WHAT DOES GOD'S WORD SAY ABOUT DEBT?
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Does the Bible say anything about debt or bankruptcy?
a) In regard to the Bible and owing money there are basically two principles that come up here, which admittedly are somewhat in tension. On the one hand, Christians should keep their promises, and pay the debt they owe to someone. This is part of the general principle of the ninth commandment which says we are not to bear false witness (Exodus 20:16)
b) Similarly, there's Numbers 30:2, which concerns vows to God. We believe it's fair to apply the principle behind vows of borrowing and the paying back of our creditors: "If a man makes a vow to the Lord . . . he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth." (Numbers 30:2)
c) Yet on the other hand, God was well aware of poor people who couldn't pay back money loaned to them. The loans they got were really gifts by the creditor to them in their poverty. Notice the law concerning what you owed was completely cancelled every seventh year in a seven year cycle that lead up the to Jubilee year in the fiftieth year, which is stated in Deuteronomy 15, especially in verses 1 and 2.
d) Interestingly, not only did God say that interest should NOT be charged on a loan to the poor, he forbade the lender from keeping things necessary for living even when the borrower offered such as security for a loan. Exodus 22 states that a lender was not even to take a person's coat as a pledge of repayment but rather give it back to him (see Exodus 22:25-27).
e) God recognizes how people in poverty can get so buried in what they owe that they can't ever be freed by their own efforts. Similarly, God freed the slaves every seventh year who had entered slavery (at least often) because they couldn't pay what they owed.
f) So the way we'd consider these principles in the Bible is that a person should strive to pay back any money they owe. If they can't pay them back, such as meeting the minimum monthly payments on credit card bills even after cutting back at home (such as moving to a cheaper apartment or house, giving up a car and / or getting cheaper ones, eating out much less, etc.), then it might be time, if its available, to file for bankruptcy. Filing for this, however, should NOT be used as an instrument to escape your obligations through a scheme to defraud creditors.
g) In conclusion, we cannot state for certain that filing bankruptcy is necessarily a sin in God's sight. It depends, in part, on the circumstances. We would maintain that someone should still try to pay something, especially when most credit card debt, etc., are NOT run up to put food on the table and avoid the worst kind of deprivation, which is described in Deuteronomy 15, but for luxuries and "wants," not "needs." Owning at least one or two pairs of shoes is a "need" but desiring ten or twenty pairs is obviously a "want."
The End ...
1. Does the Bible say anything about debt or bankruptcy? a) In regard to the Bible and owing money there are basically two principles that come up here, which admittedly are somewhat in tension. On the one hand, Christians should keep their promises, and pay the debt they owe to someone. This is part of the general principle of the ninth commandment which says we are not to bear false witness (Exodus 20:16)
b) Similarly, there's Numbers 30:2, which concerns vows to God. We believe it's fair to apply the principle behind vows of borrowing and the paying back of our creditors: "If a man makes a vow to the Lord . . . he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth." (Numbers 30:2)
c) Yet on the other hand, God was well aware of poor people who couldn't pay back money loaned to them. The loans they got were really gifts by the creditor to them in their poverty. Notice the law concerning what you owed was completely cancelled every seventh year in a seven year cycle that lead up the to Jubilee year in the fiftieth year, which is stated in Deuteronomy 15, especially in verses 1 and 2.
d) Interestingly, not only did God say that interest should NOT be charged on a loan to the poor, he forbade the lender from keeping things necessary for living even when the borrower offered such as security for a loan. Exodus 22 states that a lender was not even to take a person's coat as a pledge of repayment but rather give it back to him (see Exodus 22:25-27).
e) God recognizes how people in poverty can get so buried in what they owe that they can't ever be freed by their own efforts. Similarly, God freed the slaves every seventh year who had entered slavery (at least often) because they couldn't pay what they owed.
f) So the way we'd consider these principles in the Bible is that a person should strive to pay back any money they owe. If they can't pay them back, such as meeting the minimum monthly payments on credit card bills even after cutting back at home (such as moving to a cheaper apartment or house, giving up a car and / or getting cheaper ones, eating out much less, etc.), then it might be time, if its available, to file for bankruptcy. Filing for this, however, should NOT be used as an instrument to escape your obligations through a scheme to defraud creditors.
g) In conclusion, we cannot state for certain that filing bankruptcy is necessarily a sin in God's sight. It depends, in part, on the circumstances. We would maintain that someone should still try to pay something, especially when most credit card debt, etc., are NOT run up to put food on the table and avoid the worst kind of deprivation, which is described in Deuteronomy 15, but for luxuries and "wants," not "needs." Owning at least one or two pairs of shoes is a "need" but desiring ten or twenty pairs is obviously a "want."
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