Here is where our true identity is revealed in practice. We claim to follow God with our mouths, and yet we deny His ways with our actions, and there is apparently no one willing to correct us on this matter.
Unfortunately our American, fast-food mentality has jumped behind the wheel, and our Christianity has taken a back seat.
While we may claim Christ over country, we nonetheless follow the culture, instead of the Bible, when it comes to our finances.
Simply put, we are still trying to live the American Dream. Unfortunately, whatever it once was, it has now become a nightmare. It is debt, usury, and bondage, and it is completely against God’s ways.
God’s simple ways pertaining to debt can be summed up in the following two verses:
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: (2 Corinthians 6:14a)
It is worth noting that the Hebrew word translated as “servant” in Proverbs 22:7 can also be translated as “slave”. When we take this eternal truth from Proverbs and combine it with the New Testament command, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers”, a clear, simple plan from God reveals itself.
If the unevenness of the yoke mentioned in this verse pertains to the difference between believers and unbelievers, then the yoke would lay unevenly across the shoulders, because the individuals who are yoked would be unequal.
How much more then should we not allow the unbelievers to become our masters, and choose to become their slaves? Again, we are commanded, “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men” (1 Corinthians 7:23). These are all very clear principles which we are commanded to live by. How is it that we have strayed so far, and rejected the One who owns us in these ways?
Assimilation into the culture manifests itself in many areas of the modern believer’s lives, but most believers are at least aware of it in other areas.
Finances in general, and specifically debt, are most often never viewed in the light of Scripture, other than a misconception about tithing. In our modern times, America and Debt have become synonymous. From the government on down, debt is not only a way of life, it is the welcomed and even preferred way of life.
This is where fast food comes in. Fast food, though it may have long-term health-related side effects, is quick and easy enough that many rely on it quite regularly. This same concept sums up American finances. Though borrowing money or buying on credit will certainly cost us much more over time, we can get what we want right now.
This is a very common problem; we willingly choose to suffer in the long-term to receive instant gratification now.
Much of our modern “need” for increased finances is based solely upon the fact that we are paying millions in interest, or Biblically speaking, usury. God repeatedly warns us about usury: we are to have almost no part in it.
If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. (Exodus 22:25)
And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. (Leviticus 25:35-37)
Thou shalt not lend upon usury to thy brother; usury of money, usury of victuals, usury of any thing that is lent upon usury: 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. (Deuteronomy 23:19-20)
We see mentioned in this last passage that God does allow His people to make an increase by lending (interest) to nonbelievers. However, this is not a command that we must follow, hence “thou mayest”. It is permitted, though certainly not required.
When we choose to do the opposite of what this greedy world system does, that speaks to people. All too often it is the poor and the struggling that are exploited. We should consider the treatment of the downcast referred to in Matthew 25:35-36, “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.”
Obviously, there was much room in this passage to take advantage of these people. However, an attitude of, “I’ll feed and clothe you now, but you better pay me back extra when you are able,” is completely absent from the actions of the sheep in this parable.
There are too many people who claim that the use of “my brethren” in verse 40 means that these sheep were caring for either believers or Jews in “the Tribulation”. However, “stranger” is on the list, which should lead us to doubt this view.
Additionally, the conversations with both the sheep and the goats are basically identical, except that Jesus uses the term “my brethren” when speaking to the sheep. The goats are not children of God, and are not Jesus’ brethren.
We must also remember the command in Galatians 6:10, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
Can we lend to unbelievers and require interest of them? Yes, we can. Must we require interest of them? No.
It may therefore be best for us not to throw a yoke of bondage on any man, but it is always best for us, if we are to obey God, to not allow anyone to throw a yoke of bondage on us.
Mortgages, student loans, car loans, other loans, interest-based rent-to-own, and credit card debt are all choices; choices that we, as followers of Him, are not to choose.
To pay interest and be under the oppressive yoke of usury is a curse.
