Much counsel and advice is being offered us_indeed, showered upon us_daily, concerning what
to do with our money:how to save it, how to spend it, how to make the best use of it, how to get
the best bargains, how to get more of it, how to purchase things without having it presently in
hand, etc. The radio, television, newspapers, and magazines are bombarding us with not only
cleverly wrought advertisements and commercials designed to separate us from our money, but
also with "legitimate and unbiased" advice from "experts" as to how to handle our money wisely.
Yes, the world has much to advise as to such things, and we hear the advice repeated so often that
we begin accepting the world’s wisdom without giving it much thought. The counsel of the world
includes such things as:"Buy now, pay later"; "spend now before inflation eats it up"; "you owe
it to yourselves to get the best (have a good time, have as nice possessions as your neighbor)"; and
so forth. But listen to God’s Word:"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly…. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and
night" (Psalm 1:1,2).

What is the source of our counsel as to the various matters of everyday life? Are we turning daily
to God’s Word to guide us or are we allowing the world’s counsel_"the counsel of the
ungodly"_to influence our thoughts and deeds? Scripture has a good deal to say on matters of
finance, and we wish now to examine what Scripture has to say on the topics of borrowing and
lending.

Borrowing

Perhaps the key verse for this topic would be, "Owe no man anything, but to love one another"
(Rom. 13:8). Let us seek to discover what this verse means and how far it should be applied by
looking at it in connection with other scriptures.

1. The very context of this verse gives some light as to its meaning and application. "Render
therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom
fear; honor to whom honor" (v. 7). When we borrow money from a bank or a credit agency, we
contract to pay back a certain amount of the principal, along with the accrued interest, each month
or week. So certainly a minimum application of Rom. 13:8 would be that we should not allow
ourselves to fall behind in our loan or mortgage payments, and thus violate the terms of the
contract into which we have entered.

2. "Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there
a year, and buy and sell, and get gain; whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For
what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away"
(James 4:13,14). It might reasonably be inferred from this passage in conjunction with Rom. 13:8
that we should never borrow beyond our ability at any time to repay to the fullest. Another way
of expressing this is that we should not borrow money in order to purchase depreciating items.
The sorts of things which fall into this category of depreciating items might include vacation trips;
home furnishings or appliances which would immediately lose a large portion of their value to the
vender upon installation in the home; home improvement services such as painting, wallpapering,

or building an addition such that there would be nothing that could be returned to the provider if
the loan could not be paid off; and such items as automobiles for which depreciation is occurring
at a faster rate than the principal of the loan is being paid off. The point to be made in all of this,
as expressed in the passage from James, is that our life is a vapor and may be taken away at any
time. Or we may lose our job or incur large, unanticipated expenses, so that we become unable
to pay off our creditors. This causes our creditors to suffer loss and it puts a blot on our Christian
testimony.

Now by no means do we seek to deny the wonderful truth that "my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:19). Surely, it is wonderful that we as
Christians can rely on such a One who has not only infinite resources but also infinite goodness
and desire to help His children. But can we count upon Him to wink at our foolishness and
indiscretion in spending beyond our means to repay, going into debt to buy a new car when our
old one would have served us well another few years (thus giving us time to save up for a new
one), or spending freely just because we have the necessary credit cards? If such things be true
of me, can I be confident that the Lord will bail out me and my family if I were to lose my job,
or incur massive medical expenses, or if my life were to be taken suddenly away? While God is
certainly a God of grace, let us not be deceived, "God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap" (Gal. 6:7).

There are certain items for which borrowing may be appropriate, such as buying a home which,
in these days of inflation, tends to increase in value, and which, if we were not able to keep up
with the payments, could be turned back to the creditor for resale without any loss to him. But in
summary, we should be careful to borrow only to the point that under any contingency we or our
survivors will be able to pay our creditors all that is due to them when it is due.

3. "But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied
the faith, and is worse than an infidel" (1 Tim. 5:8). This ties in with the points made in the
previous section. We (speaking for the family providers) can be thankful that we can entrust our
families to the Lord’s care and provision in case the Lord allows something to happen to us and
our ability (as dependent on Him) to provide for them. But would we be accounted good providers
if our survivors_even after selling the house and moving into an apartment, trading in the car for
an older, less expensive model, and constricting themselves and reducing expenses in other
ways_were to be saddled with a large indebtedness due to free and extravagant spending in the
past?

4. "The borrower is servant to the lender" (Prov. 22:7). "No servant can serve two masters; for
either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon [or riches]" (Luke 16:13). The one who succumbs to
the world’s philosophy of "Buy now, pay later" ends up as the servant to the lender(s). The whole
life is centered about finding ways to pay the bills on time. Such a one is not free to serve God
with his money and possessions. If, on the other hand, we were in the habit of saving up for
purchases, this would provide more opportunity for us to think_and pray_about whether we
really need such and such an item, or whether we need a model with so many frills, etc. It would
also provide an opportunity for the Lord to test us as to whether we are truly serving Him or

money (and what money can buy). He is able to do this, for instance, by laying before us the
needs of others (usually much greater than our own) and suggesting that we put off our intended
purchase for a while and use part or all of our savings to help our brother or neighbor in his
present need. If we would like to experience the blessing and joy derived from such a testing
(James 1:3,4), and are interested in laying up treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21), then let us take
care that we do not tie up all of our assets for the present and much of the future in paying off our
creditors.

