Richard Foster: Usury

He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death; his blood will be on his own head. Ezekiel 18:13

“Seventh, look with a healthy skepticism at all “buy now, pay later” schemes. They are a trap and only deepen your bondage. Both Old and New Testaments condemn usury for good reasons. (“Usury” in the Bible is not used in the modern sense of exorbitant interest; it referred to any kind of interest at all.) Charging interest was viewed as an unbrotherly exploitation of another’s misfortune, hence a denial of community. Jesus denounced usury as a sign of the old life and admonished His disciples to “lend, expecting nothing in return” (Luke 6:35).”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 93.

I find it ironic how many biblical texts the modern society ignores or labels as not applicable today. Take usury for example. Biblical texts condemn it, while it serves as the bedrock and foundation of modern society.

Think about why biblical texts would condemn it. Foster puts it best by calling it “unbrotherly exploitation at another’s misfortune.” Let’s unpack what this looks like from a biblical perspective.

I do honest work. Someone needs help. I can help by lending freely from the resources I have gained from honest work. But rather than lend and expect nothing in return, I lend and make him a slave by charging interest.

The interest I make, in biblical terms, is called dishonest gain. I did not earn it with work, but extorted it from a brother in need without work. However, in modern times we read “dishonest gain” as breaking modern or local laws, not biblical laws.

Notice how we rationalize sin as acceptable behavior. To choose a life of simplicity says that I will do honest work for honest gain, avoid dishonest gain or unbrotherly exploitation. This may call me to live totally different from the world.

I kept today in the first person “I” because this represents a sensitive topic. Each of us must take to heart the biblical words and the thinking behind them and answer to God. He cares about how we treat each other. He wants us to lend generously. Will we?

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Psalm 24:1

“Sixth, develop a deeper appreciation for the creation. Get close to the earth. Walk whenever you can. Listen to the birds. Enjoy the texture of grass and leaves. Smell the flowers. Marvel in the rich colors everywhere. Simplicity means to discover once again that “the earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (Ps. 24:1).”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 93.

What a privilege to enjoy creation in South Carolina and to enjoy the beauty of the sea.

Today is Jenni’s birthday, and we head back home to the mountains of Colorado this evening. But what a privilege to enjoy the sea, a very different part of God’s creation, with old friends and new ones at The Abbey at Pawleys Island for a few days.

If you want to listen to my sermon from yesterday, you should find it here. I only wish the recording could capture the beauty of God’s creation in this setting. It was gorgeous.

Next time you take a walk and do the things Foster suggests in today’s post, ponder how God supplies for His creation and how much He cares for you. I pray it inspires you to serve as a generous conduit of care to a lost and hurting world.

The person who helps me see these things and ponder them is my wife, Jenni. If you do not subscribe to her fortnightly Spigot (it comes every other Tuesday), subscribe here. Be blessed.

I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on mankind: God gives some people wealth, possessions and honor, so that they lack nothing their hearts desire, but God does not grant them the ability to enjoy them, and strangers enjoy them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil. Ecclesiastes 6:1-2

“Fifth, learn to enjoy things without owning them. Owning things is an obsession in our culture. If we own it, we feel we can control it; and if we can control it, we feel it will give us more pleasure. The idea is an illusion. Many things in life can be enjoyed without possessing or controlling them. Share things. Enjoy the beach without feeling you have to buy a piece of it. Enjoy public parks and libraries.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 93.

I was just talking about this with my host and friend here in Pawleys Island, South Carolina, David Richmond. Whatever we think we own, owns us. Then it steals our ability to enjoy it because as Foster says “if we can control it, we feel it will give us more pleasure.”

No one who is a slave to things can either enjoy them or find satisfaction in them. So the grievous evil is not that God does not give us the ability to enjoy things. He allows our obsessions and lets them lead us to emptiness rather than to Him as the only One who satisfies.

If you want to hear my sermon along these general lines today, entitled “The Secret to Grasping Life in the Economy of God,” visit The Abbey at Pawleys Island streaming page at 10:30am ET or listen to the recording later on that same page.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare. Isaiah 55:2

Fourth, refuse to be propagandized by the custodians of modern gadgetry. Timesaving devices almost never save time. Beware of the promise, “It will pay for itself in six months.” Most gadgets are built to break down and wear out and so complicate our lives rather than enhance them.

This problem is a plague in the toy industry. Children do not need to be entertained by dolls that cry, eat, wet, sweat, and spit. An old rag doll can be more enjoyable and more lasting. Often children find more joy in playing with old pots and pans than with the latest space set. Look for toys that are educational and durable. Make some yourself.

