A Tool, Not a Vice
We should recognize lending and borrowing as potentially useful, not as inherently sinful. Rather, debt is a tool that can improve our stewardship or detract from it; that can bless others or take advantage of their situation. To shun this tool would be to close our eyes to a powerful means of advancing God’s work on earth and promoting human flourishing. But to embrace it unquestioningly sets the stage for our financial ruin or for our participation in the financial ruin of others.
And as with any tool, charity should rule along with prudence and wisdom. We can learn how to use debt better with time—just as you can get better at operating a machine or driving a vehicle with practice. Our borrowing should be for productive uses. And our lending should be tempered by charity and generosity.
[ First published in the Spring 2023 issue of Religion & Liberty magazine. It can now be found, along with other Religion & Liberty articles, on the Acton Institute website ]
Paul D. Mueller is an associate professor of economics at The King’s College in NYC and the author of Ten Years Later: Why the Conventional Wisdom about the 2008 Financial Crisis Is Still Wrong.