What does the bible say about owing money

Paul’s charge to us in Romans 13:8 to owe nothing but love is a powerful reminder of God’s distaste for all forms of debt that are not being paid in a timely manner (see also Psalm 37:21). At the same time, the Bible does not explicitly command against all forms of debt. The Bible warns against debt, and extols the virtue of not going into debt, but does not forbid debt. The Bible has harsh words of condemnation for lenders who abuse those who are bound to them in debt, but it does not condemn the debtor.

Some people question the charging of any interest on loans, but several times in the Bible we see that a fair interest rate is expected to be received on borrowed money (Proverbs 28:8; Matthew 25:27). In ancient Israel the Law did prohibit charging interest on one category of loans—those made to the poor (Leviticus 25:35-38). This law had many social, financial, and spiritual implications, but two are especially worth mentioning. First, the law genuinely helped the poor by not making their situation worse. It was bad enough to have fallen into poverty, and it could be humiliating to have to seek assistance. But if, in addition to repaying the loan, a poor person had to make crushing interest payments, the obligation would be more hurtful than helpful.

Second, the law taught an important spiritual lesson. For a lender to forego interest on a loan to a poor person would be an act of mercy. He would be losing the use of that money while it was loaned out. Yet that would be a tangible way of expressing gratitude to God for His mercy in not charging His people “interest” for the grace He has extended to them. Just as God had mercifully brought the Israelites out of Egypt when they were nothing but penniless slaves and had given them a land of their own (Leviticus 25:38), so He expected them to express similar kindness to their own poor citizens.

Christians are in a parallel situation. The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus has paid our sin debt to God. Now, as we have opportunity, we can help others in need, particularly fellow believers, with loans that do not escalate their troubles. Jesus even gave a parable along these lines about two creditors and their attitude toward forgiveness (Matthew 18:23-35).

The Bible neither expressly forbids nor condones the borrowing of money. The wisdom of the Bible teaches us that it is usually not a good idea to go into debt. Debt essentially makes us a slave to the one who provides the loan. At the same time, in some situations going into debt is a “necessary evil.” As long as money is being handled wisely and the debt payments are manageable, a Christian can take on the burden of financial debt if it is absolutely necessary.

I know there are a lot of assumptions, preconceived notions, and "myths" about what God has to say about money. On the contrary, many Scriptures do give us direction and instruction about how to handle money, specifically, debt. Today, I'm outlining four things the Bible does say about debt.

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I know there are a lot of assumptions, preconceived notions, and "myths" about what God has to say about money. On the contrary, many Scriptures do give us direction and instruction about how to handle money, specifically, debt.

Let me start by saying that I have been in situations where we had no choice but to use debt (a credit card, personal loan, etc.) to pay for emergencies...and it stinks.

Why does it stink to have debt? Because not only are dealing with an emergency, you're also dealing with the anxiety of having to pay for that emergency with a high-interest credit card or personal loan because there is no cash to take care of it.

I also started a business on credit cards once, which is the reason we were over $20,000 in debt just a few short years ago, and it also brought on a lot of anxiety and frustration when we lost our full time jobs and were strapped with debt!

Perhaps you aren't in debt because of an emergency, but because of your own spending habits, living above your means, or just careless budgeting and overspending (been there, done that, got out of it, and so can you).

You aren't alone. But the greatest part is that you know better now, can show yourself grace, and move forward!

I want to outline four things the Bible does say about debt and some tips to follow His guidance on the matter.

1. It's wrong not to repay your debts.

"The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously." (Psalm 37:21 NIV)

I remember when we were paying off debt on a low combined income, struggling to pay our rent and water bills each month, that I considered bankruptcy. I am not here to judge and can undoubtedly understand times when bankruptcy is the only option for people, but as a Christian, I felt that I had a moral obligation to pay my debts. 

Why? Because the debt was mine and mine alone.

Our debt (let's be honest, my debt, my husband was just along for the ride LOL) was a choice. I chose to open a business on credit cards. 

No one forced me to spend money I did not have to build a business I had not yet proved could sustain itself. So when I lost my 9-5 job, and so did my husband, we had a load of debt and no income to pay it off.

I knew I was a capable, young woman and would need to figure out a way to make it work. So I sold off the inventory, found a new job, and worked a few side hustles to make sure we could pay our debts.

Now, at one point, we were behind on paying one of the credit cards, so it went to collections. At that point, I was able to negotiate the debt with the collection agency for the balance I had accrued minus fees and interest.

It would have been better for me to pay all that was owed, including interest and fees, but I still paid the balance that I had actually charged on the card. I want to dive deeper into this concept on another episode, but the main point is:

Repaying our debts honors God and is the morally right thing to do. 

Do I think that God will hate you or shun you if you have to declare bankruptcy or negotiate a settlement for your debt? No, but I do believe that unless we attempt all that we can to pay our creditors, we are not honoring God with our finances.

2. We Cannot Serve God and Money

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24 NIV)

I truly feel that God gave me a revelation about this verse of Scripture a few months ago. I was thinking about how when we were debt-ridden, jobless, and stressed about money, we were serving money.

Think about it: When you have debt, are living paycheck to paycheck, or don’t know how you’re going to pay next month’s electric bill, money becomes your idol.

When you’re in debt, it consumes your life.

God does not want us to be careless with our money. On the contrary, He wants us to handle our money His way so that it doesn’t have to consume so much of our time, energy, and thoughts.

Remember, value-aligned spending does not just apply to our finances, it applies to our lives holistically so it’s so much easier to serve God rather than money when we live below our means, pay tithe, and live debt-free because it’s one less thing we have to worry about in our already busy lives.

I talk about money for a living and yes, I have money goals, but over time, I’ve developed habits and discipline that help me not have to think about money every single day, including debt freedom.

3. Debt Enslaves Us

“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” (Proverbs 22:7 NIV)

If you’ve listened to Dave Ramsey or the Faith in Finance Podcast for any amount of time, you’ve likely heard this Scripture. When you are in debt, you are a slave-entrapped, in bondage, a captive, chained, in service-to the lender that issued the loan.

I remember a family member loaning us a rent payment when we were broke. I felt guilty, ashamed, anxious, and physically ill over that loan until it was paid for. I hated the thought that someone I loved was owed money because we didn’t have money to pay our regular monthly bills.

Debt = slavery.

Until you are debt-free, you will be enslaved to your past mistakes. You can move forward in God’s grace, but the consequences of your actions will follow you until the debts are paid in full.

4. Jesus Came To Set Us Free

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Chris Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV)

I find it interesting that many parallels are made between salvation and financial terminology in the Bible. For example:

• The wages of sin is death.

• “And because of Him, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

• “In Him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”

God came to set us free. To give us hope and a future. To take away our sins. And to give us a new and better life. Debt, in many cases, is a poor financial choice and keeps us from living out our God-given purpose.

He does not want us to be slaves to anything or anyone, including our poor financial choices.

Our freedom was bought at a price; the sacrifice of a perfect, spotless, sinless God, clothed in flesh. I’m preaching to myself too, but why would we ever pull out from under the blood of the Lamb what has already been covered? Why would we enslave ourselves to debt or to a lender?

Keep the faith, my friend. Keep walking with Him, digging yourself out of debt, staying out of debt, and continuing to honor God with your faith and finances.

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