Usually gadgets are an unnecessary drain on the energy resources of the world, The United States has less than six percent of the world’s population, but consumes about thirty-three percent of the world’s energy. Air conditioners in the United States alone use the same amount of energy as does the entire country of China. Environmental responsibility alone should keep us from buying the majority of the gadgets produced today.

Propagandists try to convince us that because the newest model of this or that has a new feature (trinket?), we must sell the old one and buy the new one. Sewing machines have new stitches, stereos have new buttons, cars have new designs. Such media dogma needs to be carefully scrutinized. Often “new” features seduce us into buying what we do not need. Probably that refrigerator will serve us quite well for the rest of our lives even without the fancy exterior.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 92-93.

The prophet Isaiah makes an invitation to all who thirst to come to God and get that which satisfies. Simultaneously, he wants hearers to avoid spending on stuff that will not satisfy.

The key is to watch out what voices we listen to, especially the propaganda or agenda of the marketers.

Hear me as I spend a weekend with a blessed bloke in sales. There are good things out there that serve us well and spending on them makes sense for us and our families.

I loved Foster’s toy illustration. Imagine reading it in my shoes. I have two granddaughters. They passed 3 years old and 1 year old back in April. When we are together, they love carrying around a baby doll.

And for my American readers, the need for power for everything coupled with a sensitivity to the impact of our lives on the environment led us to get solar panels and an electric car.

Remarkably and providentially, we got a used AWD electric car only 4,000 miles for half price but that’s another story for another day. My point is not to tell you to get an electric car.

My point today aims at raising your awareness to propaganda.

And if these ten posts (that’s right, six more coming) from Foster seem to go from “preaching to meddling” as they say here in the south, well then perhaps just pause. Ask God to guide your response by the Holy Spirit.

The less we listen to propaganda and the more we spend money on things that satisfy, the more margin we have in our lives to live, give, serve, and love generously.

Leaning into that with God today. With you.

And if you are in South Carolina, come hear me preach tomorrow at The Abbey (pictured above at 46 Gathering Lane, Pawleys Island) from 10:30am to 12noon and then we have food and speaking again with Jenni from 5pm to 7pm.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling His disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything — all she had to live on.” Mark 12:41-44

Third, develop a habit of giving things away. If you find that you are becoming attached to some possession, consider giving it to someone who needs it. I still remember the Christmas I decided that rather than buying or even making an item, I would give away something that meant a lot to me. My motive was selfish: I wanted to know the liberation that comes from even this simple act of voluntary poverty. The gift was a tenspeed bike. As I went to the person’s home to deliver the present, I remember singing with new meaning the worship chorus, “Freely, freely you have received; freely, freely give.” When my son Nathan was six years old he heard of a classmate who needed a lunch pail and asked me if he could give him his own lunch pail. Hallelujah! De-accumulate! Masses of things that are not needed complicate life. They must be sorted and stored and dusted and re-sorted and re-stored ad nauseam. Most of us could get rid of half our possessions without any serious sacrifice.

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 91-92.

Imagine if God’s people adopted the trajectory of voluntary poverty. It’s the only kind of giving celebrated by Jesus but not popular by any means. Why not? Think about it.

Things promise us a better life and, in reality, they only complicate it as we amass them.

What if your son wanted to give away his lunch pail. What would you say? Our son said something like this to us and we noticed our first reaction was to stop the radical giving. We didn’t but that was our reaction.

Giving out of voluntary poverty is the richest kind of giving because it demonstrates complete trust in God.

What can you give away this week? As you do, tell yourself this this widely quoted saying, “Do your giving while you’re living so you are knowing where it is going.

The resources in your stewardship have been entrusted to you. My best advice: voluntary poverty. Give them away.

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but not everything is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23

Second, reject anything that is producing an addiction in you. Learn to distinguish between a real psychological need, like cheerful surroundings, and an addiction. Eliminate or cut down on the use of addictive, non-nutritional drinks: alcohol, coffee, tea, Coca-Cola, and so on. Chocolate has become a serious addiction for many people. If you have become addicted to television, by all means sell your set or give it away. Any of the media that you find you cannot do without, get rid of: radios, stereos, magazines, videos, newspapers, books. If money has a grip on your heart, give some away and feel the inner release. Simplicity is freedom, not slavery. Refuse to be a slave to anything but God.

Remember, an addiction, by its very nature, is something that is beyond your control. Resolves of the will alone are useless in defeating a true addiction, You cannot just decide to be free of it. But you can decide to open this corner of your life to the forgiving grace and healing power of God. You can decide to allow loving friends who know the ways of prayer to stand with you. You can decide to live simply one day at a time in quiet dependence upon God’s intervention.

