November 13, 2026

Business by the Book

Proverbs 22:7 …the borrower is servant to the lender.

As a pastor I am sometimes asked, “Is it wrong to borrow money?”  I do not believe it is wrong to obtain a well thought out loan, especially on an item that increases in value, but I definitely believe that it is wrong to borrow money and not pay it back. I have been both borrower and lender, and given the choice I would never be either again.

If borrowing money becomes a necessity remember this verse. Until that money is paid back you are a servant to the lender. No longer is there freedom to use a paycheck any way the earner desires, for the lender must be considered. How much of that paycheck needs to be set aside to pay back the lender? Let’s say someone owes a debt with a $1,000 a month payment. The time and effort it takes to earn $1,000 belongs to the lender. For that time and for that amount of labor the worker is a servant to the lender. Freedom is the opposite of servitude. One cannot be totally free while at the same time being a servant. If freedom is desired, do not borrow money.

In our example, not only is the worker a servant for the amount of money they borrowed, they are also a servant for the interest that is surely to be added. The interest is the payment to the lender for using their money for a given period of time. Think about it, by paying another interest you are paying money on money you don’t have. It’s like paying a $25.00 penalty on a bounced check. It’s always seemed to be a twist of irony that a company would charge a person more of what they don’t have as a penalty. If they do not have enough to cover the check, how is it that they are expected to have enough to cover the check and cover the penalty? To me interest on borrowed money is similar.

There is a time to borrow though. In the corporate finance classes I took in college I remember the “future value of money” calculations that we were taught. Basically through this complicated mathematical formula a business could determine which would be better, spending their capital or borrowing money. Major expenditures may warrant borrowing, but this is a serious decision that must be deliberated thoroughly.

However, if the decision is to borrow money know this, until it is paid off the borrower is a servant to a degree, to the lender.

Dr. William Howe