Three Mountains (9) - Thrift

The use of thirty-year mortgages to buy houses is wrong. In recent years it has become possible and common for people to borrow up to ninety percent of the purchase price of a home on a mortgage. This has the effect of pushing up the price of dwellings dramatically. The result is that households in total are no better off. They still hold the same stock of housing, but have much greater debt. The consequence is that they will pay for their houses two or three times over in interest. This shifts tremendous wealth to the banks.

If borrowing such large amounts were unacceptable, the price of houses would fall dramatically. Households would be better off, and they would still have the same total number of dwellings.

Citizens of the Kingdom of God will be thrifty. They will know that the person who consumes all that they earns becomes poor (Prov 14:4; 21:29). Ideally, Christians should not be in debt at all. As God blesses them, they should be quickly able to repay all loans and build up their capital. Most Christians will be debt free.

In a Christian society, the main source of funds for lending will be people saving for their old age. Savings for unforeseen circumstances, such as sickness, accident, and death will also be important. Thrift will produce a surplus of resources that are available for investment in productive activities. Increased investment will make everyone more productive. Poverty should be quickly eliminated.

Christians will put most of their surplus funds into enterprises that will be productive for the Kingdom of God. They will then have control over what is done with their money (II Cor 6:14-15). They will ensure it is used for the glory of the Kingdom. For Christians, lending for interest is a second-best option, as they have no control over what the banker does with their money.