About eight months ago, my husband and I began looking for a new house. When the baby was little, we would strap him in his car seat during his nap time and drive around looking at houses. Dates had become so rare during this time, we actually considered this activity a date. One afternoon during one of these drives we found a house that we were interested in. We called the owners and set up a time to look at the house. Although it didn’t have everything that I would love to have in a house, it definitely had enough features we wanted to make us seriously consider purchasing this house.
Alan called the mortgage company and they approved us for, what I thought, was an pretty large amount. I was very surprised that we could afford that much house. We asked more questions and figured out what a monthly payment would be on that amount and discovered that it was way more than we could actually afford. We have no credit card debt, no car payment, and still could not come up with a payment that would cover the size of the approved mortgage. The house we were looking at, thankfully, was priced far less than what we were approved for. However, under careful consideration, we realized that even that mortgage would stretch us far beyond what we were comfortable with. So in the end, we didn’t buy the house.
In light of the economic crisis that our country is facing, I’ve been thinking a lot about the mortgage company approving us for such a huge loan. Everyone is angry with the greedy mortgage companies and I can totally understand that. But where is the discussion about personal responsibility?
When trying to figure out whether we could afford a new home, we didn’t just consider whether we could afford the monthly payment. We had to consider the following:
I don’t think we can just blame mortgage lenders for the situation our country finds itself in. You don’t just wake up one morning with a mortgage that you can’t afford. Individuals had the choice whether to sign on the dotted line or not, and in too many cases, that choice got them in trouble.
I would love to have a house that was built after 1970. I would love to have a bedroom that was actually large enough for all my bedroom furniture to fit into. I would love to have a lot of the modern updates that come with new houses. But at what cost?
Greedy mortgage companies offered way too much money to people banking on the fact that houses would continue to increase in value like they were. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. But let’s be clear. No one was forced to take the money offered. When your wants take priority over your needs don’t be surprised when it catches up to you.
When I start to wish I had more money, I remember Hebrews 13:5:
5Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU.”
I love how it is translated in The Message.
Don’t be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you,”
Today, the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing a 700 billion dollar bailout plan, funded by tax payer dollars. I just hear a lot of people blaming Congress, the President, Wall Street, mortgage lenders, and banks for the mess we’re in. No one in the government or from a bank forced people to borrow money they couldn’t afford. That comes from a place of not being satisified with what you have. Scripture assures us that God will take care of our needs and He will never leave us. What more could we possibly want?