| The CROWN of CHRIST - Understanding the Times in the Light of Scripture |
| The CROWN of CHRIST - Understanding the Times in the Light of Scripture |
ARCHIVE - September 22, 2008
John Calvin's advice on Lending
John Calvin's advice on Lending
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LENDING AT INTEREST IS NOT A SIN
We must not condemn all lending at interest as sinful "usury"
because of any one Bible verse. Instead, we must think through the
Biblical perspective on the righteous use of money.
Suppose that their is a rich man who owns many acres and
properties, and another rich man with less real estate but more
money available for use. If the first man asks to borrow from the
second, it would not be wrong for them to draw up a contract stating
that some of the first man's land will be mortgaged as collateral.
Until the debt is payed, the lender may use the land. If the borrower
never repays, the lender can take the land. This lender doesn't get
anything out of the land except the agreed upon value of the money
that the borrower took.
Now, what if no land is involved? Some would condemn the mere
lending of money as "usury". But if the lender above can lawfully
have the use of the mortgaged land - perhaps even collecting rent on
it or seizing it in the end, then how can it be wrong to simply take
interest instead? Let's not play games with words, but fear God.
However, just because we don't condemn all interest, let's not
pretend that all debt is allowed with no exceptions. Lending at
interest may sometimes be allowed, but it is not righteous or lawful
to make one's living purely as a "lender".
In addition, we should heed seven warnings about debt and
interest:
LENDING CAN BE SINFUL IF WE DON'T DO IT RIGHTEOUSLY
1. Interest should never be collected from the poor, the needy or the
miserable.
2. Lenders should not become so greedy that they refuse to give
loans to the poor who can't afford to pay interest.
3. Lenders must alway practice what Christ preached: whatever you
would have men do to you, do the same to them as well.
4. The borrower should be able to gain more from the loan than the
lender, either by trade or work.
5. Lenders and borrowers should only think a practice is good if the
Bible says so; no practice can be justified by custom or popularity.
6. Lenders must consider the good of society as well as that of
themselves and their borrowers. We should never offer loans that
will eventually hurt the nation.
7. We should never charge greater interest than is allowed under the
civil law of our country; often, righteousness will require us to
charge less than we legally could.
Dr. Garnet Milne, a pastor from New Zealand, points out that the
United States would have avoided the crisis over mortgage-backed
securities if our financial executives had followed Calvin's advice.
(summarized from Calvin's Epistle 383)
We must not condemn all lending at interest as sinful "usury"
because of any one Bible verse. Instead, we must think through the
Biblical perspective on the righteous use of money.
Suppose that their is a rich man who owns many acres and
properties, and another rich man with less real estate but more
money available for use. If the first man asks to borrow from the
second, it would not be wrong for them to draw up a contract stating
that some of the first man's land will be mortgaged as collateral.
Until the debt is payed, the lender may use the land. If the borrower
never repays, the lender can take the land. This lender doesn't get
anything out of the land except the agreed upon value of the money
that the borrower took.
Now, what if no land is involved? Some would condemn the mere
lending of money as "usury". But if the lender above can lawfully
have the use of the mortgaged land - perhaps even collecting rent on
it or seizing it in the end, then how can it be wrong to simply take
interest instead? Let's not play games with words, but fear God.
However, just because we don't condemn all interest, let's not
pretend that all debt is allowed with no exceptions. Lending at
interest may sometimes be allowed, but it is not righteous or lawful
to make one's living purely as a "lender".
In addition, we should heed seven warnings about debt and
interest:
LENDING CAN BE SINFUL IF WE DON'T DO IT RIGHTEOUSLY
1. Interest should never be collected from the poor, the needy or the
miserable.
2. Lenders should not become so greedy that they refuse to give
loans to the poor who can't afford to pay interest.
3. Lenders must alway practice what Christ preached: whatever you
would have men do to you, do the same to them as well.
4. The borrower should be able to gain more from the loan than the
lender, either by trade or work.
5. Lenders and borrowers should only think a practice is good if the
Bible says so; no practice can be justified by custom or popularity.
6. Lenders must consider the good of society as well as that of
themselves and their borrowers. We should never offer loans that
will eventually hurt the nation.
7. We should never charge greater interest than is allowed under the
civil law of our country; often, righteousness will require us to
charge less than we legally could.
Dr. Garnet Milne, a pastor from New Zealand, points out that the
United States would have avoided the crisis over mortgage-backed
securities if our financial executives had followed Calvin's advice.
(summarized from Calvin's Epistle 383)