Anyway, we were having a discussion on the morality of debt. Is debt sinful? Is it wrong to have debt, or to take on debt? ¿Qué dice la Biblia?
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8
This is the commonly cited text among those inclined to say borrowing is sin. It certainly states its point bluntly enough, but as KCBTers will no doubt recall, the three rules of Bible study are 1. Context, 2. Context, and 3. The Minor Prophets Are Not That Boring, Honestly. So with that in mind let's check out the context!
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to
whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Romans 13:7
It doesn't appear to me that verse 8 is the beginning of an unrelated thought; in context with verse 7 it makes perfect sense. Paul is exhorting Christians to give those in authority the taxes AND the honour that they are due. Basically, don't stiff the IRS! If you owe them taxes, pay them. If you owe anyone anything, see that you pay it. Don't borrow $20 from your friend and fail to pay it. To me these seem to deal more with the idea of some extreme forms of bankruptcy, than the immorality of lending and borrowing, but that is an entirely different, and hairier, discussion. With this context I could agree that verse 8 specifies a command, disobedience to which would be sin, because the non-payment of a debt to one's neighbor is tantamount to stealing from him, just as the past promise that one would pay is retroactively turned to an instance of bearing false witness.
That said, I do think the Bible has a lot to say about the foolishness of debt. The Proverbs are packed to the sodding brim with comparative statements on how the wise man and the fool handle their respective finances, the latter being quick to waste, spend, borrow, and cosign! I think these sorts of admonitions are more principles and warnings than commandments; obviously the Bible doesn't say you should not spend money, but it warns that if you spend too freely you may end up poor, and a fool! There is no arbitrary point of what level of spending is foolish and what is within the parameters for wise money handling, but it is a general guiding principle. Likewise I believe that borrowing persay is not sin, but is a practice that can be easily abused.
As an illustration, imagine a credit card as a loaded gun. In the hands of a majority of people, it represents a grave danger, both to themselves and their family, if they are ignorant of its operation and not of a temperament such to safely own and operate it. There is a minority (police officers for example) that are able to use it properly and safely, and in their hands it poses no potential for evil. The gun/credit card is amoral in this manner; there is nothing inherently evil in either the gun or the credit card, but both are capable of great evil if they fall into the hands of either an evil person or an ignorant person. Perhaps we should have a 21 year old age requirement, background checks, and a seven day waiting period for credit cards?
The philisophical problem that brought me to this discussion was the idea of mortgages. Ramsey is on record as being in favour of buying a house in cash, but making allowances for mortgages and recommending the 15-year (I recommend the 15-year too...Laphroaig 15-year, that is)(wacka wacka). Having heard from some corners of Christendom that debt is sin, this attitude kind of broke my brain temporarily. If debt is sin, it is sin, and it doesn't matter if you borrow 50 cents for a coke, borrow $2000 for a vacation, or $100K for a house, it is the same. So take the following example:
Mr. A: Excuse me, Mr. B, could I borrow pencil my good man?
Mr. B: Well...no actually. I would find that outrageously immoral.
Mr. A: I really just need it for a second to fill in this form, are you sure?
Mr. B: Sorry, all lending is wrong according to the Bible; I'd be more than happy to give it to you, but I still need it for this afternoon.
Mr. A: Well, blast it, I've got to go back downstairs to my desk and get another then.
Mr. B: Hang on a second! Perhaps I could simply give it to you, and then you could decide a few minutes later to give ME the pencil in kind?
Mr. A: Oh, great! Thanks very much! I'll have it back to you shortly!
Mr. B: Well, I certainly outfoxed God, didn't I! He never should have made me so smart!
It's a silly illustration, but if you adopt the belief that borrowing and lending is innately immoral and sinful, you will either believe lending a pencil to a friend is sin, or you will attach a clause to that belief allowing for exceptions such as this one, which opens up a logical hornet's nest so to speak.
Pardon the lack of direction in the post, I'm flitting back and forth like a luded-up hummingbird. Basically, as I read it, the Bible doesn't say you are committing sin if you dive headfirst into the Deep End of the Debt Pool. It just says you are an idiot. I'm not sure which is harder to hear!
Feel free to discuss, chastise, take issue, rebut, agree, excoriate, or wage intellectual jihad on me in the Comments section; honestly I'm not at all as certain on these things as I sound, and I'm open to learning I had it all (or partially) wrong. It is a confusing topic and the lack of cohesiveness in my post is symptomatic of my tenuous grasp of the subject.
Cheers,
The Irascible Neufonzola
4 comments:
I think I just realized what 'debtoneuf' means. I thought it was Deb to Neuf, but now I see Debt-o-Neuf, or Debt O'Neuf to have a hint of Irish.
I think there's also a hint of "debtonate" in there too. It is dramatic collision of puns, a veritable puntastrophe!
It's actually more like "debtonate" as in blowing up our debt, but with neuf because we have a fun last name that can be used in lots of ways. But I also like your take on it Debt O'Neuf. Kind of my first name and an Irish version of my last name. :D
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