Subject: Paper on Lending and borrowing
May 30, 2003, Jim Hale
What does the Bible teach on borrowing and lending?
In our society today borrowing money is encouraged. Much of the impetus to borrow is based on an appeal to our greed. Americans both Christian and non Christian are constantly bombarded with pictures of things we are told we need and should want i.e. cars, clothes, homes, vacations and experiences that will give us pleasure and help us in living our lives.
These are made available to us through easy credit. In order to satisfy our appetites we borrow money to purchase what we want. This practice damages Christians in several different ways. First, by allowing us to purchase what we lust for we are quenching our love for the Lord because these strong desires are nothing more than a form of idolatry. The more we get the more we want. Instead of satisfying desire it only enflames it. Secondly, easy credit becomes a type of savior. If you want something, easy credit will make it possible for you to have it now. Instead of patiently trusting the Lord we put our faith in our credit cards to provide and bail us out when cash is short. We miss experiencing the Lord’s provision because we are trusting in a different source. Thirdly these practices hinder us in the practice of self-denial. Self-denial is at the very heart of experiencing the fullness of Christ. Paul writes, "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me." Instead of learning to put self to death we feed the appetites which keep us self-centered, instead of God centered. Fourthly, these practices lead to an enslavement that hinders us from fulfilling God’s priorities for our lives. In order to pay back the moneys borrowed we must spend more time working which stops us from using the time for family, the people of God and ministry.
How should a Christian then look at debit, borrowing and lending? Is it wrong to have a credit card, to take out a car loan or mortgage? What does the Bible teach on this subject?
Old Testament Teaching
Exodus 22:25 -27 " If you lend money to any of my people who are poor among you shall not be like a money lender to him, you shall not charge him interest." The basic thought in this passage and others like it is that if an Israelite chose to lend money to an Israelite who was poor or destitute he was not to profit from the loan but have the care and well being of his neighbor at heart." This passage does not say that all lending is to be limited to cases of poverty. It merely describes a particular situation that the Israelites would face in time and how they were to deal with it. Later in Nehemiah we see why God gave this important safeguard and how it protects those that are in need. Leviticus 25:35-37 further reinforces this by commanding the Israelite who has means to help those who do not and to make sure that they do not profit from helping the one who is destitute. The word usury here does not necessarily imply exorbitant interest as is used today but just interest. The point is, it is wrong to make a profit on someone who is down and out.
One of the consequences of the establishment of the monarchy in Israel was the taxes that were leveled against the common people. Samuel warned the Israelites about this in 1st Samuel 8:10-18 telling them that the King would take the best of their fields vineyards, olive groves, a tenth of their grain, wine and sheep The people would become his servants and would cry out to God under the king’s oppression. What later occurred, was that farmers were not able to pay what the king demanded and support themselves from what their land produced. This made it necessary to borrow from others in order to survive. This borrowing was tremendously risky not only because of the uncertainty of each year’s yield but also because of the unjustness of the king’s taxation (I Kings 12, Solomon and Rehoboam). The person who found himself in this state was in deep trouble because there was no certain way out of repaying debt incurred or going deeper and deeper into debt. The Lord’s tender mercy
and compassion for people in this state is seen in Deuteronomy 15:1 "At the end of seven years you shall grant a release of debts." This was to be limited to poor brother Israelites. The principle is that God’s people are to be ready even to suffer personal loss in order to help a brother who has fallen into this cycle through no fault of his own. They were allowed to collect interest owed by the aliens who lived in among them but not from their brothers and neighbors.
In vs 4 and 5 there is a promise given to the Israelites. If they carefully obey the voice of the Lord there will blessings that the Lord gives to them. One is "you shall lend to many nations you shall not borrow." In other words they would be financially blessed to such a
degree that other nations would borrow from them. In the OT theocracy prosperity was equated with the blessing of God based upon the faithful obedience of God’s people to his laws (Deut. 28). This is not true under the New Covenant. Jesus lived a perfect life of obedience and walked in poverty (Luke 9:58, no place to lay his head), (2nd Corinthians 8:9- "our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor".
The apostle Paul says " I have learned in whatever state I am in to be content I have learned how to live humbly and to live in prosperity." In 2nd Corinthians 11:22-33 he describes the poverty and suffering he endured as a servant of Christ. Material prosperity is not a test of God’s favor or blessing for Christians. Those that have been entrusted with material wealth will be held responsible for how they use it 1st Timothy 6:17-19. But Christians in poverty may be recipients of great blessing (2Corinthians 8:1 - Moreover brothers we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.) and not be experiencing in any sense the curse of God. What this means is that being able to lend to those who are outside the body of Christ is not a promised blessing that the church should expect as if to exercise dominion or authority. The New Testament church is not the same as the Nation of Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:19-23 You shall not charge interest to your brother… vs. 20 to a foreigner you may charge interest but to your brother you shall not charge interest. These verses help bring into focus an important issue. Is charging interest inherently evil? As already stated usury in the Old Testament does not mean exorbitant interest. It just means interest. Would God permit his people to do something that is inherently evil? No, in fact in Leviticus 25:35 it is written, "if one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you then you shall help him, "like a stranger or a sojourner", that he may live with you. Although, the special benefits of not charging interest are reserved for the brother Israelite the non Jew is still to be treated with kindness. If charging interest is inherently evil how would you be showing kindness to the non-Jew. The reason charging interest is not inherently evil is because the lending of money is providing something of value that should be recompensed. If I rent a car from Clifton Park rental I expect that to
use it I will have to pay a fair price. I must return the car but I realize it is only right to pay for the use of it. Lending money is similar. Money has value. When it is lent to someone to use it, is right for him or her to pay for the usage. However as stated before interest is inherently wrong if it is taken from one of God’s people who is in need. This is the point of Ezekiel 18: 8, 12,and 13. Usury is a sin, and abomination in that case.
