This is a very interesting question. The Bible has many passages that deal with usury, so as Christians, we need to understand how usury applies to our finances today.
Wikipedia says that usury "originally meant the charging of interest on loans". Wikipedia goes on to say "usury came to mean interest above the lawful rate" or an excessive amount of interest. Webster's dictionary confirms that in today's vocabulary usury refers to charging an excessive amount of interest. However, with very limited research (any reliable encyclopedia) we see that the definition of usury has changed from any interest to excessive interest.
Church history confirms a change in the use of the term usury and the church's position on charging interest. Up until the sixteenth century (Reformation) charging interest was considered a moral sin.
It is important to acknowledge that the economy of the Old (and New) Testament was drastically different than our 21st century economy. Deuteronomy 23:19, 20 indicate that borrowing money amongst the Israelites was limited to needs like food; it was not for commercial purposes.
So it appears as if the definition of usury has changed, our economy has changed and the churches view of usury has changed. With this in mind, let's go to the Bible and see what is the proper application for charging interest (usury) in today’s economy.
Exodus 22:25 says" If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest" This is pretty clear: no interest, especially to the poor, and not to fellow Israelites. The next passage (Leviticus 25:35-37) that refers to usury or charging interest says pretty much the same thing.
Then we read Deuteronomy 23:19, 20 "You shall not charge interest to your countrymen... ...(but) you may charge interest to a foreigner...". Since this verse opens up the charging of interest to foreigners, it appears there is a subtle shift of application of the principle of charging interest even within the Old Testament writings.
In the New Testament, there is some additional insight into charging interest and usury. Luke 19:23 (and Matthew 25:27) "Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?" Jesus is telling the unfaithful servant to at least get some sort of return on their money or talents. Although this is not the main theme of this parable, charging interest in terms of a business or trade is not forbidden and referred to in a positive light in these passages.
Luke 6:35 says that when we lend, even to our enemies we should expect nothing in return.
So how should we take these verses (and others) and formulate a biblically centered position on charging interest in today's economy? The first thing we want to remind ourselves is that this discussion is about a principle and not a law. Just like with debt there are no "Thou shall" or "Thou shall not" verses in the Bible that deal with believers charging interest in the 21st century. Principles are guidelines given by God for our protection and benefit.
Here are some applications I believe Christians should apply to lending money in the 21st century economy.
- Never charge a fellow believer interest on money loaned for the purchase of a legitimate need. Our first thought should be charity, however even if it is a loan, never expect interest. (Deuteronomy 23:19)
- Always realize that when we lend money to Christians, it may end up being a gift. Remember we do not have the option of suing for collection (1 Corinthians 6:1).
- Do not charge excessive interest rates, especially to believers. (Proverbs 28:8)
The overriding principle is to be very careful in lending money to Christians. Remember our discussion of why God discourages debt. By lending money to Christians we may be enabling Satan to get a foothold in the believer’s life.
However, due to the fact that borrowing money is not forbidden by God and debt is such a major part of the 21st century economy, we need to develop specific biblical guidelines on lending money and charging interest to fellow believers.
I would very much enjoy hearing other comments on how usury applies to believers in the 21st century.
2 comments:
Hi George . . .
I was hoping maybe some others would comment before I did, but oh well, here goes.
I am fundamentally in agreement with what you have said, but I have some troublesome questions.
1. How much of this in the Old Testament was for Israel, designed to work in primarily a land-based economy? To what extent do these ideas work in non-Israelite, non-land based economies? Transfer to churches?
2. Should believers ever charge each other interest at all? If so, why?
3. If a believer is in the "money business" (banking, investments, loans, etc.) for the purpose of making money, would not these principles encourage him only to do business with non-believers and try to make as much money from the outsiders as possible, at "higher" interest rates that he could charge to them, as compared to the "lower" or no interest at all he would consider for believers?
4. Can our current US economy function without "usury"? Which is to ask, are Christians who participate in the economy, at least in the support of lending or borrowing with interest, actually participating in sin? Or, is it possible that there is no such sin as "usury" in a non-Israelite, non-land-based economy? How would this effect our definition of "debt" if such were the case?
Pastor Keith
Pastor Keith, thanks for the comment. I too was hoping for a few more comments, but I have a feeling that usury is not the #1 topic of discussion on blogs or around water coolers today. However, I very much value your thoughts on this subject. I have been forced to clarify my convictions on this topic as a result of involvement with GBIF and teaching Crown's Business by the Book seminar.
Here are my attempts at answering your questions:
1. Like many of the principles in the OT, usury is a principle that was primarily for Israel and their economy; however it should not be ignored today. It is not a law, but a principle from God that if applied today by God's children will result in our protection our benefit.
The primary application of the principle today is that money loaned by believers to believers should always be first considered as charity over loaning if funds are needed for necessities. The second application for today is that if funds are loaned within a family (blood or body of Christ) we must not charge excessive interest.
Just as we saw a different perspective of usury from different passages in the Bible (see original post) I think that in today's economy eliminating charging interest on commercial loans is not practical.
2. I do not believe that Christians should charge each other interest on loans for the purchase of necessities of life. Charity ( with biblical counsel) should be the first response.
In a commercial sense (i.e. church extension funds -GBIF) I think it is permissible, under the following guidelines: Purchases financed are not a need; excessive rates are not charged; the revenue generated are used to support God's people and His work.
I also feel there is a higher principle that is a major factor here. That factor is being unequally yoked with a secular bank. (2 Corinthians 6:14). The Bible clearly states that debt is a yoked relationship (Proverbs 22:7). How can a "Bible believing Church" borrow money from a secular bank and not clearly violate this principle?
If a church needs funds for a capital project, I believe the first option should be raising the funds; the second should be bonds from the church members or a church extension fund such as GBIF. I cannot understand why churches today consider borrowing money from secular banks.
3. I feel a believer must always be very careful of doing business with other believers. We have a different set of business practices than we do in dealing with the world. We can't sue each other (I Corinthians 6) and we have a primary responsibility to meet each others needs (James 2:14-18; 1 John 3:17). Adding the cautions of not charging high interest rates to fellow believers should serve as an extra caution in doing business with fellow believers.
4. I believe it would be very difficult for our current US economy to function without debt. I do not believe it is a sin for a Christian to be in the business of loaning money and charging a reasonable interest rate. Just like debt can become sin, so can charging interest become a sin. If we charge interest on purchases made by fellow believers for necessities when we should be giving those items to them, it is a sin. If we charge an unusually high interest rate it could become a sin.
Debt is very dangerous, especially for the believer. In the blog we have looked at some of the reasons God discourages debt. Debt in itself is not a sin, but very easily and quickly can become a sin. To the Christian that is in the lending business, I believe that the principle of usury serves as an extra caution to be very careful in loaning money; especially to fellow believers.
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