Six Questions to Avoid Financial Conflicts among Church Members
Photo courtesy/Wen Yingqian
Financial problems and disputes often occur in churches, which sometimes cause great distress to members. This article intends to use a question and answer method to discuss the relevant biblical principles and handling methods for the following six common issues.
In fact, many issues fall into a gray area. Apart from not violating biblical truth and not breaking the law, it depends on the situation. After referring to this article, if you are still not sure whether you can do this or that, first use the following two core principles to examine yourself. If you still have doubts, it is recommended to ask a pastor or spiritual elder; if it is a professional financial issue, you are not an expert. , it is recommended to consult an accountant or professional financial advisor.
1. Are there any regulations in the Bible regarding financial relationships among members of the church?
The Bible does mention many financial relationships between believers. Some are general principles, and some are special instructions. Most of them are in the Old Testament Book of Law, and there are also some teachings in the New Testament. This article will explain them one by one when answering the questions. Here we first propose two core principles.
First, the principle of good stewardship.First of all, we must realize that our money belongs to God, which means that God has "ownership" of our money, and we are just stewards of the money that God has entrusted to us. The requirements for a good steward are to be faithful, kind and knowledgeable, to manage money wisely and wisely (see Matthew 24:45 and Luke 12:42). Therefore, the use and exchange of money must be from the perspective of stewardship, so that we can not only be free from the bondage of money, but also be able to use money in a place that glorifies God and pleases God, and thus be blessed.
Second, the principle of empathy.This principle is also the "golden rule" for human behavior and business management, which is "treat others as you would like others to treat you." (Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12) Always uphold the same principle. Think about others.
▲Jesus drove out the traders in the temple. Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleansing_of_the_Temple#/media/File:El_Greco_13.jpg
2. Can we engage in commercial activities in the church?
All four gospels record that Jesus drove out all those who were doing business in the temple, overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the stools of those selling doves, and did not allow anyone to pass through the temple with utensils. He said to them: " It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.” (See Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke. Gospel 19:45-46; John 2:13-17, the descriptions in each book are similar).
In the Old Testament period, those who lived too far away from the holy place chosen by God (later the temple in Jerusalem) could sell their fields or cattle and sheep for money in order to offer sacrifices, and then go to the holy place to buy food and wine to stay with their families. Rejoice before the sanctuary (cf. Deuteronomy 14:24-26).
The "Temple" mentioned in the above scriptures refers to the Gentile Court in the outermost circle of the Temple, where merchants are allowed to do business, sell sacrificial cattle, sheep, doves and other sacrifices, or exchange them for those who pay temple taxes. Silver coins of Tyre. But this trade has long defiled the temple and deprived the Gentiles of their right to worship God. The priests colluded with businessmen and officials to share the profits, turning the temple into a messy "den of thieves" with no spiritual atmosphere, rather than a place of worship and holiness.
The implications of Jesus’ cleansing of the temple for the life of the church are:
1. The church is like a temple, a holy place. It is not suitable to engage in "commercial" activities that make profits for members, such as direct sales, introduction to purchase insurance, securities trading or loans, etc. Some activities depend on the situation and purpose. For example, holding some charity sales or fund-raising dinners in the church, with the purpose of raising money to donate to the church or support the ministry of the gospel organization, is a "holy work" and is not considered a general commercial activity, so it is allowed. However, many Catholic churches in the United States often hold bingo gambling games to raise funds, which are very controversial and should not be followed.
2. In terms of personal behavior, the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and therefore must be kept holy (see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). We must offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice, that is, we must fully commit ourselves to Christ, seek first the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and live a life that pleases God (see Matthew 6:33 and Romans 12:1 ).
Therefore, members who are engaged in business should not only avoid commercial activities in the church, but also try to exercise discretion when interacting with members of the church on weekdays to avoid conflicts of interest. It’s best not to forcefully take the initiative to sell, so as not to cause resentment or embarrassment. In fellowship gatherings, you can introduce your career or business activities, but avoid directly asking the other party if they are interested.
Nowadays, with the rapid development of the Internet, many people in the church body use social platforms to interact, such as Facebook, LINE, WeChat, etc., and some can form various groups. At this time, be very careful to avoid promotional activities. The purpose of some people joining the group is to do business. It can be said that their motives are not pure, and this is absolutely unacceptable.
