![]() Like debt, the Bible has few verses that specifically use the word borrow(er) (ing), but those few verses are enough to give us the insight and wisdom we need.Įxodus 22:14 - If anything is borrowed, it should be paid back. To better understand debt and its implications, we must consider the action that precedes debt, which is borrowing. Doing so would be unfair and could lead to all kinds of abuses. But we should not ascribe morality to debt issues or simply judge them to be wrong in all situations. Another way to state this is that ninety percent of the scriptures using the word debt are about how we should respond to it, and only ten percent on avoiding it.Īm I saying debt is something we should engage in? No! I don't believe financial debt should be a pursuit for anyone, especially Christians. It doesn't always refer to debt as financial, and it overwhelmingly focuses on our response to debt situations while only referencing one verse instructing us not to guarantee a debt. The Bible's central message regarding debt is that it should be released/canceled, paid, or forgiven. Romans 4:4 - Wages, like a debt owed, must be paid.Ĭolossians 2:14 Jesus canceled the record of debt we owed by nailing it to the cross. Luke 7:42-43 - He who is forgiven much (debt) loves much he who is forgiven little (debt) loves little. Matthew 18:27, 30, 32, 34 - Forgive because your debts have been forgiven. Matthew 6:12 - Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Proverbs 22:26 - Do not become guarantors for debts. Nehemiah 10:31 - Forgo the exaction of every debt. Here are the Biblical references to debt and what they mean:ĭeuteronomy 15:1 - Debt is to be released.ġ Samuel 22:2 - Those who were in debt came to David. We assume it does, but not because it says it directly, but because of what we've heard or what we've interpreted from other scriptures we've read. The Bible doesn't say debt is a sin or a result of disobedience. Should we judge her as being in sin or disobedient toward God's laws because she was in debt? The widow of 2 King's 4 found herself in debt and at risk of losing her sons because her husband passed away, and she could not satisfy his creditors. ![]() The problem with this approach is that we often get it wrong because there are many reasons people get into debt, sometimes of their own choosing and other times not. To ascribe morality to a debt situation is to form an opinion as to why the debt was created and judge the person(s) accordingly. Being in debt is owing someone something with the expectation that it be paid back at some point in the future. ![]() That's it! Notice the definition doesn't qualify debt as good or bad it's simply a condition. Get into any debt, and you're like to be ostracized or removed from fellowship.ĭebt is something, typically money, that is owed or due. ![]() A few spiritual leaders even go as far as defining debt as sin or a result of the disobedience of God's laws and impose strict rules for congregation members to avoid it. Yet, in speaking with most Christians, you will find their opinion leaning toward a moral (right or wrong good or bad) understanding. ![]() Literal translations, depending on which one you look to, only show between 10 to 12 verses on the subject, and none of them address the morality of it. There are surprising few scriptures that address this topic of debt. There are many opinions regarding debt and its impact, but what really matters, especially for us professed Christians, is what the Bible says about it. Everywhere we look, from most governments to a majority of individuals throughout the world, debt is a way of life, with consequences from mild to severe. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.Debt is a severe problem in our culture. 47 And that servant who knew his master’s will, and yet did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will be beaten with many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it and did things worthy of a beating, will receive only a few. 45 But if that servant says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time in coming,’ and begins to beat the servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. 44 I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 42 The Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will put in charge over his household, to give his servants their portion of food at the proper time? ( A) 43 Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he arrives. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |