Earlier this year, I have thought about acquiring a property as an investment. With the real estate market plummeting, I figured it would bring a handsome return if we could buy a foreclosed property, fix it up and sell it. However, as I sought wisdom and guidance from the Bible and the principles we had learned from Crown Financial Ministries, I chose to forgo the idea.
Here are some questions that I had to ask myself:
1.Are we free of debt? No. Is our mortgage debt? Of course it is! According to Steve Diggs, home purchase is recommended only 'if you are currently a first-time home buyer with no debt, and cash on hand'.
2.Is this investment risk-free? No. This idea of purchasing foreclosed property involves a few risks. The biggest risk I could think of was losing job(s). What if one of us or both of us lose job(s) before the property is fixed and sold? Fortunately, we both hold full-time jobs at this point, but there certainly is no guarantee that our jobs will continue to be secure. Incurring more debt based on the presumption that we will continue to earn enough to pay the debt is against the counsel of the Bible.
Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” (James 4:13-15, NLT)
3.Is this going to help us in our efforts to live simply? Absolutely not. I desire to live a lean, simple life, because it enables me to focus my time and energy on things that are really valuable to me. As Howard Dayton puts it in Your Money Counts, every possession requires time, attention and often money, and sometimes it requires so much of our resource that it can ruin our relationship with others and God.
*Tip of the Day
Simple life brings not only physical & financial, but also emotional, mental, & relational tranquility.
TAPO
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