CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Financing Your Business
This is always a prickly question, to borrow or not to borrow? Fundamentalist Christians have a particular aversion to borrowing, quoting Paul:
Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. (Rom.13:8)
In Exodus we read how God ordered the Israelites to borrow from the Egyptians just before they departed for the wilderness:
Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.(Exod.11:2)
The Lord would later tell them to lend out money:
If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:
But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. (Deut.15:7-8)
Even Jesus told a parable involving lending and borrowing (Luke.11:5-8) and instructed His listeners on the mount:
Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away. (Matt.5:42)
I am pretty sure that the Lord would not have encouraged His people to sin, therefore when Paul spoke of not owing any man anything, he must have meant that accounts must be kept up to date and not neglected, that no person can point finger and deride God’s people as untrustworthy.
The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth. (Prov.37:21)
He is not wicked because he borrows, he is wicked because he does not repay. Hiding behind a few legal clauses, does not mean you are not accountable to God. The verse prior to the one in which Paul says we must owe no man anything, he says:
Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.
(Rom.13:7)
Tribute being a fixed amount that needed to be paid regularly, or an account and custom being tax.
Worldly logic encourages the establishment of companies, public or private, and then borrowing in the company’s name. This leaves you obligation free if anything should go wrong, you are absolved of any responsibility to repay the debt out of your personal assets.
This is all very legal by world standards, but where does that leave you spiritually?
If you need to borrow to facilitate your increase, then do it, there is no scriptural argument against it except the warning
The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. (Prov.22:7)
Make sure that you can pay it back. Your initial budget calculations must include interest and repayments. There is an incident in the Old Testament where one of the foremost prophets actively encouraged a person to borrow:
Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.
And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.
Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.
So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.
And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.
(2Ki.4:1-7)
The widow needed to borrow vessels otherwise she would not have been able to receive the increase God had for her. Without the borrowed vessels she would have lost her sons, who probably were her only source of income and security in her old age. She would have lost her house, her possessions and possibly her life. Special note must be taken of verse 7. Once the increase had come she was instructed to pay her debts out of the increase, and then enjoy what was left. Do not leave your debt as your last obligation; it must be your first.
These days there are many ways to start a business. Loans, mortgages, leasing or rental, consignment or period payment over a set time scale – usually 30, 60 or 90 days. With a bit of ingenuity and advice you could start up without it costing you anything or very much, those costs will come later, but be assured, they will come.
The market is very flexible and advice plentiful. Seek advice but make sure that the people you approach are reputable.
Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. (Prov.13:10)
Get all the help you can, it is not a time for pride. Others have been at it for years, you are starting out. Most people enjoy telling of their experiences, showing off how much they know. Make friends with them, they could be a great help to you. A word of advice now may remove years of waiting for your vision to be realized.
What must always be remembered is that money is a tool to be used; it is not the reason for your living. It is not ‘the big, bad wolf’ unless you make it so. It is not something to be afraid of. It does not talk, only those who use it, talk. Sometimes they use it as a weapon, sometimes they hide behind it, using it as an excuse for their behavior. But money is illiterate and can do nothing on its own. Use it as you need, do not let others use it against you. You are, and must remain, its master.