John Doe is a preacher who went through
the great depression. John and his wife will never forget the financial
burden of those years. Their home is small, but it is paid for. They
have over 100,000 miles on their eight year old car, and John keeps it
in good shape by doing almost all of his own mechanical work. John's
wife shops the sales and buys food on a budget. The Doe's do not use
credit cards, borrow seldom, and then only for short periods of three to
six months from a bank. They keep a large savings account against
emergencies.
Bill Black is a younger preacher who
grew up in the post war boom of the fifties. Bill and his wife bought a
house on the G.I. Bill for nothing down and have resold and bought
larger homes twice. They owe the bank money on their new car,
appliances, and boat. They use several department store credit cards,
oil company credit cards, and bank credit cards. They have no savings at
all and pay out almost two thirds of their income to their creditors.
They live well and worry little that it would take their whole salary
for three years to bring them totally out of debt.
Which Way Of Life Is Right?
Consumer credit is an integral part of
American culture. Since 1950 domestic American debt has increased from
75.5 billion dollars to over 450 billion dollars. Two thirds of all
disposable income in America is owed to someone else. Of our gross
national product (the total value of all the goods and services produced
in America before overhead or expenses are taken out), 13 percent of it
is owed in credit. To give you an idea of the staggering amount of money
owed by Americans, if the total domestic credit were divided equally
among the population, every man, woman, child in America would owe
$2,150. This total does not include the national debt (that amount of
money owed by our national government: 396 billion dollars), the public
debt of state and local governments (190.5 billion dollars), and the
debt of businesses publically and privately owned.
Credit has advantages and
disadvantages. Those who save money can expect interest on their savings
because people are willing to pay to use their money. Borrowers can
enjoy immediately luxuries they would have to wait till they could
afford through savings. The borrower enjoys a higher standard of life
than would be possible by refusing credit.
The disadvantages of credit, though are
immense. The first and most. obvious disadvantage of credit is that it
makes everything purchased cost more for the consumer. A house that
would cost $10,000.00 if bought outright, costs in the end $15,000 or
more. The clothes bought on a store credit card costs 18 percent to 20
percent more by the time it is paid for. Over extension of credit is
painfully easy and leads to inflation, extravagance, careless buying
habits, and economic instability. Easy credit and lack of discipline
often makes it possible to incur so much debt that it is impossible to
meet all payments. Default on personal debts results in repossession of
goods and loss of credit privileges, to say nothing of the loss to
personal esteem and standing in the community. Most economists agree
that any person who pays 15 percent or more of his disposable income in
installment credit is headed for serious trouble.
Biblical Principles
Under the law of Moses, Jews were not
allowed to lend money at interest to their brethren. While they were
encouraged to be generous in giving and lending their money, they could
not charge their brethren usury of any kind (Deut. 23:19). They
could require a "security" from their creditors to insure a debt would
be paid, but it could not be something a man needed, like his clothing.
God's anger was kindled, not only at the Jew's unfaithfulness, but their
exacting interest from their brethren, and this habit was one reason
they were forsaken by God (Neh. 5:1-13). Oppressing the poor by
economic means was equally condemned by God (Deut. 24:6-13). Some
sociologists believe the primary reason for the professional success of
Jews in the world today is traceable to the willingness of successful
Jews to help their brethren economically, without usury. Mosaical law
made provision for the canceling of all debts every 50 years during
Jubilee (Lev. 25:8-55). Indentured servants were to be released
without debt after seven years of service (Ex. 2:12ff). The Jew
who pleased God was one who gave of what he had to others without
thought for repayment or usury (Psa. 112:5). This same attitude
is to characterize the Christian today. It is the responsibility of the
lender to give. It is the responsibility of the borrower to pay again.
"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" (Luke 6:34).
In the New Testament God used the
creditor's relationship to demonstrate man's relationship to God and his
fellow man. The theme of the parable of the unjust steward was to
demonstrate the origin of mercy and all blessings and the arrogance to
demand exact accounting of debt, when our debts have been so freely and
generously forgiven (Matt. 18:23-35).