How do you discern an addiction? Very simply, you watch for undisciplined compulsions. A student friend told me about one morning when he went out to get his newspaper and found it missing. He panicked, wondering how he could possibly start the day without the newspaper. Then he noticed a morning paper in his neighbor’s yard, and he began to plot how he could sneak over and steal it. Immediately he realized that he was dealing with a genuine addiction. He rushed inside and called the newspaper office to cancel his subscription.

The receptionist, obviously filling out a form, asked courteously, “Why are you canceling your subscription to the newspaper?” My friend blurted out, “Because I’m addicted!” Undaunted, the receptionist replied, “Would you like to cancel your entire subscription or would you like to keep the Sunday edition?” to which he exclaimed, “No, I’m going cold turkey!” Now, obviously not everyone should cancel their subscription to the newspaper, but for this young man it was an important act.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 90-91.

I smiled when I read this because many readers don’t even remember things like newspapers, remnants of the ancient world in which I grew up. When you read that, just think Instagram, Facebook, or similar modern addictions.

In the second of ten practical recommendations from Foster, we see keen advice. “How do you discern an addiction? Very simply, you watch for undisciplined compulsions.” Knowing what to watch for helps us avoid slavery.

In writing God’s people in Corinth, the Apostle Paul stated clearly that while many things were acceptable or while he had the right to exercise many freedoms, not everything was beneficial and constructive.

When we watch for undisciplined compulsions and avoid addictions, we create margin for constructive service, for beneficial generosity, because we cut the waste out of life.

At this point, I imagine the characters contrived by C.S. Lewis, Screwtape and Wormwood, sitting on either side of each of us. They want us addicted and enslaved to anything but Jesus.

Pray for safe travel today. Jenni and I fly to South Carolina to speak this weekend on stewardship and generosity at the Abbey in Pawleys Island. That’s right, the Generosity Monk and the Soulcare Anchoress visiting the Abbey.

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 1 Timothy 6:8

“To describe simplicity only as an inner reality is to say something false. The inner reality is not a reality until there is an outward expression. To experience the liberating spirit of simplicity will affect how we live. As I have warned earlier, every attempt to give specific application to simplicity runs the risk of a deterioration into legalism. It is a risk, however, that we must take, for to refuse to discuss specifics would banish the Discipline to the theoretical. After all, the writers of Scripture constantly took that risk. And so I follow their lead and suggest ten controlling principles for the outward expression of simplicity. They should never be viewed as laws but as only one attempt to flesh out the meaning of simplicity for today.

First, buy things for their usefulness rather than their status. Cars should be bought for their utility, not their prestige. Consider riding a bicycle. When you are considering an apartment, a condominium, or a house, thought should be given to livability rather than how much it will impress others. Don’t have more living space than is reasonable. After all, who needs seven rooms for two people? Consider your clothes. Most people have no need for more clothes. They buy more not because they need clothes, but because they want to keep up with the fashions. Hang the fashions! Buy what you need. Wear your clothes until they are worn out. Stop trying to impress people with your clothes and impress them with your life. If it is practical in your situation, learn the joy of making clothes. And for God’s sake (and I mean that quite literally) have clothes that are practical rather than ornamental.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 89-90.

Foster’s good chapter on simplicity just got better with his list of ten practical applications. We will explore them over the next ten days.

Imagine if Christian stewards everywhere focused their spending toward what is useful and practical rather than on what is ornamental and aimed at gaining status before people!

It would be a different world. Today’s advice speaks to the decisions we make everyday related to spending. Useful things may not always be the least expensive.

Let’s all aim at this. Let’s set a trend not to follow the crowd but to choose a path of contentment with what is useful and practical in vehicles, living situations, apparel, and food.

The best part about this. It prepares us to give an account before God of our stewardship while creating margin to live, give, serve, and love generously and exhibiting a witness consistent to our faith.

Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:10-11

“To have our goods available to others marks and inner attitude of simplicity. If our goods are not available to the community when it is clearly right and good, then they are stolen goods. The reason we find such an idea so difficult is our fear of the future. We cling to our possessions rather than sharing them because we are anxious about tomorrow. But if we truly believe that God is who Jesus says He is, then we do not need to be afraid. When we come to see God as the almighty Creator and our loving Father, we can share because we know that he will care for us. If someone is in need, we are free to help them. Again, ordinary common sense will define the parameters of our sharing and save us from foolishness.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 89.

