That got me thinking about what I believe and why I believe it. I found that I could talk all day long on what I believe, but there were things that I knew I couldn’t form a solid defence on based in the Bible. So I decided to fix that. I’ll be writing a series of posts that are an exploration of the Bible to see what it says about certain topics. The topic this week: Debt and Lending. I could tell you all day long what I think about it, but ask me to back it up with the Bible, and I have but one verse for you:

Proverbs 22:7
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

That’s the verse I’ve heard time and time again arguing against debt - even going as far as calling debt sin. The problem here is that I don’t see that verse calling debt sin. Certainly, anybody with any common sense knows that drowning in debt is not a particularly good financial move, and anyone up to their eyeballs in debt knows the feeling of being enslaved to debt. But where does that verse call it sin? Where does that verse say that, under no circumstances, you should never ever never never borrow or lend money?

In fact, in studying through the Bible, I’ve found it says more in favor of lending than against it (give me a minute, here!). Let me lay a few verses out there.

Psalms 112:5
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.

Matthew 5:42
Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

I could go on, but I think I’m being redundant at this point. It seems pretty clear to me that the Bible doesn’t have much against lending or borrowing money - under certain circumstances! It seems that the Bible actually encourages us to lend to those who are in need. The bible says to lend to those who are in need. I’m no Bible scholar, but it seems to me that if lending money is acceptable, then borrowing money when you are in need is also acceptable. I think “need” is the key word here. I believe it’s downright stupid to borrow money for something you do not need. That car that’s worth more than you make in a year? That house you really have no hope of paying off in 30 years?

Proverbs 22:7
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

I hope you really like them, because you’ll be paying for them several times over in interest by the time you pay them off. Just think of what you could do with all that money the bank is getting. The money that - as Dave Ramsey puts it - MASTERcard and American Excess are getting. Imagine saving up for stuff, then saving what you would’ve paid in interest. Or giving it to the local church or other charitable organization. God called us to be good stewards of what he has given us, and living drowned in debt is just plain foolish.

Moving on.

So be smart. Only lend or borrow in times of need (not “want”). The Bible also lays a couple ground rules for lending money - conveniently summed up in the following verses.

Exodus 22:25
“If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest.

Nehemiah 5:10
I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let the exacting of usury stop!

If you lend money, do it out of a generous spirit. Do not lend money to others just to make a buck. People lending money should be doing so in an effort to help those who they are lending to. The Bible says not to charge excessive interest - it even says at one point to not charge him interest at all! If you lend to somone in need, do it with a heart to help, not a heart to extort.

So that’s what I have. I’m still processing and still learning, but I’ve definitely had my mind prodded here. I’d be interested to hear what you people think. Do you agree with my assessment? Do you know of other verses that concern debt and lending? Am I way off base? Let me know what you think.

So here it is, in all its glory.
btw, “M” is the start and end point.

According to this map, I travel 49.8 miles. 1.2 signs per mile. 1.98 gallons of gas. 30 signs per campus. 5.45 signs per road. Pulled over 0.07 times per week. I could go on, but I’m thinking too hard at this point.

Our Canton campus is between J and K, and our Holly Springs campus is near the center of D, G and E. I don’t put any signs out by L or M, that’s just me driving to Canton/Holly Springs from where I live. Fun stuff.

Oh, and there’s also a Wordpress plugin I found that’ll automagically create a Cli.gs url for your posts and post it to twitter for you. You can find it here.

