This weekend I stumbled across an article regarding a paper written by Professor Brent White from the University of Arizona. The premise of his paper is that if an individual is 'underwater' on their mortgage (i.e. the mortgage is higher than the value of the home) then the homeowner should just walk-away from the home and not have any moral quandries about it. Because this will cause an immediate hit to your credit score, he further advised buying major items such as cars, appliances, etc. that you may need credit for prior to defaulting - since you will not be able to obtain credit any time soon after default.
I thought about his suggestion a lot over the past couple of days. In general, I heartily disagree with it, if only for the simple fact that when you borrow money to purchase anything - whether it be a car, home or whatever - you have made a promise to pay the lender back under the terms of the loan (whatever they may be). As Christians, we need to keep our promises to everybody - even when there are financial consequences to them.
Having said that, I believe there are (very) limited circumstances when it could be acceptable for a Christian to walk-away from debt - this would include severe financial consequences that truly leave no other option. Often situations like medical debt or other major hardships lead to bankruptcy anyway and would thus have the safe financial effects.
Before you are ready to take the easy way out, think about the promise that you made. The frustration of being underwater is temporary. Your house will eventually go up in value and your mortgage balance will go down. And while you are waiting, you will know that you are doing the right thing.
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