“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10)
One of the most complicated issues that comes into our society is the issue of money.
There are those who chase it will all the gusto they can muster. There are those who renounce it with equal gusto. There are those who insist that a person has the right to keep as much of the money they have earned as possible, while others insist that a responsible person in society should be willing to pay more of their wealth for the betterment of society.
We have arguments and debates in this country about economic policies and theories. We have fought wars over economic issues. We may couch the platitudes of the war into moral and higher causes, but all too often it is about money and economics.
Money has led to vast migrations of people. During the 1930’s in the United States, Midwest farmers and their families migrated from the Dust Bowl to the jobs and hopes that awaited them in California. People from all around the world seek to migrate to the United States for the economic opportunities that await them here.
And we have to admit that money is important. It plays a vital role in so many aspects of our lives. We need it to pay for life’s essentials—food, housing, utilities, healthcare, transportation and education, to name a few. Without the money to pay for these things, a person can wind up homeless, hungry and sick. Without money, it is very easy in our society to fall between the cracks and become a nameless, faceless person in a land of plenty.
Lost in all the discussion about money in America is the question about what the Bible says about money. There are so many people who are quick to insist that America is a Christian nation, but does the way we look at money truly reflect the Bible’s teachings about money? Do we really have a Christian society if our society is driven by the dollar?
A Popular Misconception
There are many people who are fond of stating that “money is the root of all evil.” Some even assert that the statement is found in the Bible. As we see from the opening quote, though, it isn’t money that is the root of all evil, but the love of money that is the root of all evil. And there is a difference.
Money in and of itself is valueless. It is what we determine it to be. We all know the difference between a $100 bill issued by the United States government and one that is issued by Milton Brothers’ Monopoly board game. No one would seriously try to pass toy cash as real cash. Yet, look at them objectively. They’re both colored pieces of paper with fancy artwork and a number assigned to them. We accept one and reject the other. Why? Because we give value to one and not the other.
Money is a tool to be used by people for their advantage. To some, that means that money is to be used to acquire more money in order to build up their own esteem and power. To others, money is to be used for altruistic matters. It is to be used to build schools, feed people, to provide clothing and housing. For some, money is to be hoarded; to others, it is to be shared.
Money in and of itself is neither evil nor good. It is simply a means we have available for us to do good or evil, depending upon the person that controls the money. Our money and what we do with it reflects our values and our desires.
What Does the Bible Say about Debt?
Deuteronomy 15 speaks specifically to a practice to be placed upon the nation of Israel as it enters the Promised Land. The particular issue in the chapter is the forgiveness of debts. And in the instructions, we find interesting concepts that challenge the way we do business in America.
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel all debts” (Deuteronomy 15:1). This very short verse cuts to the very core of money practices for Israel.
One of the things God instituted for the nation was the concept of the Sabbath year (cf. Leviticus 25). In the Sabbath year, the land was to lie fallow with the people relying on the abundance of the sixth year’s harvest to see them through. They were permitted to go into the field to gather food for the day, but they were not to plant new seed or gather a harvest of the entire crop. Instead, the food that grew was to be used for daily use, but also to feed the poor.
Of equal importance was that the Sabbath year would usher in the forgiveness of all debts. God qualifies the forgiveness of debts to be limited only to the money owed by fellow Israelites. Foreigners with debts were still required to pay their debts, but exempt from fulfilling the debt.
It would stand to reason that a lender would become more reluctant to lend money the closer the Sabbath year neared. God, knowing our hearts and our minds so well:
“If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near,’ so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart, the because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:7-11).
The idea is that God blesses people with the ability to lend money to those in need. And because of God’s generosity toward that person, the person is to also express his gratitude to God through the generosity he extends to others. The openhearted approach is what God expects and commands.
It’s interesting to note that in all this, God doesn’t instruct the poor person from seeking a loan so near to the Sabbath year. I think the reason for that is that a poor person in need of a loan will still be in need regardless of whether the year is the Sabbath one or not.
In fact, an in-depth look at lending practices as commanded by God in the Old Testament reveals that God has higher expectations and commands for the lenders than He does for the borrowers.
There are three verses in the Bible that speak to debtors. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous gives generously.” That does not mean that anyone and everyone who borrows money is wicked. It means that there are wicked people who borrow with no intention of repaying the debt.
Proverbs 22:7 says, “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Romans 3:7 says that the we are to give what we owe to people, and that we are not to allow a debt to remain outstanding.
The instructions to the lender, however, are far more numerous. Deuteronomy 24:6, 10-15 speak about securing a loan. The lender is not to hold on to the security if the security is necessary for the borrower’s livelihood or for his basic comforts. There is to be respect for the needs and dignity of the borrower.
Leviticus 25;35-43 speaks of lending without interest and, again, treating the borrower with respect and dignity.
Other passages that speak to lenders is Psalm 15:5; 37:26; 112:5; Proverbs 19:17 & 22:6; Habbakuk 2:6-7 and Matthew 5:42. Nehemiah 5 speaks particularly harshly about lenders who take advantage of the poor and needy.
If the United States was to institute monetary policies under the Old Testament instructions, our capitalist system would come to a grinding halt, or at least have to be radically reconsidered. Our national wealth, to a large degree, is based upon compound interest. For instance, a home mortgage of 10% interest over 30 years winds up costing the borrower $300,000 if the borrower keeps the house for the duration of the loan. The compound interest of 10% is in realty, over the course of the loan, a 200% loan. An actual 10% loan on a mortgage, where the lender is paying $110,000 over the course of the loan, substantially reduces the monthly payment. In addition, for compound interest loans, the interest is paid prior to the principle. Thus, if a person pays for 10 years on a compound interest loan and then decides he or she wants to pay the remainder of the note off, the person will discover that the money being paid for the previous years has gone primarily to interest and little to principle, so a very large amount of the original $100,000 would still be owed after 10 years.
Interest on credit cards is treated the same way. If a person borrows on their credit card and pays only the minimum monthly payment, the vast majority is going to interest owed and little to the principle. In practice, then, a person can have a credit card debt that lasts for years even if the cardholder never uses the card for another purchase.
Imagine what it would do to our nation if, after every seven years, all the debts were forgiven? If all debts were interest free? Our society would be radically changed. One of the things God says in Deuteronomy 15 is, “There should be no poor among you, for in the land of the Lord your God is giving you possession as your inheritance, he will richly bless you, if only you fully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all these commands I am giving you today” (v. 4-5). Is this God’s way of saying the best economic policy to fight poverty and to promote prosperity is to not take advantage of the less fortunate and to place the matter of money in its proper perspective?
It’s interesting, only a few verses later, the Bible says, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (v. 11). Is this a contradiction? Or is this a “in theory . . . in practice” teaching? He uses the word “should” in v. 4, but removes the word in v. 11. Was God, even as He was giving the commands, anticipating the disobedience of His people? That’s quite possible. I understand the “contradiction” to be found in who the poor will be. The promise found in vs. 4-6 seem to indicate that an obedient nation would bring about blessings that would remove poverty from the nation of Israel. It wouldn’t remove poverty from the surrounding nations and people, though. As v. 3 deals with loans to foreigners, and as v.6 speaks of lending to other nations, so is it possible and probable that the poor of the surrounding areas would enter Israel, seeking a better future for themselves and their families. Thus, the poor would always be present, regardless of the blessings bestowed on the nation itself. The openhandedness, then, speaks to the way the aliens among them are to be treated. The openhandedness speaks of an awareness of where Israel had been at one time—slaves in a foreign land, wanderers in the wilderness—and, in remembering this history, express compassion who are like what they once were.
(c) 2018 Glynn Beaty