So I see there are a lot of agents out there that are Christians. I have to wonder if they, like me, have conflicts in their daily careers that make it hard to stay true to your faith and still be a successful agent. As a Christian, I don't believe in there being any "grey" areas. I believe that there is black and white only when speaking of the truth or what is right or wrong. The hard part is when you see other agents being so successful monetarily speaking by thinking it is ok to have grey areas. The thought goes through my head, "how do they do that and still sleep at night?" I know not all agents are this way just like not all car salesman are as bad as they are portrayed but it sure leaves a rock in my "belly" so to speak about weither I am right with God if I am involved in some of these things.
You want examples (there are many but here's one)...ok, well you have a couple come in that tells you they have this on their credit and that on their credit and you do everything you can to get them into a house knowing full well that to do the right thing biblically they should be paying all of those debts off first before finding a home. So what if you can get them prequalified. They should be paying their previous debts before getting further into debt. It's none of your business right? Your job is just to get them into the home of their dreams, right? WRONG. As Christians, we are called to set an example and to be above reproof. Being up to our eyeballs in debt is not setting a good example. Shouldn't we tell our brother or sister in Christ what the scriptures say about debt rather than leading them down the path of getting further into debt? That is where the dilemma lies. Because if we counsel every client like this then we won't sell many homes will we? We sure won't be very popular agents. People don't want to hear no. They don't want to be told that what they are doing may feel good, feel right, but be biblically wrong.
We live in an "I want it NOW" era. People don't save to buy the things they want. We finance it and charge it and live outside of our means and pray that our spouses don't get laid off, that the housing market stays strong or gets stronger and we live by a thread financially that could be broken at any moment. Everything revolves around credit scores. You can't have a good credit score unless you've financed something. If you've financed something you were probably living outside of your means. We've all done it and it's NOT biblical!!!
What is wrong with us? I don't have the answer but I know where to find it. I know that it won't make me popular as an agent to even mention this taboo subject but it's been on my mind a lot lately.
I've mentioned before that Dave Ramsey is my hero. He counsels people through his radio programs and books and website (www.daveramsey.com), etc about how you CAN own a home, a car, etc WITHOUT being in debt to someone else. I urge anyone thinking of buying a home to delve into his program and learn what he teaches about finances before making that next step financially.
I just have to wonder if we as agents are fooling ourselves into thinking we are right with God if we are aiding people into living outside of Christ's teachings. Seems to be like we are being stumbling blocks and that is really on my conscience today. According to the real estate ethics I can't turn people away for this reason or that reason but what will God say when I face him some day? Would Jesus encourage someone to go into debt or to save to buy a home if one is needed? What to do, what to do? Any thoughts?
**for the record, I regret having EVER financed anything, I am doing everything I can to become debt free and I plan on never financing anything ever again if I can help it. That means I don't get a new car every year, I don't go on lavish vacations, I cut up all of my credit cards and only use my debit card, I mow my own yard, do my own cleaning, etc. Is it harder, you bet! But it sure feels good the closer I get to being debt free!
Comments (6)Subscribe to CommentsComment