House Hunters

The Ashland Times-Gazette reports that Ashland is not immune to the home foreclosure surge in America. ATG noted that the number of homes has increased from 78 in 2007 to 102 in 2008.

Thankfully the ATG did not make the foreclosed upon sound like they were pushed out of their homes by big, mean, and greedy bank owners. This is the impression many get from more mainstream media. One thing they could have mentioned to balance is the fact that most people in Ashland are making their regular payments.

I would suggest though that the main reasons for home foreclosure is not loss of business or any other sort of disruption in the Ashland economy. The main reason rests in the foolishness of men. Some specifics may include:

1. The decay of marriage and the family: Divorce is proven to be a one way road to the poor house. The Bible presents marriage as a wealth building institution. Husband and wife work together to bring economic prosperity and personal safety. But when that vow is broken the economic stability of all parties is fractured as well. As a result, when couples do not seek to abide by the Scripture's mandate for the home, the home is taken away.
2. The increase in the number of people "shacking-up." This could fall under the above heading as it is a violation of the sanctity of marriage. But it does deserve its own heading as much could be said about it. When people shack-up it reveals their lack of commitment to one another and the house in which they choose to live. They show that they are ready to bail out of the relationship (and home) at any moment. The shaky base leads to a collapsing roof. The reasoning is obvious: Those who choose to get a place together will likely combine resources in order to manage the payments. But as soon as the ever so tenuous relationship ends, the payments end too. The single income cannot manage the payment of mortgage and utilities.
3. Living outside of one's means: The ATG article pointed out that many of the houses that are being foreclosed upon are the more expensive homes. I do not believe that this foreclosure is due to the fact that there are all that many people losing jobs in Ashland. I believe that it is because people desire to live like kings. People may be approved for a certain size loan on the basis of their income, but then they choose to forget their house payment and purchase all sorts of other commodities that overwhelm their budget [car(s), ipod, cell phone, TV, DVD player, etc]. They not only want to "have their cake and eat it too," but they want the pie, ice-cream, donuts, and Big Macs too. The Bible states that the one who loves pleasure will become poor. If his life is devoted to the increase of things, he will lose many of them along the way (including, in the end, his life).
4. Lending to those who are not worthy of it: I am not naive to the fact that lenders are also to be implicated in the foreclosure increase. I can't imagine that banks would be so stupid as to lend to a person who is obviously going to bottom out on them. But the truth is lenders have been lending to people whose credit is less than reputable.
5. Unbiblical taxation: In our list we must also point the finger upon those who take our money unjustly. Americans are forced to pay incredible amounts of their hard earned income to the civil magistrate for services that the government should not offer, per biblical order (Romans 13; 1Pete 2). You would think that if the government could give a "stimulus check" back to the people they would not take it from them in the first place. That may allow them to make their payments on their properties.