by Zeke Flores<\/p>\n
When I was a much younger man, I wrecked my credit. I made foolish decisions, borrowed more than I should have, and made late payments. Soon, the only ones who would lend me money were the high-rate lenders and even they were wary. It took years to restore my financial good name and I\u2019m glad to say that today I have a very good credit rating.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Good-Credit-300x200.jpg\")
The word \u201ccredit\u201d is from a Latin one meaning something like \u201cbelief in, faith in, a thing entrusted to another.\u201d Since it involves trust, we say that one who is trustworthy has \u201ccredibility.\u201d It\u2019s a positive thing and when someone exhibits high integrity in a thing we say they\u2019re a credit to what they represent.<\/p>\n
I think Christians ought to have good credit, financially and otherwise. While I realize that sometimes money troubles are unavoidable, they shouldn\u2019t wreck our character along with our credit rating. We ought to be people of high integrity even when, especially <\/b>when, life around us crumbles. When people see my trust in God when circumstances are tough, I hope they\u2019ll see the genuineness of my faith and maybe even cultivate one of their own as a result.<\/p>\n
See, I want to be a credit to Christ. I represent His cause and people ought to know they can trust my testimony and my character. This is because everything I do and say is an extension of my trust, or lack of trust, in Him. And because I trust Him, He\u2019s extended to me a trust, a stewardship, that I must maintain with absolute integrity. I\u2019m a custodian of my relationship with Him so my moral soundness must be pure and that means I won\u2019t make promises I can\u2019t keep, financially or otherwise. Then, maybe people will say, \u201cHe\u2019s a credit to his Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n
“Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy<\/em>” (I Corinthians 4:1-2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Zeke Flores When I was a much younger man, I wrecked my credit. I made foolish decisions, borrowed more than I should have, and made late payments. Soon, the only ones who would lend me money were the high-rate lenders and even they were wary. It took years to restore my financial good name…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[552,258,551],"class_list":["post-18989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-integrity","tag-money-management","tag-reputation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":88274,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/credit\/","url_meta":{"origin":18989,"position":0},"title":"Credit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Zeke Flores When I was a much younger man, I wrecked my credit. I made foolish decisions, borrowed more than I should have, and made late payments. Soon, the only ones who would lend me money were the high-rate lenders, and even they were wary. It took years to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-credit-cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":18989,"position":1},"title":"What does the Bible say about credit cards?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 21, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What the Bible said about credit cards, especially for the Christian? I cannot understand people using a credit card to give to the Lord. It brings many problems when you have no control over your spending. I cannot understand this. It is my belief that this is not God's\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":34183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-have-much-so-what-do-i-do-with-my-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":18989,"position":2},"title":"I don’t have much, so what do I do with my money?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 22, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I have very little money and this is a rare opportunity to spend it on much-needed personal items. Or should I spend my money on a poor person, giving them all of it? 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Basically, my question is whether it is a sin to ask\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2057,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kinds-of-debt-are-permissible\/","url_meta":{"origin":18989,"position":4},"title":"What kinds of debt are permissible?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In order to have my household in order for His glory, I understand we should not be in debt. What debt is permissible? House mortgage? College loans? Is there a biblical plan to reduce debt, whether credit card or other items? 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