Listen to this line again: “If our goods are not available to the community when it is clearly right and good, then they are stolen goods.” Did you hear that? It matches so many texts in the biblical narrative.

When Achan kept for himself spoils from Ai that belonged to God in Joshua 7, the literal term says that he embezzled from God. Stolen goods! The same terms is used linked to the sin of Ananias and Sapphire in Acts 5. Stolen goods!

Many text declare God’s ownership of everything (Exodus 19:15; Deuteronomy 10:14; and Psalm 24:1, among others), so anytime we claim ownership of anything that belongs to God, we are in dangerous territory: Stolen goods.

Today I want to give you an opportunity to share. GTP will host the Global Gathering of 100+ board members, staff, and key volunteers from 60+ countries in October 2025. Preparations are well underway. I am writing on behalf of about 75 key volunteers.

Each one rallied 12+ senders to get the privilege of attending. But most of them, coming from places like Burundi, Botswana, or Nepal, only raised a few dollars or a maybe $100. Can you make a gift here to help cover the cost of their participation?

These estimated total need is about $75,000 for uncovered expenses related travel, lodging, meals, and conference costs. Give as you are able. Please, make a gift of any size available to help workers who have rallied local support but need our help. Thanks.

The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. Psalm 121:8

“It is God’s business, and not ours, to care for what we have… God is able to protect what we possess. We can trust Him. Does that mean that we should never take the keys out of the car or lock the door? Of course not. But we know that the lock on the door is not what protects the house. It is only common sense to take normal precautions, but if we believe that precaution itself protects us and our goods, we will be riddled with anxiety. There simply is no such thing as “burglar proof” precaution. Obviously, these matters are not restricted to possessions but include such things as our reputation and our employment. Simplicity means the freedom to trust God for these (and all) things.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 88-89.

Think about it. The call for us to love God and love our neighbor finds deep roots in the profound truth that God cares more about protecting us, than we do, and we can trust Him with our lives and possessions.

Nothing happens to us that He does not allow. Nothing can thwart His plans. Nothing, as Foster rightly notes is “burglar proof” as sometimes God allows us to experience losses for bigger purposes we may not understand.

His commands to live, give, serve, and love generously are based on His matchless and abundant love for us. We can rest in His protection and trust in His unfailing love. But do we live like we believe this?

Ask the Holy Spirit this question. What needs to change in my life to show I trust in God’s protection for me?

When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy. Psalm 94:19

“Freedom from anxiety is one of the inward evidences of seeking first the kingdom of God. The inward reality of simplicity involves a life of joyful unconcern for possessions. Neither the greedy nor the miserly know this liberty. It has nothing to do with abundance of possessions or their lack. It is an inward spirit of trust. The sheer fact that a person is living without things is no guarantee that he or she is living in simplicity. Paul taught us that the love of money is the root of all evil, and I have discovered that often those who have it the least love it the most. It is possible for a person to be developing an outward life- style of simplicity and to be filled with anxiety. Conversely, wealth does not bring freedom from anxiety.

Kierkegaard writes, “… riches and abundance come hypocritically clad in sheep’s clothing pretending to be security against anxieties and they become then the object of anxiety … they secure a man against anxieties just about as well as the wolf which is put to tending the sheep secures them … against the wolf.” Freedom from anxiety is characterized by three inner attitudes. If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety.

This is the inward reality of simplicity. However, if what we have we believe we have gotten, and if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety. Such persons will never know simplicity regardless of the outward contortions they may put themselves through in order to live “the simple life.”

To receive what we have as a gift from God is the first inner attitude of simplicity. We work but we know that it is not our work that gives us what we have. We live by grace even when it comes to “daily bread.” We are dependent upon God for the simplest elements of life: air, water, sun. What we have is not the result of our labor, but of the gracious care of God. When we are tempted to think that what we own is the result of our personal efforts, it takes only a little drought or a small accident to show us once again how utterly dependent we are for everything.”

Richard Foster (b. 1942) in Celebration of Discipline (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 87-88.

How beautiful that a benefit of choosing a life of simplicity results in freedom from anxiety. God’s ways bring peace and life and they position us for rich generosity.

Notice this statement from Foster: “if what we have we believe we must hold onto, and if what we have is not available to others, then we will live in anxiety.”

Or reflect on Kierkegaard who writes: “… riches and abundance come hypocritically clad in sheep’s clothing pretending to be security against anxieties and they become then the object of anxiety …”

When we choose simplicity, we proclaim that all we have came from God. This opens our hands to enjoy and share God’s blessings generously. Ponder this today with gratitude.

And choose simplicity.