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tirely enthusiastic about pouring
even more money into, at best ,
leaky economic vesse ls- more
probably sinking ships.
Latín America's staggering debt
seems to defy solution-tough or
easy. But there
was
sound advice
available that, had it been heeded,
would have a':'oided the presertt de–
pressing si tuation.
principie behind God's law, his
statutes · and h is judgments is · to
show respect for God and outgo–
ing concern for our fellowman.
And God's revealed laws and
principies governing financ ia!
matters reflect that same !ove and
concern that, if they were fol–
lowed, would liberate us from the
bonds of indebtedness.
In Proverbs 22:7 God warns a
Advice on Lending and Borrowing
borrower that he will be subject to
The growth of debt is caused by the conditions imposed upon him
living a way of "get." Depositors, by the lender. How many nations
bankers and borrowers all wanted or individuals really consider the
to see good times ahead when they consequences of those regulations
took out loans in the '60s and '70s. before they sign on the dotted line
Few involved showed selfless con- of a loan contract?
cern for the other parties. And cer-
But what about the motives of
tainly none of the parties were con- the lender? God told ancient Israel
cerned with what God thought. not to charge the poor among them
After all, this was a matter of fi- interest and not to impose harsh
nance, not religion. And God conditions on them for a loan (Ex.
doesn' t have anything to say about 22:25-27). Rather, one who is able
high finance, right?
to loan was to be sensibly generous
Wrong!
and to lend to the genuinely needy
The Bible has much to say about for his needs- not wants-and
how we should conduct ourselves without thought of the ability to
in financia! matters.
repay (Deut. 15:7-11).
Consider this: The guiding
God says he will repay the
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lender if the poor borrower is un-
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able todo so (Prov. 19:17). This
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teaches the lender to be prudent in
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what he lends- to lend no more
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afford to give, and to
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J esus Christ taught the right
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way to give: "And
if
you lend to
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those from whom you hope to re–
ceive back, what credit is that to
you? For even sinners lend to sin–
ners to receive as much back. But
!ove your enemies, do good, and
lend, ·hoping for nothing in return;
and your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Highest.
For He is kind to the unthankful
and evil. 'Therefore be merciful,
just as your Father also is merci–
ful" (Luke 6:34-36, Revised Au–
thorized Version).
This did not relieve the borrower
of his responsibility to do his ut–
most to repay. " The wicked bor–
rows and does not repay, but the
righteous shows merey and gives"
(Ps. 37:21, RAV).
An Ancient Example
A ncient Israel was to have been
God's model nation. A nation
whose laws and li fe-style would
have reflected such a positive ex–
ample that other peoples would
have sought to emulate them in
order to reap the same benefits
(Deut. 4:5-8).
Part of the rewards of living
God 's way of life was the canceling
of short-term debts at the end of
every seven years (Deut. 15:1-11)
and the return of forfeited real es–
tate every 50 years (Lev. 25:8-17).
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For exa1J1ple, if through hard
times one had to borrow a small
sum of money and, through unfore–
seen circumstances, was unable to
repay the sum within the time
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frame of a seven-year cycle, his
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debt was to be forgiven him by his
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creditor.
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Or if an Israelite mismanaged
his family property (farmland and
rural or suburban residence), on
the jubilee year his property was to
be returned to him or his family
(Lev. 25:8-1
O)
if relatives
had not already been able
to redeem the land (see
verse 25). Generational
poverty-and the femi-
·
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nization of poverty- was
. . .
not to be allowed to exist
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among the people God
had chosen for his model
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nation.
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God did make provi-
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sion for invested capital
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in large cities. A former title
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holder could only redeem urban
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