In this post I will be going over why I believe Christian's shouldn't get loans. This article is not designed to shame anyone who has gotten loans in the past but it is created as food for thought if you plan on getting a loan.
Of course the only place a Christian can turn to for absolute authority on subject matters is the word of God, so is the bible silent on this issue; leaving it up to our best judgment when deciding on whether or not to go into debt. The answer is a resounding no.
The first reference to debt that I'm going to cover today is in Deu 28:12-13 and Deu 28:43-44. In these passages we see that how when God would bless Israel they whould not borrow from others but would lend instead. However when the children of Israel were disobedient to God he would then cause them to have to borrow from others instead, the stranger would become the head and they would become the tail. So we see then that debt is a sign of a curse and not something Christians should be seeking after.
The next book of the bible that we will be looking at is in the Psalms. Here we see in Psa 37:21 that it is the wicked that borroweth and doesn't pay back. So we see that if you have gotten in debt the worst thing you can do is not pay it back.
Proverbs has quite a bit to say about this topic as we find out in Prov 10:22 that God's blessing doesn't add sorrow when he maketh one rich. What would cause a person sorrow? Well having a large debt to repay constantly looming in the back of your mind could do that. I will warn the reader right now do not, I repeat do not co-sign on a buddy's loan. Whether it is a car, house, or whatever the type; as this is an indication that you have no understanding (Pro 17:18). See also Pro 22:26-27
Well it's true that all the passages I have shown you so far is in the old testament and therefore may not neccisarily be binding on the christian today. So is there any bible passages that cover debt in the new testament? There is one that I know of for sure and that is Rom 13:8 which tells us not to owe no man anything. This seems at least to me to be pretty straight forward as to say don't be going into debt.
So why doesn't' God want us to go into debt. I think it's quite simple. The scriptures teach us to beware of covetousness (Luk 12:15), be content with what we have (Heb 13:5), not lay up treasures here on earth (Mat 6:19-20), pick up our cross and follow Christ (Luk 9:23), and to set our affections on things above (Col 3:2).
The primary reason that people go into debt is because they want a newer car, bigger house, and more stuff in general. Rather than being content with the income that God gives them, they instead use other peoples money with the intention of paying them back. However because human being are uncertain about what God's will is for them for the future, it is not wise to take other peoples money with a promise to pay them back because something could happen to prevent that from occurring.
To conclude I don't think it is in a christian's best interest to go into debt for any reason. This message is not said as a rebuke but rather in love because why should you add the extra stress of going into debt for things that will not make you happy
(Ecc 5:10).
See also Pro 22:7
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