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’m glad to say that today I have a very good credit rating.<\/p>\n
The word “credit” is derived from a Latin word meaning “belief in, faith in, a thing entrusted to another.” Since it involves trust, we say that one who is trustworthy has “credibility.” It’s a positive thing, and when someone exhibits high integrity in a thing, we say they’re a credit to what they represent.<\/p>\n
I believe Christians should have good credit, both financially and character-wise. I realize that sometimes money troubles are unavoidable, but they shouldn’t 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 during tough circumstances, I hope they’ll 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’s extended to me a trust, a stewardship, that I must maintain with absolute integrity. I’m a custodian of my relationship with Him, so my moral soundness must be pure, and that means I won’t make promises I can’t keep, financially or personally. Then, maybe people will say, “He’s a credit to his Lord.”<\/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\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_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1242,258,129],"class_list":["post-88274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-character","tag-money-management","tag-trust"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18989,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/good-credit\/","url_meta":{"origin":88274,"position":0},"title":"Good Credit","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 24, 2020","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":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Good-Credit-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3760,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-the-bible-say-about-credit-cards\/","url_meta":{"origin":88274,"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":30084,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-ask-for-lent-money-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":88274,"position":2},"title":"Is it wrong to ask for lent money back?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have lent money to some people in my workplace. Is it right to ask it back because in doing so I have to be firm, and when they don't return it I get weird ideas about them? 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":34183,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-dont-have-much-so-what-do-i-do-with-my-money\/","url_meta":{"origin":88274,"position":3},"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? Or should I pay my sister all of it because I owe her quite a\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":3763,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/avoiding-debt\/","url_meta":{"origin":88274,"position":4},"title":"Avoiding Debt","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: I Timothy 6:6-12 Firms go out of their way to offer me credit, For which, I might say, I am deeply indebted! \u2013 Doris O\u2019Brien \u2013 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A large industry has developed in the past hundred years or so \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It has existed for centuries, but it was commonly frowned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"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":88274,"position":5},"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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