It is hard to return a borrowed thing! Most of us don’t find it easy to return borrowed money. It is a human nature that we like receiving only.
We are happy to receive but we become very stingy when we are to give. Borrowing means eating our tomorrow. We are eating now what we should be eating tomorrow. Since we have eaten our tomorrow already, we may not have any source to return the borrowed money. Although we have a lot, it is just very hard to return borrowed thing. You can choose to give to someone than returning any borrowed thing. I just don’t understand the reason behind it. I believe you don’t understand it too. So, can we agree to quit it?
Most people borrow to pay off their old debts. Just imagine going from the old prison to the new prison. You spent 20 years in the old prison. You also want to spend 20 years in the new prison. I better remain in the old prison. They can sympathize with me. They can pity me. It is strange to clear your old debts with borrowed money. It is like going from the mouth of a lion to a mouth of another bigger lion. The second lion is as fierce as the first. Can we just quit the habit?
We also borrow for some small things. Things we can manage. We just don’t have money for breakfast and we want to borrow money for breakfast. We can’t die without having breakfast. We don’t have money for a one day meal. It forces us to borrow a big money. We would miss the one day meal and we will still be alive. Don’t we fast in life? If we can fast for a day or two, why can it be hard to miss a day meal?
I hate seeing the person to whom I have borrowed his/her thing (or money)! I believe most people do the same. We don’t like coming near our lenders. We keep hiding from them. We think they will ask their money or things when we meet them. We avoid going to their homes. We avoid working with them. We don’t like sharing a house with them. Why can’t we just quit the habit?
We sell our freedom to our lenders. We don’t talk against people who need money or things from us. We can say they are right even though they are very wrong. They can insult us but we can’t say a word. They can humiliate us but we have nothing to say. They can destroy our things but we can’t face them. It’s better to quit the habit of borrowing!
We become slaves when we borrow. What right has a slave to oppose his/her master? What right has a borrower to oppose his/her lender?
We are belittled when we borrow. People look down on us. We become useless to them. They don’t recognize our worth. They don’t acknowledge our ability to make it in life. They think we are parasites. Who can respect a parasite? We lose our dignity to our lenders. We cannot walk with our heads high. We lose our confidence in everything. Why can’t we quit the habit of borrowing?
We are tortured by guilt! Our conscience recognizes that we have someone’s money or thing. It will keep telling us that we wrong to have debts. That is the reason why some people can commit suicide to free themselves from the debts they have. Some people choose to murder just to be off debts.
Some people get involved in illegal activities just because of debts. They can rob. They can steal. They can corrupt. Some turn to be hostile and arrogant. They lose temper every now and then.
Some isolate themselves from the society. Many also choose to leave their country of origin and live somewhere else where they are not known. Can we choose to quit the habit?
Borrowing can result into conflict in the community. It can lead to a big fight. It can also lead to hatred. You, the borrower will develop hatred towards your lender. The lender too may do the same. Some lenders can just pick their guns and start killing even your relatives. Many have lost their lives just because of debts. What a beautiful thing if we can quit it!
The habit of borrowing leads to loss of property. You will lose your house. You will lose your car. You will lose your land. You will lose your business assets. Your children can be sold. You yourself can be sold. Any other thing belonging to you can be sold. Isn’t it better to just quit the habit?
Some people have ended up in prison just because of the habit of borrowing. Your lender has right to put you in prison anytime he/she wants. Being in prison will cause you a lot of things. You will enter into a traumatic life. You will be stressed in prison. You may die in prison. Prison cell smells like Golgotha. You may lose your life in prison. Many people have died in prison. Sickness can cause your dead. Hunger can kill you. I have heard prisoners hardly get food to eat. Your lender can order your execution. I think quitting the habit of borrowing is better. What do you think?
We can quit the habit of borrowing if we plan to manage the little we have. Anything we have can make us reach tomorrow. Our big problem is poor planning. We are poor managers. We are careless. We don’t see what we have is enough for us. Try managing what you have. You will easily quit borrowing.
We can never borrow if we are contented with what we have. I am surprised even people who have a lot borrow. Many people claim they borrow because they have little. It is not true. Even those who have much borrow. Contention is not about how much or how little. It is about the rule of the heart. Your heart desires more and more. It is you to control the heart.
Let’s leave worrying about tomorrow. We will at once quit the habit of borrowing. We leave our tomorrow’s things with tomorrow. God is responsible for our unknown. Let us plan what we can. But we should not worry ourselves with what is beyond our plans. God will take care of it.
Choose asking for something than borrowing something. We live as a society. We can’t live without the support of others. Most of our societies eat together. They cannot see others perishing while they have food. Our people are charitable. They are kind. Let’s ask to be given for free. I know you may think I am promoting begging or dependency. I am not all. I am giving the option to those who are really in need. I have right to run to my neighbour when I am in need. We just need to be honest when we surely need the help of others.
What I know about most of the people who borrow, don’t borrow because they are in need. You borrow because you want to marry, are you in need? You borrow because you need to meet your girlfriend in the hotel, are you in need? You borrow because you need to buy a car, are you surely in need? You borrow because you want to visit your friend; I don’t think you are in need. Some people borrow because someone has promised to give them some money. They want to eat that money before it reaches them. They don’t have a point to borrow. That person may change his/her mind. Even if the person will surely keep the promise, do they have right to eat it before it reaches them. I advise they should wait for it.
If we are to be honest, most of the times we borrow not because we surely need to. It is because we don’t evaluate why we need to borrow. It is the reason you find it very hard to pay back. Imagine if you borrow to pay your medical bill, will you find it hard to pay back since you know it is because of that money that you live today? You will be committed to pay back the borrowed money if you borrow to pay your school fees or tuition fees. I know most people who borrow for concrete reasons commit to pay back. With reasons or no reasons, you better don’t borrow.
Accepting the situation or being brave to face the reality will also help us quit the habit of borrowing. Sometime we need to accept that life can be hard. We cannot run away from hard life. We need to accept that we should sleep without food. Even your children should know that there can be a day or two to go without food. Live a simple life.
In addition, we should have hope in life. We should know that there isn’t any situation that does not change. Hard time does not come to stay with us. It only comes to visit us. We know visitors don’t stay with us forever. Be hopeful.
If we are to borrow, let’s borrow from organized bodies or from the people whom we trust can’t put us in prison even if we don’t pay back. BUT I ADVISE WE LIMIT IT TOO.
“THERE IS NEVER A REASON TO BORROW THOUGH WE BORROW.” Be kind to yourself.