5. "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household,
to give them their portion of meat in due season. Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he
cometh shall find so doing" (Luke 12:42,43). "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been
faithful in that which is another man’s [that is, our material possessions which are on loan from
the Lord], who shall give you that which is your own [that is, our heavenly blessings won for us
by Christ}? (Luke 16:11,12). While the principle suggested in section 2 above would seem to
allow for borrowing for certain purchases such as a home, let us remember that with regard to all
of our purchases, we are to be "faithful and wise" stewards of the income and material possessions
which God has been pleased to entrust to our care. We are to use our money wisely and
prayerfully, not with the idea of keeping up with our neighbor (who himself is going deep into
debt to keep up with us and his other neighbors), or of keeping up with our parents (that is,
thinking that we, if we are newlyweds, have to start out with as large and expensive a house as
our parents have), but with the thought of being faithful with the riches and possessions which God
has given to us, that we might return them to Him with interest (Luke 12:19-26), and that we
might lay up treasure in heaven.

Lending

The Old Testament principle given to Israel concerning lending is stated thus:"Thou shalt not lend
upon usury to thy brother; . . . Unto a stranger thou mayest lend upon usury; but unto thy brother
thou shalt not lend upon usury; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all that thou settest thine
hand to in the land whither thou goest to possess it" (Deut. 23:19,20). Also, "If thou lend money
to my people, the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a usurer; ye shall charge him no
interest" (Exod. 22:25 JND). While "usury" today has the connotation of charging an excessive
interest rate, in the Old Testament it referred to charging interest of any rate or amount. As a
further commandment, lenders among the people of Israel were enjoined every seven years to
release all debtors among their own people from their obligations (Deut. 15). This had the effect
of maintaining approximate economic equality among the people of God’s chosen nation, and
tending to prevent the rich from getting richer and the poor from becoming poorer. (See also Lev.
25:35-37 and Neh. 5:1-13 for further Old Testament references to lending.)

In the New Testament these principles are extended even further:"Give to him that asketh thee,
and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away" (Matt. 5:42). "And if ye lend to
them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive
as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and
your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest" (Luke 6:34,35). Thus, we

as Christians are enjoined to lend as if we were giving our money away, not expecting repayment.
It is not that we should refuse repayment if offered to us, but that we ought not to fret and worry
and, particularly, harass the borrower if the payments have not been made on time.

While we are enjoined to "give to him that asketh thee," this does not necessarily mean that we
are to be indiscriminate in our lending or giving. Our giving, as in every aspect of our lives, must
be governed by God’s Word and must be taken to Him in prayer. One should consider whether
there is truly a need on the part of the asker or borrower, and that he is not seeking the "loan" in
order to obtain more status symbols or a higher station in life, or to feed a sinful habit. If the
borrower is truly poor and needy, then it is indeed our privilege, as directed by the Lord, to
minister to that need. And this is "not that other men be eased, and ye burdened; but by an
equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their
abundance also may be a supply for your want; that there may be equality" (2 Cor. 8:13,14).

Cosigning for the Loans of Others

Scripture is quite clear and explicit on this point:Don’t do it! that is, unless you have counted the
cost and are ready to pay the uttermost farthing (Prov. 6:1-5; 11:15; 17:18; 20:16; 22:26). With
regard to Prov. 6:1-5, H. A. Ironside makes the following comments:"Unlikely as it may seem
on the face of it, pride is generally the incentive to suretyship. A desire to be thought well of^ to
be accounted in easy circumstances, has led many a man to ‘strike hands,’ or go on another’s
bond, who was quite unable to assume so serious a responsibility and yet discharge his obligations
to those properly dependent on him. With others it is an easy-going disposition that leads one to
thoughtless pledges, the performance of which would be ruinous. In either case, if thus entrapped,
it is well if the command here given is heeded (v. 3); and humbling though it may seem to be, the
confession should be made that one has undertaken more than righteousness and foresight would
advise. Far better a little temporary embarrassment and misunderstanding, even ill-will, than to
find out later that we and our families have to suffer for the maintenance of a foolish and sinful
pride" (Notes on Proverbs).

On the other hand, we may be led of the Lord, out of love for our neighbor or brother, and a
sense of his need, to become surety for his loan with the thought that if he cannot pay it, we will
be both able and happy to pay it for him. As a beautiful example for us, the apostle Paul became
surety for the runaway slave, Onesimus, telling Philemon, the master, "If he hath wronged thee,
or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account" (Philemon 18). An even greater example is to be
found in "our Lord Jesus Christ, [who,] though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,
that ye through His poverty might be rich" (2 Cor. 8:9).

So, in conclusion, may we become more sensitive to the instruction of God’s Word and less
influenced by the "counsel of the ungodly" as to the matters of borrowing and lending. And may
our lives with respect to these and all other matters be strongly influenced by Him who "hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling
savor" (Eph. 5:2).