“Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast” (Revelation 13:18).
Bible students have argued for years what the beast and his number 666 might mean. However, there may be a beast lurking in our personal lives that must be dealt with: debt. Most Americans have gotten themselves into debt and don’t know how to get back out. It almost seems as if “no man might buy or sell” unless debt gets involved (Revelation 13:17).
Now, I could quote Romans 13:8 and tell you to “owe no man any thing,” but I think must of us already desire a better life without monthly payments—or worse, collections calls. We’ve got to get rid of the mark of that beast named Debt. Many debtors refuse to take the first step, though. They are afraid to number their beast.
Do you know the tally of what you owe? What do you still owe on your appliances and furniture? How much do you have in credit card balances? Medical bills? School loans? What about that nagging $300 you borrowed from Uncle Larry? If we’d sit down and total up our bills, we could move to the next step of slaying the dragon.
I sat down and calculated my obligations the other day. Sure, I don’t like the fact that I’m still paying a medical bill from a couple years back and some other liabilities, but I also don’t like being a servant to any lender (Proverbs 22:7). After giving that monster a number (and I wish it was only $666) I sized it up and improved my game plan to bring it down piece by piece.
Obviously, this writing has not probed the depths of end-time events as the Bible passage truly means when discussing the world beast and number. Yet I don’t think any believer has really prepared for the Apocalypse if they think they will just fly away from their obligations when Jesus comes back. Let’s be free of debt and make sure there are no commitments tying us to this world. Once you’ve killed your debt monster you’ll enjoy a profound financial liberty and life as God intended for His people.
Master your money or it will master you.
