Does the Bible Say Anything Good About Debt and Borrowing?
by Mogamahttp://mogama.info
Everything we read in the Bible about debt supports the following three statements:
First, the Bible says nothing good or positive about debt and borrowing. In the Scriptures every mention of debt is negative. The paramount text on this bad rap on debt is Proverbs 22:7, which is the theme verse of the Debt Freedom Club: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.”
Is there anything good about one person being enslaved to another? Debt is economic slavery.
Second, God never used debt to provide for any person or group in the Bible. No one in Scripture was advised or told by God to borrow in order to meet his/her needs.
Since God does not condone debt to provide for His own, we can say that when I finance a car to make monthly payments for five, six or seven years, I should not claim that God blessed me with that car. A car debt is not a blessing from God. When I buy a car on credit, I'm blessing myself and signing God's name to it.
A true blessing from God does not come with payments attached. Proverbs 10:22 says, “ The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” That word “sorrow” means “trouble”. In the Contemporary English version, Proverbs 10:22 reads, “ When the LORD blesses you with riches, you have nothing to regret.” Since there is much to regret about a 60-month car payment, it cannot be a blessing from God's hand.
Third, debt was always a temporary solution to an economic crisis. Borrowing never became a normal way of life for God's people. Debt-free living was the norm, and people were eager to return to that normal economic status as soon as possible. In fact, there was much shame and guilt associated with borrowing. In Bible days when you owed someone you were embarrassed about the loan.
The person or family who went into debt because of hardship had to be forgiven the debt at the end of seven years (Deuteronomy 15:1-2). The biggest debt cancellation was to take place in the Year of Jubilee when all mortgages were to be forgiven; real estate reverted to its original owners (Leviticus 25:8-17).
In contrast to the crisis nature of borrowing we see in Scripture, millions of Americans now use debt as a normal way to pay for basic needs like food, shelter, transportation, and clothing, as well as an endless trail of cravings, desires and wants.
It's time we got back to the norm of debt freedom, because we're not fully free 'til we're financially free.
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Article submitted Thursday, December 31, 2009 & read 141 times.
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