I have recently been asked repeatedly as to whether or not it is proper for the Christian to loan to those in need. Some have also wondered if we should ask for interests upon that money. There are many Scriptures that instruct us to freely give and as God has blessed us, we should freely bless others. Deu 16:17"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you.” In fact Scripture tells us that God blesses us intentionally, so that we can bless others.
There are time when we can and should lend, but even in lending to other believers we should never give what we cannot afford to get back, for the Word tells us not to demand it back, in fact we should lend with an inner understanding that we do not expect it back, Jesus said, "And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. "But 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. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. LUKE 6:34-35 Due. 14:6,7"If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
When lending to fellow believers, you are NOT to ask for interest; "If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. Exodus 22:25
Should believers borrow? The short answer is no, not if it is avoidable. “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8 I do not believe that to borrow is sin, but I do believe that as long as you owe anyone anything, you are in bondage to them, unless as a brother in Christian love it is given without expectation that it will be repaid. The Word warns us; “The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower [is] servant to the lender.” Pro 22:7 “And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.” Isa 24:2
It is for good reason the Word says, “The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” Due. 28:12
The day of returning to Christian Community is upon us, as the oil prices raise and the Governments force us to rely upon them for our existence, we who are believers must ban together instead and care for each other. I believe the day of independent households may come to an end is quickly; where it will be necessary for Christian Communities to live together in order to survive.
Even now our church is considering ways to support one another so that we do not suffer from the financial crunch which is upon us. Within such Christian Community, understanding of lending and giving will be essential. Someone said last Sunday, “we may have to sell all that we have and depend upon God and one another” and I thought; it sounds like the first church.
Meanwhile, today; here are a few short principles to live by; Avoid debt. If you are in debt, GET OUT OF DEBT as quickly as possible. How do you do that? I would say, Pray – use the resulting blessings to give to God and others and pay off your debt and refuse to get into further debt. You can also sell anything you have not used within the last year and reconsider those nonessential bills and cable is NOT essential; food and gasoline is. That said; rethink what you eat and where you go. You can save a lot by surrendering nonessentials from the grocery list and by planning to do all extra driving in a single day. My daughter lives in a rural area of Ohio. She and her husband do any shopping, go out to eat together or any other running around on the same day each week. She has to plan ahead so that she doesn’t need extra diapers or milk or bread, but making on trip a week to do it all saves a lot in gas.
Most importantly understand that everything you have is a blessing from God and therefore belongs to Him. Don’t get greedy with God’s stuff! Freely give and if asked lend, if you can lend with the understanding that those you lend to may not be able to repay you. And remember the promise of Scripture; pray for yourselves and for your fellow believers; "The LORD your God will bless you as he has promised. You will lend money to many nations but will never need to borrow! You will rule many nations, but they will not rule over you! Due. 14:6
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