FHE last night

Last night's FHE was on money. And actually, now that I think of it, we never had a closing prayer, so technically I guess FHE is STILL GOING!! Awesome!

I taught the lesson. It was on a scripture that I'd read earlier in the day on MoneySavingMom.com, Romans 13:8,which addresses the Biblical principle of "owing no man anything."

Earlier this year I had to go to a conference for my work, and the first lecture I had to attend was on Jews in literature (specifically, The Jew of Malta and The Merchant of Venice). One of the big deals the speakers made was on how at the time those plays were written, Jews were considered bad guys because they lent out money--and Christians were taught that borrowing money was essentially a sin. So they viewed the Jews as enabling Christian sin.

In our church we have a whole lot of ecclesiastical statements on debt, both temporal and spiritual. This article points out:

In 2 Kings 4:7 [2 Kgs. 4:7] we read, “Pay thy debt, and live,” and in Proverbs 22:7 [Prov. 22:7] we learn that “the borrower is servant to the lender.” The Apostle Paul instructed the Romans to “owe no man any thing” (Rom. 13:8), while in modern times the Savior counseled Martin Harris to “pay the debt thou hast contracted with the printer. Release thyself from bondage” (D&C 19:35).

Clearly scripture cautions us against incurring unnecessary debt. Modern prophets and apostles have echoed that plea (see accompanying statements on page 66). President Gordon B. Hinckley has said: “Reasonable debt for the purchase of an affordable home and perhaps for a few other necessary things is acceptable. But from where I sit, I see in a very vivid way the terrible tragedies of many who have unwisely borrowed for things they really do not need” (“I Believe,” Ensign, Aug. 1992, 6). To better understand the role of debt and interest charges in our lives, it may be helpful to consider what constitutes appropriate debt, why easy credit can become a trap, and how to create a personal plan to avoid debt.

That article also goes on to explain how interest works--the title is "Understanding Interest on Debt" and it's pretty informative (even though it was written in 1997).

Anyway, we didn't talk about that so much, but just the idea of the divine suggestion? commandment? to stay out of debt. We also studied Matthew 6:25-34 (which happens to include my favorite verse of all, Matthew 6:33). Basically the idea there is, as long as you're keeping the commandments--or seeking first the kingdom of heaven, as verse 33 puts it--God will make sure you're taken care of.

I know we'll be blessed for staying out of debt!