subject: Dealing With Creditors [print this page] Dealing With Creditors Dealing With Creditors
Dealing With Creditors
The way someone deals with his creditors says a lot about his character and about Christianity. In Matthew 5:25 the Lord said, "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, in order that your opponent may not deliver you to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison." That is merely a confirmation of the principle taught in Proverbs 22:7: "The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower becomes the lender's slave."
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Many times I have seen Christians take up an offense against a creditor who is especially aggressive about wanting his money back. But though in our generation we have legally limited a lender's ability to collect his money, that does not negate his authority over the borrower.
The principle to remember is always to run toward your creditors, not away from them. When I am counseling, the most difficult problem to overcome is attempting to negotiate with a creditor who has been ignored for a long time. Put yourself in the position of a creditor. Wouldn't you want to know that someone was willing to pay but couldn't, rather than to be left totally in the dark?
Unfortunately, many people who can't pay everything don't pay anything. That is also an error. Pay what you can each month, even if it's only a partial payment. And don't make unrealistic promises in order to get a creditor off your back. You need to approach a promise to pay with the same degree of caution that you would the signing of a contract. When you give your word, you need to keep it. If you make a promise when you know that you won't be able to meet the terms, you have violated the principle of vows. Listen to what the judge said about vows in Ecclesiastes 5:4-5: "When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
