Lending and Expecting no Repayment (2)

And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful (Luke 6:33-36).

A reader asks, "I have borrowed from other Christians in the past but I have never had one tell me he does not expect repayment. Given the above verses, do you think a Christian should expect to repay a loan?"

If it is true that a Christian helps his neighbour because he loves his neighbour, he helps his neighbour in any way he can so that he may seek his neighbour’s salvation. He seeks his neighbour’s salvation, therefore, by giving him what he needs and speaking of the truth of the gospel as he has experienced it in his own life. It is this which now prompts him to help his neighbour in his need.

(I hope it is not necessary to point out that if a neighbour is starting a business and wants you to help with the business by investing some money, in this strictly business transaction it is usually necessary to draw up papers stipulating the amount borrowed, the interest to be paid and the repayment schedule. That is an entirely different matter and something of no interest to the Lord in Luke 6.)

If the one to whom you lend money never repays you, do not go to him and harass him for the money. Forget about the money.

If your neighbour is a fellow Christian and needs something which you have, you not only do not charge interest; you do not even loan the money; you give what your brother needs freely as a gift. Isn’t that what God has done to you? Does He give you a gift for which He expects repayment? Does He give you the money with which you buy a car, and then charge you interest? Does He give you Christ and expect a return from you? Is it God’s investment in you, from which God expects returns? No, He gives freely and graciously. We are to do the same. God is kind to us who are "unthankful" and "evil" (33). Ought we not be the same to our neighbour?

Behind all this instruction on how to live as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven lies another principle, the principle of Christian stewardship. While Christian stewardship means a number of things, it means also that we "sit loose" to material things. They are needed (in small amounts) to walk our pilgrim’s pathway, but all material things are not very important. They are, in a sense, necessary evils. They serve a purely temporary purpose. Whether we have material things or lack them is of no concern to us. We are indifferent to them. Insofar as we do have them, we are to use them solely for the purpose of furthering the cause of the kingdom of heaven, in which we are citizens. If we give them away, so what? We are going to inherit the earth, are we not? Who cares how much we own and how big our bank account is? We have more important things to worry about. If our neighbour needs the money we have, let him have it. It is of small importance and is as easy to give to him as it is to give him a shovel full of soil.

The kingdom of heaven and life in it requires a certain indifference to earthly possessions. If we have that attitude of indifference towards earthly things, we will have no problem obeying our Lord’s command.