Imagine life after college.

One afternoon, you get home from work and grab your pile of mail. You come to a fat envelope from an address you don't recognize. You open it to find something called a payment book, which informs you that you have until next month to make a payment of $150. Your new little book also has payment coupons to remind you that this $150 is not only expected next month, but every month for a long time.

Suddenly it hits you. This payment book is from the same agency that loaned you a good chunk of money to help you pay for college, and you promised to pay them back, starting, well, now.

You get the point: Debt can seem overwhelming. No wonder some people work very hard to remain debt-free, preferring to put off purchases until they can pay for them in full. Other families simply may not have the financial resources to take on any kind of debt without major difficulties. Still others cautiously take on debt for those needs considered necessary. Like a college education.

No doubt about it, serious Christians should take loan debt seriously. After all, the Bible is pretty big on wise money management. There are more than 2,000 verses about money, money management and possessions. And when it comes to loans specifically, the Bible commands us to be honest people. If we don't pay back a loan on time, if we don't live up to an agreement we made with a loan company, we fail to keep a promise we've made. That's dishonest.

Even so, Scripture doesn't seem to forbid loans and there appears to be nothing wrong with taking them out. God wants us to develop our gifts and talents to their fullest so that we may serve him wherever he leads us. And to develop to your fullest, you might need a certain kind of education, which may mean taking out a loan.

If you need to take out loans to go where God leads you, don't be afraid to do that. But be careful and wise. Only borrow what you need to borrow.

The kind of job you want should play a part in your decision about whether or not to take out a loan. Even if you haven't picked a major, you probably know generally what kind of career you'd like to be in, whether it's medicine, church work, teaching or human services, like social work. There are online resources, such as jobstar.org, which can give you a good idea of the average starting salaries in various jobs. Your guidance counselor and resource librarian can help you find other helpful resources.

And you have to think about more than just the salary you might earn. Take, for example, the college student who wants to be a missionary when she graduates. In many cases, mission organizations will not send people to the mission field if they have large debts. So the aspiring missionary just might be stuck at home a couple of years, working hard to pay off loans. Or the missionary-in-the-making may end up working tons of hours while still a student, facing the potential of burnout before she graduates.

This shouldn't discourage anyone from pursuing low-paying careers. But you would need to do what you can to avoid large loans, or simply realize that you will need to make some major financial and maybe even personal sacrifices to fulfill your dream and your calling.

Once you have a rough estimate of the minimum amount of money you'll earn in your first after-college job, ask your parents or your guidance counselor to help you create a sample budget. This budget should include all the expenses of living on your own, including insurance, taxes, groceries, rent, utilities, clothing and transportation. Again, you can't know exactly what expenses you'll actually have, so this budget doesn't need to be spelled out in detail. It's only meant to give you a better idea of how far you'll have to stretch your income.

Now look at that budget. Would you still be able to survive financially if you added a monthly $100 or $200 loan payment? What would you have to give up in order to make loan payments? What is the maximum payment you could make? The minimum? Asking yourself these questions will give you an idea of how debt could affect your lifestyle in the future.

Once you've gone this far, talk to a financial aid counselor at the college you're considering. He or she can help you take a realistic look at these projected figures and give you a better idea of how much debt you could manage.

In looking ahead to your after-college income, you've already considered your ability to pay back a loan. Now you're going to have to think about how big your potential loan will really be.

Thinking long-term means considering the full cost of your education, not just the first year. As you enter your freshman year, a $5,000 loan might sound pretty manageable. The payments might even fit nicely into your projected budget. But you've only taken care of one year. If you need that same amount every year, your $5,000 loan can easily grow into a $20,000 loan or more.

Also, that figure assumes the rest of your financial situation will stay the same. But some of your grants and scholarships may be for the first year only, leaving you with a bigger chunk to pay in your remaining years. And some grants, like the Federal Pell Grant, have a cap, meaning that even though the cost of your education might go up, the amount of your grant will stay the same. Your expenses might change depending on where you live (on or off campus), your major (science majors may have to pay lab fees, art majors will need supplies), or even a tuition hike.

The loan itself also includes costs that need to be considered. Many borrowers aren't aware of the added fees of some loans. So it's important to ask lots of questions. Find out to the penny what a loan will cost, including interest, penalties if you fail to make a payment and any additional fees. And find out about payment incentives. For example, some agencies, like Sallie Mae, will drop your interest rate a point or two when you use one of their payment options, like paying electronically from your checking account.

And keep an eye on that interest rate. When you pay back a loan, you're not just paying back what you borrowed, but interest as well. Factor that in when you're thinking about your ability to pay back the loan.

Talk about these factors with your parents and a financial aid counselor. They can help you get the information you need to make a careful decision.

Once you've done your research and thought through the financial implications of going into debt, it's time to weigh the cost of the loan against the investment you're making.

The whole idea of investing money is to get back more than you put in. For instance, imagine someone who takes out a loan to pay for an expensive month-long vacation. They want to stay at all the nicest hotels. Eat the best food. Rent the coolest cars. After the trip, they may have some great memories. They may have some incredible photographs. But they'll also have a lot of debt and not really much to show for it. But in the case of student loans, the investment is you—and your earning potential. Your college education may not make you a millionaire, but it will improve your chances of getting a job that pays a good salary. It's a good investment.

More importantly, your education is an investment in who you are. Your mind will be expanded in ways you never imagined. Your faith will be stretched and shaped by the people you share those college years with. You will be focusing your energies on your own future and the ways God will use you in the world.

Most financial aid counselors encourage you to think about your hopes for the future. What do you want to do with your life? How do you want to impact the world around you? Is all that worth going into debt through loans? That's a question only you can answer.

Deciding whether or not to take out a student loan isn't easy for anyone. For you and your family to feel comfortable about your choice, talk to your pastor, youth pastor or a trusted family friend who's been through this. Ask that person to pray with you and for you. And look to God for guidance.

The Bible has plenty to say about making wise decisions. As you and your family explore your options, check out passages like Proverbs 2:2-5; Matthew 25:14-30 and James 4:13-17. You'll find that God is less concerned with the details of your decision than with your willingness to trust and honor him.

So before you make your decision, ask lots of questions, do your research and keep turning to God for guidance. Once you decide whether a student loan is the right choice for you, you can relax, knowing you've made a well-informed choice.

Financial aid experts from the following schools helped with the creation of this article: Geneva College in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania; Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts; and John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

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