If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God. Leviticus 25:35-38
“Israelites who experience crop failure may be forced to default on a loan, thus becoming in effect tenants on their own land while they work off their debt. In such cases, their creditors must amortize the loan (without interest), allow them to work the land, and produce what they need to live. All Israelites know what it means to be forced into slave labor that creates capital for an economic system in which they have no voice. It is this memory, and especially the memory of God who redeemed them from such exploitation in Egypt, that must motivate their compassion for those in need.”
Samuel E. Balentine in Leviticus (Interpretation; Louisville: WJKP, 1999) 196.
The last half of Leviticus 25 addresses Jubilee provisions in the case of people becoming poor. Their brothers who assist them are explicitly instructed not to charge interest or make a profit from them. This basis of this instruction is the reminder that God delivered the entire nation from oppression. In plain terms, God came to your aid in crisis, do the same for your brother.
What does this have to do with our generosity today? Everything. God’s design for social and economic interaction with those who fall on hard times is to aid them, not prey on them. This OT perspective appears in NT texts like Luke 10:25-37 where Jesus define what it means to love our neighbor by citing the example of the Good Samaritan. Our doing good should lift up the needy around us, especially those in the community of faith (Galatians 6:10).
But why do this? A similar motivation emerges in the New Testament. Our deliverance from sin and death was accomplished by the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, in gratitude for the compassion we received from our Lord Jesus Christ, we show love to others in social and economic ways through caring and sharing. We must keep the memory of God and His grace toward us in the front of our minds to guide our thinking.
I flew to Edmonton, Alberta, last night to teach at Taylor Seminary this morning. I will speak on topics from my book, The Choice: The Christ-Centered Pursuit of Kingdom Outcomes. Reply to this email if you want a free PDF copy. I mention this because in ministry administration as well as our stewardship of personal resources, we can choose to follow God’s design, also known as “the kingdom path” or the world’s pattern, referred to as “the common path.”
When we lose our memory of God and all He has done for us, we follow the common path, which in this case, is to charge interest to the needy. We forget that we are here for a different purpose and to accomplish kingdom aims. That said, let me jog your memory of God. If you have been blessed with abundance, allow your generosity to help the needy freely. In your giving portfolio, include organizations that offer interest free loans to the poor.