• The Heavens will open. And by that I mean it will rain. Or snow. Or hail. Or precipitate in some other manner. Rain is a mixed blessing; it makes it much easier to get the signs in the ground, but it also makes you wet. I don’t like being wet. Especially when I’m spending three hours driving around putting signs out. Just pray that God has mercy on your soul and puts a plug in it while you’re out.
• Someone will take your spot. You know what I’m talking about. You’ve been doing this for a long time. You know your route. You know where every sign goes. You operate like a well-oiled machine. Then it happens. You pull up to put out a sign, and some idiot already put a sign exactly where you usually put yours. Did they do it on purpose? Probably not. Is it the end of the world? Certainly not. Does it still tick you off? Absolutely. They probably put it in that one soft spot in an area of rock-hard ground, didn’t they? Now you have  to spend five minutes trying to find another square inch of ground you can put you sign in without blocking theirs. Take a deep breath, and good luck.
• People block your signs. This is somewhat similar to the point above. Some dude will like the spot your sign is in, so he’ll just stick his right in front of yours, completely blocking it from view. Or some idiot will tape a yard sale sign over your sign. I mean - seriously? You taped your yard sale sign over my sign? Really? [insert SNL segment here]
• Cops happen. There are two kinds of cops that you encounter when you’re putting out signs. The first one sees you pulled over, and pulls up behind you to make sure you don’t need help. Once he sees that you’re just fine, thank you, he’ll tell you to have a good day/night, then go on his way. That’s the kind of cop that I like. The other kind thinks that since you’re out past 10pm/before 6am, you must be a drug dealer. They ask you completely obvious questions (you just saw me pick up that sign…), take your license and insurance, write down your license plate number, then talk to dispatch for forever. When they’ve finally given up trying to peg you for something, they’ll give you your stuff back and tell you to stay out of trouble. I’ll try…I realize they’re doing their job, but it’s still annoying.
• People take your signs. Let’s face it: not everyone likes your signs all over the place. Rather than wait for you to pick them up, they’ll just do the favor for you. I’ve also had people, for a reason not known to me, move my signs. They don’t take them. They just move them. I’ve also heard of people taking our signs and putting theirs in that spot. Don’t be that person. That person is lame.
• The people will come. That’s the bottom line. You do this for a reason. You do this so that people will come. And they will come. You may never know who they are. They may never know who you are. But that doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know them. They don’t need to know you. They need to know Jesus. And that’s why you do this. So that they may know Jesus. Nuff said.

This week, Southern Way by Corey Crowder takes the prize. I’m generally not a fan of Southern Folk/Rock/Whatever you’d call this, but I dig it. Enjoy!

If you’re cool, you’ll leave a comment telling me what you think of it.

• PRICE - Most of the albums on AmazonMP3 are cheaper than iTunes. Looks like the majority of them are in the neighborhood of $8.99, while iTunes hangs around the $9.99 range. Hey, every penny counts. I’ve seen some albums on AmazonMP3 with a regular (ie, not in a promotion) price of $5.99. Doesn’t take much to convince me to sink six bucks into an album. Not much at all.
• DRM (or lack thereof) - “Wait a second!” you argue, “none of the iTunes Plus tracks have DRM on them!” True. But NONE of the AmazonMP3 tracks have DRM. Not one. Nada. You don’t have to try and figure out which tracks are DRM-free. You can be rest assured that anything you buy from AmazonMP3 will be free of legal constraints. You buy it, you own it, do what you want with it.
• MP3 - This is somewhat tied to the above statement. EVERYTHING on AmazonMP3 comes in mp3 format (hence, the name). Even some of the DRM free iTunes Plus tracks insist on downloading in AAC format. Not a dealbreaker, but it’s nice to consistently get the same format. And for those of you who have non-Apple-made mp3 players (do those people even exist?), AAC doesn’t play nice with many non-Apple players. Lack of DRM means it can easily be converted to another format, but why not get something that COMES in a format that can be used anywhere?
• Quality - Every track on the AmazonMP3 store comes at 256kbps. And in case you have any doubt, it actually straight up tells you on the song/artist/album page. Some tracks use a variable bit rate with an average of 256kbps. That simply means that more complex parts of the songs will be encoded higher to preserve quality, and less complex parts will be encoded lower where higher quality isn’t needed. This generates an overall better quality encoding without increasing the file size. In iTunes, however, only the iTunes plus songs come at 256kpbs. The “regular” songs come at 128kbps. With DRM. Ugh.

Amazon even makes it easy to buy from them. When you download tracks from  AmazonMP3, they’ll automagically add it to your iTunes or Windows Media Player libraries. If you have said media players automatically organize your library (ie, you don’t have to tell it where to put the songs when you import cds), AmazonMP3 will put the files in the right place. Download from AmazonMP3, open iTunes, and Viola! your songs are there. Fancy.

Since music studios are just warming up to the idea of selling DRM-free music, iTunes has a larger selection than AmazonMP3. AmazonMP3 is definitely the first place I’ll be looking to first for new music from now on.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

I said you can have whatever you like
I said you can have whatever you like

Tater tots, Cold Duck on ice
And we can clip coupons all night
And baby you can have whatever you like
I said you can have whatever you like

Take you out for dinner, anywhere that you please
Like Burger King or Mickey Ds
And baby you can have whatever you like
I said you can even have the large fry

Baby, you should know I am really quite a sweet guy
When I buy you bathroom tissue I always get the two-ply
Want it, you can get it, my dear
I got my Costco membership card right here

You like Top Ramen, need Top Ramen
Got a cupboard full of ‘em, I’ll keep ‘em coming
You want it, I got it, go get it, just heat it
Dump the flavor packet on it and eat it

