Sleep on It

(Proverbs 22:27 KJV)  If thou hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

The Bible is generally in favor of being responsible in our finances.  This verse is a bit jarring.  I believe if someone borrows money, they should pay it back.  Yet this verse seems to be saying there are limits.  Sending the collection agency should stop before you put someone on the street.

Keep in mind that this is written in a culture where you could be sold into slavery for debts.  It wasn’t like today where you declare bankruptcy and walk away free.  And notice that this is directed toward the one who owes the money, not the one desiring to be paid back.

So?  I guess that the consistent position in all this is that we should not loan money we are not willing to lose.  I would suggest that you should also not lend money to someone who does not really need it or has a lifestyle of sloth that creates the need.  Of course the other side of that is to be willing to give if there is a real need.