Beating Debt News Archives

Maxed Out is a very informative, well edited, and convincing documentary about the credit industry and its dealings with America.  It brought together many families affected by the credit industry, politicians, and insiders willing to go on camera to discuss the many persuasive tactics it uses to convince you to take credit and convince you to pay back when you get under too much debt. 

 Maxed Out seems to make the point that the credit industry is to blame with their “predatory” and “mob-like” tactics.  You come away from the movie hating the credit industry because of all the broken families exampled in the movie and all the clips of Pres Bush, which helps excite the “Hate everything about Bush” syndrome. However, the biggest point they missed emphasizing in this movie is our own responsibility to take charge of our finances.  Yes, marketing for credit, is very persuasive.  So it marketing for cars and Coca-Cola.  That does not mean that every time I get something in the mail advertising a car or some new product I need to buy it.  We can say “NO.”

This movie falls in line with the typical American rational which is to blame someone else for our shortfalls.  Instead of owning up to responsibility, we prefer to blame someone.  So, in this grave time of mounting debt with the economy slowing down, our first reaction might be to gobble up a movie like Maxed Out so we can feel better about our own debt problems by making fun of something else, the credit industry.  But we should not do that.

 I am in no way supporting the credit industry or their tactics.  But I do know the Lord says:

 “Just as the rich rule over the poor, so the borrower becomes the lender’s servant.” Pvbs 22:7 

As the Bible says, when we have debts, we become a slave to the owner of that debt.  I don’t remember the last time slave owners treated their slaves very well.  So, when the credit card company calls us up to pay our debt, that is better treatment than what a real slave received.  What I read about in history books is this: when a slave didn’t do what the slave owner wanted, he got whipped.   Maxed Out did not show an example of a credit card company whipping a delinquent debtor.

We must not watch this movie and get persuaded that the root of all our problems is the credit card industry or Pres Bush.  We must take responsibility for the debts we incurred and focus all our financial efforts to beat debt.  I would like to respond to Maxed Out with a video response I like.