Buy-now-pay-later philosophy leads to colossal mess

Since September 28, 2001, our national debt has increased on an average of $3.80 billion per day. Suffice it to say, our country is in a heap of trouble. So are most American families, in spite of how we call ourselves a Christian nation and the Bible clearly teaches that it is foolish to owe more than we have the ability to pay. Had my mother been President, the United States would have operated on that principle, and we would not be in the colossal mess we are in today. Let me explain.

Tall, skinny and freckled would have described me perfectly during my elementary school and junior high years. Visualize five feet of legs with a head attached. When I brought Dave home to introduce him to my family, my brothers couldn't wait to bring out my seventh grade picture and share it, further humiliating me by telling my fiancé they breathed a sigh of relief when someone in high school finally was desperate enough to ask me for a date. (We were close like that.) The truth is, for the first 15 years of my life, I wasn't too sure about my future, either. The reasons for my insecurities were not just because of my lanky looks. That would have been a psychiatrist's dream.

As I have mentioned in a previous article, my three brothers and I were born in Denver. A year after our parents' first-born died, my brother Jim was born, followed by me 15 months later. Within six months of my birth, my mother was pregnant and my father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; he died within six weeks.

With only a high school education, no driver's license, and two babies (plus another one on the way), there was little our mother could do to make up for Dad's accountant income. Help from her in-laws was short-lived, for my grandfather had a sudden heart attack four months after his son (my dad) died. At his funeral my mother went into labor; later that day she delivered my brother David. Not long after, my paternal grandmother was killed on her way to drive Mom to run errands; a young soldier ran a red light and broad-sided her vehicle.

Once my mother's physical and emotional support was gone, she moved us from Denver to a small town in Missouri, to be near her parents. When I was in second grade we moved 40 miles away to Fort Scott where my mother found work. She took a position as an insurance clerk, a job she held until she retired. Grandma and Grandpa's contributions were immeasurable. Most Sundays they would visit, bringing us grocery bags of food, but I still don't know how Mom managed. She never had a credit card and refused to buy anything unless she paid cash for it. She insisted we do likewise.

One Saturday when I was thirteen I went to town and lucked upon "the perfect outfit." I had been able to save a little money with my baby-sitting jobs, but there was one slight problem -- I didn't have enough money. Fortunately, the sales clerk had the answer, and it was called "credit." I could simply "take the clothes home and pay later." Wow! I must have been awfully good to deserve this gargantuan miracle, I thought, because it was no secret that cool clothes could cover a multitude of insecurities.

When I walked in the front door with my shopping bag, Mom asked what I had bought. I eagerly explained the "buy-now-pay-later" lesson and shared with her how my life would never be the same. She agreed, told me to get into the car, and drove me back to town where she taught me a lesson in "total humiliation." She made me return my totally awesome outfit.

I was scarred for months afterwards.

Now that I am older, I watch in awe as my mother has lived her 92 years with the debtless philosophy. Dave and I, on the other hand, have made many decisions that lead us into unnecessary debt, and I cannot think of one time when it really paid off. My mother obviously "got it." She could teach many of us a lesson in Godly living.

Our government included.