to admit to thinking this was crack smoking crazy until I realized that I was putting the blame on the wrong thing. I’m not recommending everyone get as many credit cards as they can or that folks use credit cards if they can’t control themselves when they have access to the credit cards, but I am saying that I recognize that my previous stance was legalism. As Romans 14:23b states: “…whatever is not from faith is sin.” Don’t spend a dime that is not spent in reliance on the Lord. This could be spent virtually with a credit card or literally with cash, but if you’re doing it out of compulsion and not in the abiding life of Christ, then its not the right attitude or way to be spending money in the first place!
This isn’t just a paradigm shift, this is a right-aligning with what the word of God teaches about walking by faith. If I make a law about credit cards then I have failed to see the fullness of my relationship with Christ in the area I have created the law in. I died to the law and the nature of the law when I was identified in Christ’s death, burial and resurrection. I’m going to pay off my credit cards, cancel all but one, and then as I abide in Christ, I’ll focus on my heavenly relationship, knowing those earn eternal rewards, and use the Discover to maximize the earthly rewards which might just be used to help those in need (Romans 12:13).
