Bless My Debt? Guest Post by Kelli Dudley

Bless My Debt?

Kelli Dudley

Through all the talk about debt in the newspapers, on television, and on the Internet, there is one consistent theme: debt is a problem. We may disagree on who is to blame, who must bail out whom, and what caused the current catastrophe. But we unilaterally see debt as a problem, something outside of the good order of our lives, maybe even a “sin” or evidence of a life gone terribly awry.

But . . . is debt a problem? Do we need to place blame? Need anyone be bailed out? Is there a catastrophe?

What if the answer is “no”?

We know that we come from an abundant God (or universe or power or spirit) that is in charge of EVERYTHING. Our God synchronizes the dance of life so perfectly that the crocus bulbs in my front yard did not send up their blooms until a fairly late in the season, to my way of thinking, after this very cold winter.

All of my waiting, fretting, and fantasizing about warm weather would not move those blossoms. If I had been in charge instead of God, my delicate purple blossoms would have been nipped by cold and would not have been in my yard just in time to warm my heart in the middle of a busy day in mid-March.

Just as I worried over my bulbs needlessly, we worry about the flow of our money. We imagine that we owe money to someone, that we will not be able to pay, and that we will come to some catastrophe. We remonstrate, we blame greedy corporations, we wish for a financially-successful life partner, we project our solution onto the screen of the future, and we regret our past financial choices.

Indeed, our finances can be cause of concern. Just as a delicate bloom can be susceptible to frost or can reach new heights with a little fertilizer, we can bring loving attention to our finances—mulching with a good interest-bearing account and avoiding the freeze that might nip by holding off buying that item that looks more appealing in the store than it does at use in our lives.

But is debt “bad”?

If you are blaming yourself for incurring debt, consider that you may not have behaved so badly as you think. Think of the experience, the dance of life, that led to your debt. Was there a good meal when you were hungry? The blessing of a good meal over a table filled with favorite foods and surrounded by favorite friends?

Did you buy a home? Why did you want the new tile? The new granite counter top? Could it have been your desire to demonstrate love in your choice of housing for yourself and your family?

Maybe you spent your money on a spiffy car. As it turns out, the car didn’t go fast enough to leave your foibles and perceived flaws in a cloud of dust. In fact, it is the same dusty old you driving that car—and it is getting less shiny by the minute. Why did you buy that car? Was it your desire to express love of life? Your desire to acknowledge the quality of graceful movement through the universe?

Sometimes it turns out that we planned future income that did not materialize. Our debts seem like a burden. We have, it seems, made a mistake.

There are practical steps that can help you choose differently in the future. These may mean expressing your God qualities differently next time—maybe you’ll fertilize your future with a savings plan or prune some wilted edges that no longer serve you. Reverend Jacki and I want to use this space to discuss some of those possibilities.

But for now, if you are feeling a little challenged by finances, open yourself to this possibility: instead of regret, bless your debt.

Allow yourself to remember that delicious meal, the faces of your friends, the waitstaff that enjoyed the generous tip. Remember the feel of the new tile under your feet when you stepped out of a steamy bath in your new home. Breathe in that new car smell. These things were blessings in their time, and they nurtured your soul in an important way then, just as new practices will nurture you in the future. Regretting your choices hurts—every time you remonstrate against your current situation, you tell yourself you never deserved the things you thought money could buy. In fact, you do deserve those things—and you deserve to have them in a higher way that may mean greater financial stability. The God qualities don’t change. You attempted to demonstrate them with material things yesterday; today perhaps you are finding them closer than your very breath.

Right here, right now, you have the God quality of abundance. You may perceive the condition of an uncomfortable credit card statement, and you may want to move toward a positive balance sheet as an expression of grace. But make no mistake: the God qualities you felt yesterday are still here—in the credit card statement, in the bill collector, and in all the challenges that seem to be taking place.

Take a moment: bless the debt and the need that was met when you incurred it. Know that there are other ways for God to express in your life, and that these ways may not involve things that can be charged on plastic. Open to knowing more, and open to knowing that your past cannot rob your present and future of abundance any more than a fretting gardener can know the right time for those delicate purple crocus blossoms to dance in my yard.

It was, is, and will be all God, all good.

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Kelli Dudley is a lawyer who assists people to change their minds about debt. She defends people who are pursued by creditors, mortgage companies, and landlords. She helps them to negotiate when they truly owe money, and assists them to defend themselves when they are unjustly harassed. Kelli teaches Housing Law at the DePaul University College of Law and teaches in several paralegal and college programs. Her passion is helping people understand money and material resources as tools that can help them attain their true purpose.