Until recently, filing for bankruptcy carried the stigma of failure and dishonesty. Many people have avoided filing for bankruptcy, even to their own death, due to stigma. Nobody really wants to file bankruptcy, at least those of us who are honest, but sometimes circumstances make the process unavoidable. It’s interesting to see how this stigma came about of questioning someone’s honesty and labeling it a failure. While no one will really come out and say they started with this negative label, I suspect it was perpetrated by the credit industry. They know that once a person hires a bankruptcy attorney, they probably won’t pay anything back. Initially, a debt collection company will call to arrange payment and try to make friends with the person who is in financial trouble. Most people don’t realize it, but they will feel guilty if they don’t pay their new friend. When a person reaches the end of his rope and has nothing to give him, the gloves are removed and the murder of the character begins. Debt collectors are paid based on what they charge, so they have no problem being the ones trying to destroy a person’s character with threats and reprimand them.
Interesting facts are the most common reasons someone files for bankruptcy: unemployment, a medical illness that causes job loss with large medical bills, and family problems like divorce. So when a debt collector calls a person and accuses them of being dishonest for not paying their debts, it seems to me that all of these reasons are out of their control and there is nothing wrong with filing bankruptcy. People need to understand the source of the information that makes them feel bad about themselves. A quick way to eliminate fault is to speak with a bankruptcy attorney and they will be able to clarify the individual about your situation. For someone who needs to feel better about themselves, all they need to do is look at the recent study and they concluded that the average American family is only three weeks away from having to file for bankruptcy. This conclusion was based on the amount of debt the average American household has and compares it to their savings and income. In most households, debt is increasing, there is no savings account, and income is declining.
For those who still feel the guilt and shame of filing for bankruptcy, all they need to do is open the Bible and use it as a moral compass. It is true that the Bible makes it clear that we are expected to pay are just debts. I don’t think anyone will dispute this point, even those who file for bankruptcy. However, the Bible talks about balancing the moral and legal obligation to pay those debts and considering the need for compassion and the requirement that those debts be paid off at periodic intervals. This comes from Deuteronomy 15 in the Old Testament of the Bible and is the basis for how Congress created the Bankruptcy Code. The cancellation of debts every seven years is clearly spoken in the Scriptures. Deuteronomy 15: 1-2 says: “At the end of every seven years you will give a release. And this is the way of release: each creditor will deliver what he has slow to his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord’s deliverance has been proclaimed “.
So the next time a debt collector calls and starts berating the individual, he should pull out his Bible and let him know the truth about filing bankruptcy and how it should be treated morally and legally.