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Christian
Topic: Borrowing And Lending
October 25, 2004 - by Crown Financial Ministries
Benjamin Franklin’s said, “Neither a
borrower nor a lender be.” That’s good
common sense, but it’s not from God’s
Word.
Borrowing
Biblical principles help guide our decisions,
but principals are not laws.
Principle – It’s better
not to borrow if the loan must be taken with surety.
“A man lacking in sense pledges and becomes
guarantor in the presence of his neighbor”
(Proverbs 17:18).
Law – It’s a sin to
borrow and not repay. “The wicked borrows
and does not pay back, but the righteous is gracious
and gives” (Psalm 37:21).
Principle: Debt isn’t normal
When we “Diligently obey . . . the
Lord [He] will open for you His good storehouse
. . . to bless all the work of your hand; and you
shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow”
(Deuteronomy 28:1, 12). Borrowing is never God's
best for His people.
Principle: Don’t accumulate long-term
debt
The average American family uses 40 to
70 percent of their income for a 30-year mortgage
to buy a home; but the longest term of debt God’s
people took on was about seven years (see Deuteronomy
15:1-2).
Principle: Avoid surety
Surety is an obligation to pay without
a guaranteed way to repay, such as cosigning a loan
(see Proverbs 17:18). The only way to avoid surety
is to collateralize a loan with property that covers
the complete debt.
Principle: The borrower is absolutely obligated
to repay
Annually, millions of borrowers add more
debt than they can repay, then choose bankruptcy
to postpone or avoid repayment. Some voluntary bankruptcy
may be acceptable – but only to protect the
creditors, never to avoid payment. God doesn’t
allow exceptions to keeping vows. “It is better
that you should not vow than that you should vow
and not pay” (Ecclesiastes 5:5).
Lending
Borrowers and lenders create master/slave
relationships. Solomon’s words are clear:
"The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower
becomes the lender’s slave"(Proverbs
22:7).
Interest
• Don’t charge interest to
other believers (see Deuteronomy 23:19).
• Lending to others: "You may charge
interest to a foreigner, but to your countryman
you shall not charge interest, so that the Lord
your God may bless you in all that you undertake
in the land which you are about to enter to possess"
(Deuteronomy 23:20). Just because we can charge
interest to nonbelievers doesn’t mean that
we must.
Collecting
• From believers – Never take
another Christian before the secular court for any
reason, and this certainly applies to collecting
a debt. God’s Word says it’s better
to be defrauded than to lose our witness by suing
one another (see 1 Corinthians 6:1 and 7).
•
From non-believers – Just because we’re
not to sue other Christians, doesn’t mean
it’s okay to sue non-Christians to collect
debts. Luke 6:30-31 doesn’t absolutely state
that we shouldn’t sue to collect a debt, but
it does imply a much higher standard of behavior
from believers, since we represent the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Lending at interest isn’t unbiblical under
most situations, but God sets the bar higher for
us (see Luke 6:34).
© Copyright
2004, Crown
Financial Ministries. All rights reserved.
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