Deuteronomy 28 describes the blessings that would occur when Israel walked with God in obedience to His commands and the curses that would occur if they did not carefully observe all His commands and statues. There is a vivid picture of utter devastation painted in these pictures of curses. The ravages of war, horrible diseases, madness and confusion are all a direct consequence of breaking God’s covenant. In verses 38- 44 there is a description of the crushing of Israel’s economy. Both agriculture and commerce would fail. It is here that a reversal of roles between Israelites and alien residents is shown as part of the devastation that Israel would face. Instead of Israel controlling the land and economy the Lord says that in vs. 43 "the alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you but you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head and you shall be the tail." This is a picture of the Jewish people being crushed into a state of submission and dependence upon the non-Jewish population in their land. Here borrowing from the resident aliens is one example of the poverty the Lord has inflicted on His disobedient people. This passage is not saying that all borrowing from
Non-Christians is a judgment from God. It is teaching that when the OT nation of Israel rejects the commands of God they can expect to experience financial disaster in this reversal of roles and that this borrowing will be one expression of being dominated by their enemies. Proverbs 22:7 "The rich rules over the poor. The borrower is slave to the lender" This verse is an observation on the controlling power that the lender has over the borrower. It is a powerful warning particularly in the case of private loans. When you are in debt to someone you feel obligated to them. Sometimes the lender will use people inappropriately who owe them. He becomes the master and they the slave.
New Testament Teaching
Matthew 5:38-48 and Luke 6:27-36
In these passages Jesus is teaching about the unique nature of Christian love. He demonstrates through various examples that it is very different from the world’s understanding of love. Christian love is to be unselfish, not prejudiced towards those we like and not influenced by what we hope to get in return. It is to be characterized by self sacrifice and self denial even giving up rights and enduring evil treatment for the sake of showing kindness and avoiding fighting. It is within this context that Jesus gives a command on lending. "Love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return: and your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High." Lending is to be an expression of this unique powerful love that moves us to want to give and show kindness to our enemies as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Romans 13:7-10
Verse 8 is often quoted as a blanket prohibition against any borrowing. This is a result of not reading the verse within its complete paragraph. Verse 7 is a reminder to Christians that they have an obligation to give governing authorities their due. Pay them the taxes, customs, fear, and honor they require and is owed them. Paul’s point is "do not overlook these duties or let them go." This is why he says owe no man anything. What is clear is that he is exhorting them to fulfill their obligations. These verses are a strong command to pay everyone what we owe them and not to let our debts be long-standing or unattended. He is not telling us that it is intrinsically wrong to borrow or enter into debt. The only way you can come up with that interpretation is to ignore verse 7. It is interesting to note that the debts referred to in verse 7 are debts to government and government officials. These are not necessarily Christians. These Roman believers were most likely indebted to non-Christians although they had not entered into a voluntary contract.
Conclusions
1 The Bible commands lending as an expression of Christian love
2 The Bible regulates lending to protect those who borrow
3 The Bible does not command or forbid borrowing
4 The Bible provides warnings against dangers that are inherent in borrowing:
1 Borrowing can be a means of satisfying greed. It can destroy the important virtue of self-denial. We may be tempted to believe we have a right to the things we want and that we should use any means possible to secure them instead of saying I will do without until I can responsible pay for these "if" indeed the Lord wants me to have them.
2 Borrowing can easily become a substitute for trusting in the Lord. Instead of learning how to patiently wait on Him we miss the blessing He is ready to give by jumping the gun and borrowing.
3 Borrowing puts you in a relationship of subservience to the lender. This means that who you are borrowing from has enormous implications for your future. If you enter into an agreement with someone or an institution that is dishonest, selfish, and uncaring you put your self in harm’s way.
4 Borrowing can easily lead to enslavement. An inordinate amount of your energy, time and resources can be spent on trying to repay as you dig yourself deeper and deeper into debt. You find you do not have the time to be faithful to the priorities the Lord calls you to. Your relationship with the Lord, your family and ministry suffers.
5 Borrowing can foster irresponsibility and bad judgment. You may be tempted to overestimate what you can pay over time in order to get something now.
One important consideration in working through this topic is to determine if there is a difference between being in financial bondage and having a debt. I believe there is. For example, if a person made $3000 a month and had a mortgage of $300 per month with no other loans or debts they would not be in the same category as someone who made $3000 per month with a mortgage of $1000, car payments of $500, and credit cards of $1000. It is possible that the first person through self-discipline would not be falling prey to any of the dangers inherent in borrowing. They would not be sinning. The second person is clearly in financial bondage and outside of the Lord’s will. I believe that borrowing requires spiritual discernment, firstly of our selves and our motives and secondly of what is responsible and right in the Lord’s eyes. As individuals and as a church we want to be free to serve the Lord in all that He has for us.
Jim Hale
