The Bible and Debt

Editor's note: This article originally appeared on Christian Personal Finance. Used with permission.

Before you begin your journey to get out of debt, it is important to know what the Bible says about debt. You can then use these truths to build your faith since faith comes by hearing the word. Once you have a solid understanding of what God has to say about the issue, then you can boldly pray about your debt in faith.

What Does the Bible Say About Debt?

The borrower is slave to the lender. When you are in debt to another, you enter into a slave/master relationship with your creditor (Proverbs 20:7).

God wants us to lend to others. Obviously, this is difficult if you don’t have anything to lend (Deuteronomy 15:6, Deuteronomy 28:12, Matthew 5:42).

We are required to pay back what we borrowed. It is easy to take this lightly, but if we borrowed it, we should pay it back (Psalms 37:21, Ecclesiastes 5:4).

What the Bible Does NOT say About Debt

That it is a sin to be in debt. Like mentioned above, it is not God’s best for us, but the Bible does not say that it is a sin.

There are no instances in the Bible where God provides through a loan. He provided for His people in many ways but loans were not one of them. That is something to think about next time you get tempted to reach for the credit card. 

Here are some more Bible verses about debt.

What are the Biblical Promises About Debt?

The way I look at it, Jesus came to set us free from the bondage of sin. We were slaves to sin, until He set us free. If He wanted to set us free in one area, why would He want us to be slaves in another?

I also love Deuteronomy 28:12:

“The Lord will open for you His good storehouse, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.”

This verse is one of the promises that I stand on when praying about my debt. The pre-requisite listed in Deuteronomy 28:1 is that we “diligently obey the Lord your God.”

God Can NOT Keep us out of Debt

I believe God would love to see His children living debt-free lives. But, as stewards of the money that He has entrusted to us we have a free will to do what we wish with it. We can choose to give it, save it, spend it, or even spend more than we have.

I also believe that God will work on our behalf to help get us out of debt, but we have a big part to play – to stop spending more than we have! It doesn’t matter how much God provides – as long as we are spending more money than we have, we will always be in debt.

It’s Bigger than Us

As Christians we have the opportunity to use our finances to build God’s Kingdom. Every decision we make with our money may be much larger than we realize.

Speaking for myself, I know it is easy to get caught up in trying to store up treasures on earth, when I know I should be storing them up in heaven. Every time I do, I get a gentle nudge back on to the narrow path that I am so thankful for. Storing up treasures in heaven is the way to live!

Bob Lotich is the Founder of Christian Personal Finance, a resource dedicated to building God's Kingdom and helping others through money. He is also the Co-Founder of Blogging Your Passion. 

Publication date: August 22, 2012