Within the church, the needs of the
members beyond their ability to provide or pay was met by loving sharing
of good and by charity (Acts 2:44,45; 6:1-4; 11:29,30; Rom. 15:25-27;
2 Cor. 9:1-5). Jesus taught plainly that a free, generous, and open
spirit brings great blessing from heaven: "Give to him that asketh thee,
and from him that would borrow of thee, turn riot thou away" (Matt.
5:42). "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath
none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:11).
The test of love on judgment will be
our generous distribution of our abundance in love to those who do not
have (Matt. 25:35-45; Jas. 2:15,16;.1 Cor. 13:3). Such a
practical application of God's spiritual word will make it unnecessary
for any brother to borrow money for the essentials of life.
Credit, Stewardship, And
Covetousness
Most trouble that comes to the unwary
Christian today because of abuse of credit is a result of covetousness.
Few Christians see covetousness as a sin today, or if they do
acknowledge it as sin, they do not recognize it as sin in their lives or
of their brethren in a practical way. How many brethren give but a small
portion 9f their wealth to the Lord because of their overwhelming
"bills"? "Keep up with neighbors" is a sin (Ex. 20:17). How many
brethren do you know that buy and buy and buy to enjoy the same things
their worldly neighbors have. This writer has seen his brethren buy
boats, and bigger boats that are seldom used, because of covetousness.
Brethren who buy motorcycles, new cars, expensive and overly large
homes, ostentatious gadgets, furniture, and furnishings, elaborate and
unused libraries or other such collections are playing into the hands of
the devil. "Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food
convenient for me: lest I be full and deny thee, and say, Who is the
Lord" (Prov. 30:8,9)? We are to be content with what the Lord has
given to us, and a motivating desire for more than food and clothing is
sinful covetousness (1 Tim. 6:6-9). The family that is constantly
amassing more and more material possessions and going deeper and deeper
into debt to obtain them are scripturally covetous (Luke
12:15,33,34).
The Law of Diminishing Return
There is a principle in life that
applies to everything of the flesh. It is called "The Law Of Diminishing
Return." Briefly stated it is that the more one possesses, the less
satisfied one becomes with what one has, and the greater the desire for
more. This principle is true as it applies to all temptations of the
flesh: Sexual abuse (Prov. 6:20-35), false teaching (2 Tim.
3:12,13). Drinking alcohol (Deut. 29:19), apostasy through
marriage to an unbeliever (1 Kings 16:29-33), etc. This principle
is even more true when it applies to the "lust of the eye."
Stated in Scripture the principle is
expressed in several ways: "He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied
with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase . . . . When
goods increase, they are increased who eat them: and what good is there
to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes"
(Eccl. 5:10,11)?
"Labor not to be rich; wilt thou set
thine eyes upon that which is not? For riches make themselves wings;
they fly away as an eagle toward heaven" (Prov. 23:4,5).
Materialism, worldliness, covetousness
are all sins. Compromise with sin always brings more sin. Christians are
told to rebuke sin, and then to have no fellowship with it (1 Cor.
5:11-13). These sins, as all sin, lead people into situations where
they lose control of their lives. These sins compel brethren to buy more
than they can afford. As God's servants we are stewards of all that he
has given to us, and the use of our resources is to be primarily
directed towards spiritual ends (2 Cor. 9:6-15). When we cannot
meet our spiritual obligations to lay by in store with the brethren for
the work of the church, for individual benevolence as we have
opportunity, for charity towards all men and especially to the household
of faith, to support gospel preaching individually and collectively,
because all of our substance is wrapped up in "getting" then we stand
condemned by God (Luke 16:19).
A Christian's life before the world is
the most public way of teaching God's will. Therefore the Christian
should pay all of his debts and be honest in his financial affairs. The
Christian's life can not include greed for material possessions which
lead to unmanageable debt.
Credit is not sinful-but like all
things in this world-abused it can cost a man his soul. "Be not thou one
of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. If
thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away the bed from under
thee" (Prov. 22:26, 27)?
Truth Magazine XXI: 33, pp. 522-523
August 25, 1977
Other
Articles by Jeffery Kingry
Faith Without Expectation
