Gradual

A good day to all of the Brethren out there on this fine Sunday afternoon.  

On Friday, I had an opportunity to take care of an overdue errand, namely, having new tires installed on the Rev-mobile.  It seems that tires fall into that category of things that get bad so gradually, we almost don't notice the process.  I have to admit, the ride in the Rev-mobile was getting louder, and, as the tires wore out, the balance was off.  The balance issue got to the point that the front end had a little shimmy.  The whole process, however, was so gradual that I almost took the sorry state of the Rev-ride for granted.  

Driving away from our hard-working Brothers at the tire shop, I was amazed at the difference.  Night and Day, Sisters and Brothers, Night and Day!  

This brings to mind that story of the boiling frog.  The anecdote is that a frog, placed in a pot of water on a stove, won't notice the increased heat of the water if it the water is heated gradually.   Never mind that modern biologists have refuted the notion, citing experiments that show the frog will simply jump out rather than turn into a nasty frog soup.  The story has become the poster child description for anyone of us who stay in a bad situation too long.

You might ask "Rev, what in Dog's holy name are you blathering about?" and you would be justified in doing so.  Well, Brethren, I will tell you what I am blathering about.  Some processes are so gradual that we cannot see the deleterious effects of the process until it is almost too late to recover.  Such, good Brethren, can be the nature of consumer debt.  

A hard working Sister or Brother is doing the best they can to make ends meet.  The economy slows down  or maybe the hours get cut at work.  Gas prices go up and the budget gets strained.  Whatever the reason, the credit card comes out to bridge the gap, but at the end of the month, the bill can't be paid off.  Well, we made it through this month, we will just have to knock that bad boy down at the end of next month.  Meanwhile, a few more of life's little irony sticks come to rest up against the head of our Brethren and the credit card gets used again.  We make the minimum payment, the household is secure for the month, but in the background, that water is getting warmer and warmer as the balance grows on the debt while we are only paying off the interest, if that.   Without too much time passing, we could find ourselves hitting the $11,000 national average for consumer debt.  Now, dear Brethren, we have a long, hard row to hoe to pay that monster down.  

What we are talking about today, as we have been for a while, is the awareness of debt.  I believe that is is fundamental to our purposes for all of the Brethren to have a full awareness of the nature of debt, and of the slippery paths for falling into debt.  Without an understanding of how we got into the mire of consumer debt, it is going to be difficult to start the process of getting out of the mire.

We are back around to it:  we have to see the chains, and know what the chains are, before we can break the damn things and lives of freedom.  When we strike the blow, Bothers and Sisters, we have to know what we are striking, we have to know where to aim.  I believe that raising our awareness of debt, and the process of indebtedness, is one of the most important tools we can develop in out struggle for personal financial freedom.

Enjoy you Sunday Sisters and Brothers.  Live large, live strong, be well, and strike a blow!