Let the Story of the Prodigal Son Guide your Spending this Christmas

Rev Kofi Ayeh urges Christians to avoid Christmas debt, and reflects on financial wisdom to be learned from the parable of the Prodigal Son

‘“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve… So, he returned home to his father…”’ 

Luke 15:13-14, 20

The Christmas festive season has several meanings to different people­ ­– regardless of their faith. What does it mean to you as a Christian? Is it a season of buying gifts for loved ones even if you have to borrow or get into debt?

As we approach another Christmas festive season – or ‘debt-bingeing season’ – Christians can glean some timely, stress-free and life-changing lessons from parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible. I say, we must not repeat the yearly ritual of financial prodigality and indulgence of the seasonal spirit that, sadly, returned quickly after the COVID-19 pandemic.

We must strive to turn away from buying into the debt-fuelled seasonal and highly effective retail adverts. These adverts are crafted to psychologically drive millions to waste their hard-earned or borrowed monies on items they don’t need – or may never even use – as we get swarmed by the hugely popular Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Boxing Day bargains and sales.

I believe Christians and their families must unreservedly add their voices to the clarion call against the festive consumer bingeing – particularly in this Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) socio-economic world we live in.

The dire state of UK’s public finances, like in many countries in our so-called affluent or developed world, still bears the scars of the global cost-of-living crisis.

An article in The Money Charity’s December 2023 edition cited the data below, regarding the spending patterns of Britons:

• The average person in the UK would have spent £602 on Christmas presents in 2023, according to recent Finder research. This is an increase of 40% compared to a planned spend of £429 per person in 2022.

• Separate findings say that the average UK household spent £1,811.70 on Christmas festivities in 2023, the equivalent of 80% of the average monthly UK income. Adjusted for inflation, the ‘cost of Christmas’ has risen 290% in three decades.

• According to the Office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2023 forecast, household debt of all types is forecast to rise from £2,259 billion in 2023 to £2,429 billion in 2025, making the average total household debt £85,274.

The Prodigal Son’s story illustrates that it is not only those who are in debt who are at risk of ruin, but also those who squander what they have and live in an irresponsible manner.

The Prodigal Son received his inheritance after asking his father for it. With no thought for the future, but just living for the present, the Prodigal Son faced an external and unexpected event – famine. Eventually he found himself with nothing, totally destitute. He then had a revelation about his state of wastefulness, impatient attitude, and frivolous way of life, and made the decision to return to the home and wisdom of his father.

It is also notable that he was able to find his way back. This tells us it is possible to ‘return to the Father’ and find reconciliation and restoration.

For some people, there is always going to be the temptation to think it is impossible to live a debt-free life. This is especially so if you live in a culture, where living in debt is a normal way of life. A sincere commitment to a debt-free lifestyle means taking a principled stance of saying “No!” to needless spending this Christmas festive season.

Be aware that this decision to buck the trend may involve a process that takes years. It will take determination and self-discipline to part ways with wasteful and careless spending habits.

I wish to admonish readers to prayerfully confront the status quo which says spending money, including borrowed funds, is the only way we know. Dare to be different this Christmas festive season! As the adage says, ‘You don’t burn the furniture to keep warm.’

Wishing you and your loved ones a merry Christmas and debt-free and prosperous 2025!

The rich rules over the poor
And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.
Proverbs 22:7

REV KOFI AYEH is a lay minister and Christian author of three books. His latest book ‘The Debt Trap’ is available on Amazon and other online platforms.