Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies? And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury. Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them.” Then they said, “We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say.” So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise. I also shook out the front of my garment and said, “Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said, “Amen!” And they praised the Lord. Then the people did according to this promise. Nehemiah 5:9-13
“Listen, you rich men, to the kind of advice I am giving to the poor because of your inhumanity. Far better endure under their dire straits than undergo the troubles that are bred of usury! But if you were obedient to the Lord, what need of these words? What is the advice of the Master? Lend to those from whom ye do not hope to receive (Luke 6:34-35). And what kind of loan is this, it is asked, from all which all idea of the expectation of repayment is withdrawn? Consider the force of the expression, and you will be amazed at the loving-kindness of the legislator. When you mean to supply the need of a poor man for the Lord’s sake, the transaction is at once a gift and a loan. Because there is no expectation of reimbursement, it is a gift. Yet because of the munificence of the Master, Who repays on the recipient’s behalf, it is a loan. ‘He that hath pity on the poor lendeth unto the Lord’ (Proverbs 19:17). Do you not wish the Master of the universe to be responsible for your repayment? If any wealthy man in the town promises you repayment on behalf of others, do you admit his suretyship? But you do not accept God, Who more than repays on behalf of the poor. Give the money lying useless, without weighting it with increase, and both shall be benefited. To you will accrue the security of its safe keeping. The recipients will have the advantage of its use. And if it is increase which you seek, be satisfied with that which is given by the Lord. He will pay the interest for the poor. Await the loving-kindness of Him Who is in truth most kind.”
Basil the Great (330-379) bishop of Caesarea, one of the three Cappadocian Fathers, and doctor of the Eastern Church in Basil: Letters and Select Works (Grand Rapids: CCEL) 83-84.
In my recent study of Nehemiah, I saw the toxic power of usury destroying the relationships between the people. Rather than lending and trusting God to replenish according to His promise, they were heaping burdens on one another for gain. It had to stop in the days of Nehemiah and must stop today among God’s people. This will be hard because most of modern society is structured usury, that is, lending at interest.
Here’s where we can make a difference, or at least a start. If you believe in the munificence of the Master, the next time you have a poor person experience financial need, think of aiding them as lending to the highest rated surety company. In plain terms, God has promised to repay you so put that stagnant money to work. Basil would argue, and I with him, that there is no greater use of those funds in the eyes of God.
As my word for the year, kindness, intersects with generosity, I am discovering that open-handed lending to the poor, positions us to receive the promise of God’s kindness. Jesus is calling us to handle money in otherworldly ways, and says that when we do we will be called “children of the Most High” (Luke 6:34-35). Any hesitancy on our part reveals our disbelief. Don’t let that be you. Put away usury. Aid your neighbor without delay.