Rom 13: 8 “Owe ~| no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
Debt can be an evil taskmaster.
Proverbs warns, “If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you” (Prov 22:27NLT). “The borrower is slave to the lender” (22:7TNIV), so we must minimize debt. When we recognize the risk of loans, it motivates our need for wisdom.
Jesus taught, “Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:35). The uniqueness of believers is their willingness to live to benefit others now, while trusting in a heavenly reward later.
First, borrowing should be a temporary measure to secure the minimum items needed to continue a business or income flow.
Second, we must carefully calculate to ensure we can repay our debts, because “evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt” (Psa 37:21). In difficult times, when income cannot be ensured, debt should be kept to a minimum.
Third, borrowing for unnecessary items is out of the sphere of wisdom living and is usually due to covetousness: “He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare” (Prov 21:26). Does generosity limit your freedom? Do you borrow to show off or brag about new possessions? Wisdom warns that “the wicked man boasts because he gets what he wants” (Psa 10:3).
Fourth, borrowing can feed the evil of greed: “Greedy people try to get rich quick but don’t realize they’re headed for poverty” (Prov 28:22NLT).
A mutual love (not a one–way love) results in a healthy sense of debt to each other in Christ. God loves us, so we repay that love by loving each other, and we have “a great sense of obligation to people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike” (Rom 1:14NLT).
Because we have received God’s love as a gift through grace, we owe it to those who have never heard His word. Is there a financial parallel with this principle? Meditate on it and tell the Lord your answer.
“Father, give me the conviction and wisdom to get out of debt and to live within the means You have provided.”