Question: I teach a class on finances in my church, and one of my class members brought a question that I’m not sure how to answer. Can you tell me where in the Bible is says, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be”? I guess my main question is, “Should Christians borrow?” Response: First, the quote comes from Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard’s Almanac.” It’s not from the Bible; it’s what Larry Burkett used to call religious folklore. To answer your second question a-la Larry Burkett, (1) the Bible very clearly says that neither borrowing nor lending is prohibited, but there are some firm guidelines. (2) Borrowing is discouraged, and in fact, every biblical reference to it is a negative one. Consider Proverbs 22:7: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is the servant to the lender.” (3) The scriptural guideline for borrowing is very clear. When you borrow money, it’s a promise to repay. Literally, borrowing is making a vow. God requires that we keep our vows. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrows and does not repay.” Therefore, if we don’t want to be counted among the evil, we are to repay everything we owe. If biblical times, when a man borrowed money and couldn’t repay, he was thrown into prison, and his family was sold into slavery. When somebody gave his word and then didn’t keep it, that person greatly dishonored himself. It was worse than stealing, because a trust was violated. Just because we don’t throw people into prison today doesn’t make the trust relationship any different. Scripture shows us that we’re to be cautious about borrowing, and it should never be normal. Yet, when you look at our society today, you find that borrowing is rampant. We think it’s normal to borrow for periods of thirty to forty years or more. We have created personal and national economies that must borrow to exist. That’s not God’s way. God says in the book of Deuteronomy that borrowing is a consequence of ignoring His statutes and commandments (28:43-45).
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Giving Arguments Between Husband and Wife?
Question: Bob, in your opinion will I be denying God if I don’t give to the Lord’s Work? I’m married to a really good man who is not a Christian. I’d like to be able to give to the Lord’s work, but he does’t want me to. In fact, our only arguments are about giving. And, if I decide to give, should it come from my income only and not from his? Response: God’s Word says, “Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord” (Colossians 3:18). If your husband is not a believer and doesn’t want to give, in my opinion, you should not give. HOWEVER, I encourage you to “test” this opinion by (1) sharing Malachi 3:10 with him: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this…if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” (2) Then ask him if you can tithe a small amount of money on a regular basis for one year with the condition that you will stop if your not better off financially at the end of that year. (According to the Bible, tithing in one area that we can “test” and trust Him and when we do He promises to prove Himself trustworthy.) (3) I strongly suggest that you do not categorize your incomes as “mine” and “his.” When you begin to split incomes, you begin to split families. Instead, make the commitment that it is all “our income.” It is all from the Lord and not from you or your husband, so you should treat it that way (Deuteronomy 8:17-18)
Can I Ask God for Money?
Question: Rev Louder, I’m a Christian and I know I can ask God to meet my spiritual needs–is it OK for me to ask him to meet my financial needs? Response: According to the Bible, YES you can ask God to meet your financial needs. How? James 1:6 tells you to “ask”, believe and not doubt. The key to this verse and the answer to your question is the word “ask”. This is a Greek word that means to be absolutely firm; to respectfully and expectantly speak up, speak out, praying boldly and authoritatively for the help you need to meet your physical/material needs such as food, shelter, money, etc. (Note we’re talking about “needs” here as opposed to your “wants” or “desires” which are topics for a different time.) So yes, your Heavenly Father wants you to ask Him to meet your financial/material needs–if you have a physical, tangible need, He wants you to ask Him to meet it. And remember, it may take time for your answer to show up. Just because you “ask” in faith according to His will doesn’t mean your answer is always right around the corner. Beware: (1) There is a devil out there who doesn’t want you to experience God’s will for your life to include His material/financial will for your life; (2) You also have your own flesh to deal with, and flesh loves comfort–it doesn’t like the challenge of “asking”/standing in faith; and (3) Your faith may need to grow. So what should you do until your answer shows up? Keep asking. Don’t back off. Refuse to move from your position of faith. Stand on the fact that the Word of God is true. God wants you to come to a higher level in the process of receiving the answer to your prayer. The bottom line is this: Never make the mistake of thinking you can only talk to God about your spiritual needs. YES you can ask God to meet your financial needs.
Where Should Your Tithe Go?
Question: Bob, our church teaches that the entire tithe should go to the local church. What does the Bible say? Response: In the book of Old Testament book of Malachi we’re told that God wants us to direct our entire tithe into the storehouse. So I believe it’s necessary that we compare the Old Testament storehouse to the New Testament church. The Old Testament storehouse had four functions: (1) Feed the tribe of Levi and the priests of Aaron. This would seem to be equivalent to our pastors and church staff members today. (2) Feed the prophets. A prophet in the Old Testament was not necessarily somebody who could “forthtell” the future but someone who could “forthtell” the truth. Today this would point to our missionaries and evangelists. (3) Feed the Hebrew widows and orphans living within the city. Today this would be roughly equivalent to the widows, orphans, and invalids in our local churches. (4) In addition a special tithe was taken every third year to feed the widows and orphans of the Gentiles living in and around the Hebrew city. This would seem to equate to the unsaved folks surrounding our local churches. Here’s the point: Many churches serve the fourfold function of the OT storehouse, and others do not. Does yours? Do you know? If you don’t know, I suggest you prayerfully and humbly ask. Your decision must be based on your church’s obedience to God’s Word. If a local church doesn’t accept the responsibility of being the storehouse, then believers must help ensure that the fourfold function is accomplished through other means.