When the Lord is giving the nation of Israel the choice between blessings and curses in Deuteronomy 27:11 – 28:68, we read this within the blessings, “The LORD shall open unto thee his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow” (Deuteronomy 28:12).
To have enough money, so that you do not need to borrow, is a blessing in itself. Even more so, though, is having enough to lend. To be blessed beyond one’s needs, is also an opportunity to bless others. To lend to those in need at the price of usury, is still a blessing, because it supplies the immediate need, though they will have to repay with interest later.
It is an even greater blessing to lend without usury. The greatest blessing of all is to not require it back, for then no burden is placed upon the one in need and any repayment that the lender receives will have to come from the Lord. Either way, the blessing is upon the one with opportunity to lend, for he has no lack.
In Deuteronomy, when God tells us the curses, we read, “The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail” (Deuteronomy 28:43-44).
To need, or to choose, to borrow is a curse in itself. Here we read that the borrower has chosen to exalt the lender above himself and allow him to be the head. Since we are not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, we certainly shouldn’t make them the head or master, choosing to make ourselves their slaves in the process.
Yet, we welcome this curse upon our own heads and the heads of our children, and reap the financial despair that comes with it.
Scripture says, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36). How does this freedom come, though? Is all freedom given unto us simply by receiving the Lord as our Savior? Not according to the Word of God.
“Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
True freedom comes from continuing in the Word, knowing the Word, and obeying the Word. Since we apparently do not know, or do not apply, what God has stated about usury, we are not free.
Do we periodically find ourselves in real situations where it may be appropriate to ask for financial assistance? Yes we do. However, a car or home that we can’t afford, an education that we can’t pay for, and fulfilling every lust of the eyes and lust of the flesh are not real needs.
Jesus would have never commanded us, “Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away” (Matthew 5:42) if there were not appropriate times to give or borrow.
I think that as brothers and sisters, we can give and borrow, if needed, and all without usury. If one asks us, we should let them receive.
However, if we desire to borrow, we have no business going to an unbeliever or a bank. It is our very own brethren that should be approached, for they should be willing to do so without usury. This may also prove to be a good deterrent from foolish borrowing.
Could I really ask for $30,000 from a brother of mine so I can buy the truck I really wish I had?
Hopefully, many brothers would question our sanity at such a proposal, and hopefully we would realize the complete lack of “need” in such a situation and change our mind. To go to a bank, though, for such a request is the easy, normal way, which allows us to not question our actions. The bank will gladly enslave you and take much more money from you over time than the truck is even worth.
I also believe that there is a reason we are told, “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:8). In all likelihood, this is just another one of God’s simple ways that we reject.
To view the lender as a master and the borrower as a slave may be a stretch for many, but this does not change reality.
Did you know mortgage literally means “death-grip”?
This is missed by most, but if we throw mortgage on a list of similar words, we may begin to see this hidden definition: mortality, morgue, mortgage, morbid, mortuary, mortal.
If you mention this truth at the bank, they will find you peculiar, due to their ignorance, but you are not the one who chose the word, and neither am I. Obviously, someone understood this reality, for they created the name, and it is about time that we understood it too. It is certainly hard to be a free man when someone has you in a death-grip.
Why is it that a man will marry a woman because he wants to spend the rest of his life with her, only to wind up away from her at work for most of his waking hours? Why is it, then, that both parents will choose to be at work, away from their home and children? If we were content with food and clothing and chose not to be under the yoke of usury, we may be able to live a much different life.
In God’s eyes, there is no such thing as “good debt”, and your Credit Score doesn’t matter. Since we are to “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another” (Romans 13:8a), can we really choose debt?
Again, God’s plan is simple, and can be summed up in the following two verses:
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Proverbs 22:7)
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers… (2 Corinthians 6:14a)
It is interesting to realize that although that second verse is often applied to marriage, (which, to be sure, it does also apply), no one really applies it to too much else. If we are to focus on that which has the greatest impact on our lives, marriage is certainly a great area of focus, but often, people these days will be in debt for longer than they are married. Obviously, and tragically, debt has a great impact as well.
