4 minute read
“Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them.” (Proverbs 26:27 NIV)
When you dig a pit, you fall into it.
Credit card debt is a pit, I know because I fell into it. Like many others, my first credit card came when I was a freshman in college with no job. Today, using plastic to pay for things is a way of life. When I was in college, people used cash more than credit cards for purchases. Not having any money because I was a broke college student, I used credit to buy groceries. I will never forget one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. In line at the store, I handed the cashier my credit card. The lady behind me was astonished. She says, “Don’t you feel guilty eating food you haven’t paid for yet?” She humiliated me. I have never forgotten the moment. Those were the first few shovels of the debt pit I dug for myself.
Pits take time to develop.
Pits don’t happen overnight. Digging holes happen one shovel at a time. My credit card debt accumulated over several years. I didn’t max out the limit the first month; it took me time to get that to that point. Maxed out credit was my rock bottom; I couldn’t get anymore. None of that happened quickly, which is why you don’t know you’re digging a pit. The slow pace doesn’t allow us to see the depth.
I dug that pit on my own, without Jesus. During the time I was shoveling up loans, I wasn’t following Jesus. My life centered on me, no one else, certainly not God. To say I’m still recovering from the things I did to myself then is an understatement. My most immense heartache is the people I hurt during that time, no one more than myself. But thank God I hit rock bottom because the only place I had to look was up.
We may fall into the pits we dig for ourselves, but God pulls us out. The moment we focus our eyes on Him, He starts lifting. In my situation, He used my little brother. Single at the time; I needed accountability. Asking my brother for help was humbling for me, very hard to do. He went through my finances, set up automatic payments, and devised a plan to get me out of debt. His plan worked, along with Dave Ramsey’s financial course, I learned how to manage money.
Humility is the first step out of the pit. Humbling ourselves before God, admitting our failures, is the first rung of the ladder. With daily submission to God, He’ll lift us out of our pits.
Question of the Day:
What pit have you dug for yourself?
Further Reading: Ezekiel 3:16-6:14 NIV, Hebrews 4:1-16 NIV, Psalm 104:24-35 NIV, Proverbs 26:27 NIV