Pork and beans and Minute Rice
And we can play Cribbage all night
And baby you can have whatever you like
I said you can have whatever you like

I can take you to the laundromat downtown
And watch all the clothes go round and round
And baby we can go wherever you like
I said we can go wherever you like

Hottest shorty I know, if you had some lipo
You could be second-runner-up Miss Ohio
Seven dollar bills rolled
Up inside my plastic billfold
Buy you a bagel even if it isn’t day old
And you never ever gotta wear your sister’s old clothes
As long as I’m still assistant manager at Kinko’s
Cut your hair with scissors and a soup bowl
You ain’t got to pay me, that’s the way that I roll

My chick can have want she want
At Wal-mart she can pick out anything she want
I know girl you ain’t never had a man like that
Who doesn’t make you buy generic brand like that

You like my Hyundai, see my Hyundai
I can take you to see your cousin Phil next Sunday
But that’s kind of far and I’m not made of cash
Do you think you could chip in for gas?
Mac and Cheese would be all right
But let’s send out for pizza tonight
And you can order any toppings you like
I said you can even have the last slice

Ran myself a cable from my neighbor next do’
Now I can get free HBO
And baby you can watch whatever you like
I said you can watch whatever you like

And you can always ride the city bus
Got a stack of tokens just for us
Yo, my wallet’s fat and full of ones
It’s all about the Washingtons, that’s right

You want White Castle, need White Castle
Long as you got me it won’t be no hassle
You want it, we’ll get it, just don’t be a hater
If I grab a bunch of napkins for later

Thrift store jeans on sale half-price
The underwear at Goodwill is nice
And baby you can have whatever you like
I said you can have whatever you like

Baby, I can give you anything you please
Even share my government cheese
And baby you can have as much as you like
I said you can have as much as you like

Check it!

1 Timothy 4:12 (NIV)

Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

I cannot tell you how many messages I have heard on this verse - especially in youth groups. Time after time, teachers get up and spout off that verse.

Then they preach on the first half.

Don’t let them look down. Though they quote the verse, I really hear them say this: “Ignore them. Ignore the people that look down on you because of your age. Don’t give ear to them. Go about your business as if they had never said anything.”

They hammer the verse over and over again, but I feel they miss the point. I am, by no stretch of the imagination, a bible scholar, but I feel the need to share my take on it. Probably more for my own sake than anyone else’s. I like preaching at myself =)

I think many teachers glaze over those first two words - don’t let. And I think those two words are the key here. Paul (the author of 1 Timothy) doesn’t say “Ignore anyone who looks down on you because you are young…” He says “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young…”

Don’t let them look down. Don’t allow them to look down. Give them no reason to look down. “…set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.” Paul is telling Timothy to live his life with such purity, such love, such faith, that his critics will not find anything to look down on. Let your actions speak of you character. Let what you do show the God that is inside you.

Too many times, young people (including myself) fall into what the world says the standard is. Youth and inexperience make us unqualified to do great things for God. Too many young people believe you have to have a seminary degree, five years of fasting, read through the bible 15 times, and be struck by lightning before they’re qualified to do mighty works for the cause of Christ. Certainly none of those things are bad (with the exception of being struck by lightning), but God does not set a bar to reach before being used. He is simply looking for somebody willing to be used.

Ezekiel 22:30 (NIV)

“I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.”

God said he was looking for a man who was willing to be used, but he couldn’t find one. God is looking for people who are willing to be used. God is looking for people who act when they see an opportunity - who fill in where they see a need. Again - I’m preaching to myself here, too. I can’t say I have a perfect record here.

Let’s take a look at another man who was called to do great things for God at a young age.

Jeremiah 1:4 -6 (NIV)

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“Ah, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.”

Jeremiah thought that his youth and inexperience made him unqualified to do what God had called him to do. Oddly enough, that didn’t change God’s mind.

Jeremiah 1:7-10 (NIV)

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. The the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “Now, I have put my words in your mouth.

God wasn’t impressed with Jeremiah’s excuses. God didn’t want to hear Jeremiah’s excuses. God called Jeremiah to action - and that’s precisely what he wanted.

God isn’t concerned with age and experience when he calls people to be used. Certainly, age and experience and wisdom are invaluable, but the lack of them do not preclude you from being used of God. I believe God is calling on young people to forget what the world tells them they can’t do, and show them that God has called them to do amazing things. If God himself says he can use young people to accomplish his will, who are we - and who are they - to tell him he can’t?

Don’t let them look down. Show them that God can and does use the young and old alike. Live you life with such faith, purity, love, and conduct that no one can doubt that God is moving in and through you.