The principle that commercial activities should not be carried out in the church (referring to the church) should also be extended to the interaction with members outside the church. You need to exercise caution. Pastoral colleagues and spouses should completely avoid engaging in commercial activities with members that would benefit themselves; if members come to them on their own initiative, they should handle them more carefully than ordinary customers.
It is also common that due to the convenient location, members become clients or patients of professionals who belong to the same church, such as lawyers, doctors, financial professionals (including insurance brokers, securities investment brokers, accountants, bank specialists, financial planners, etc.) , be careful to keep client or patient information confidential, and do not disclose client or patient information to unrelated persons unless required by law. (See Proverbs 20:19 and 25:9)
▲The debtor is the servant of the creditor. Image source: http://austincountynewsonline.com/are-americans-debt-slaves-7-out-of-10-americans-believe-that-debt-is-a-necessity-in-their-lives/
3. Can members borrow money from each other?
The Bible does not prohibit loans, but it does not encourage believers to go into debt. As Proverbs 22:7 says: "The rich rule over the poor, and the debtor is the servant of the lender." Borrowing creates a "master-servant" relationship. The more debt you have, the greater the debt. The situation of enslavement may become more serious, affecting the normal relationship between borrowers and lenders. Debt is even a curse for nations (see Deuteronomy 28).
General commercial lending is different from lending between relatives and friends, because in commercial lending, such as bank loans or car loans, there is no relationship between borrowers and friends. If a dispute occurs, it is mostly resolved by legal procedures. However, loans and borrowings between relatives and friends may create abnormal relationships, especially when the debts are not repaid.
It is best to avoid borrowing and lending among members to avoid creating a "master-servant" relationship and damaging each other's relationship. But if a church member is in need and borrows money from you, how should you deal with it?
First, see if there is a real need. Deuteronomy 15:7-8 says: “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any city in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you must not withhold your heart or your hands from helping your needy people. Brothers. Always open your hands to him and lend him what he lacks to make up for his shortcomings.” The target of help should be the needy brothers and sisters in the church.
Secondly, it depends on your personal ability. Helping in any way you can and willingly is a blessed act (see Deuteronomy 15:10; Psalm 112:5). Moreover, the Bible also mentions that there will never be an end to the poor on earth. God wants us to generously support our poor and needy brothers (see Deuteronomy 15:11). God will also bless us because of our good deeds of mercy to the poor (see Proverbs 19:17). .
However, some passages about helping needy brothers seem to refer to temporary help rather than ongoing help. Ongoing help may be returned to the church's charity fund. For example, some churches have charity funds that support poor members who are unable to work with a small amount of money every month for a long time to help them with their most basic living needs. Church members can donate to the charity fund, accumulate small amounts into large amounts, and use them more effectively.
If you are borrowing money for temporary living needs, such as being short of down payment for a mortgage, or asking for help due to unexpected inability to pay rent or utility bills, then try your best to help based on your ability and understanding of the lender. If some people habitually borrow money without repaying it, they should stop it in moderation, otherwise it will encourage these people to become dependent.
If a member asks for help due to business turnover, be very careful. There are too many examples of loans that never come back, and the amounts are usually huge, sometimes leaving the lenders bankrupt and losing all their money, and also causing the destruction of physical relationships in the Lord. What often happens is that members who borrowed money originally wanted to repay the money sincerely, but when it was time to pay back the money, they had other "priorities" and postponed the debt repayment. Over time, they ended up with debts that they could no longer repay. It is best for commercial loans to be supported by legal documents so that they can have a basis when disputes arise in the future.
The principle of lending is to see how much money you have left to lend, and be mentally prepared: lending this money is equivalent to giving it to the other party. If there is a family, the loan can only be made if both husband and wife agree, because taking care of the family takes priority. "Whoever does not take care of his relatives has betrayed the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Especially if he does not take care of those in his own household." (1 Timothy 5:8) Many times, husbands have to do things for the sake of face. He "instruments" his friends by lending money to support the family without his wife's consent (often for commercial purposes or as a guarantee). As a result, the other party is unable to repay or abandons the guarantee and flees, causing his family's financial ruin. This is inappropriate.
▲憐憫貧窮的蒙神賜福。圖片來源：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Re%27eh#/media/File:Charity_(Bible_card).jpg
4. Can I earn interest by lending money to members? Can I ask for repayment?
There are more than a dozen passages in the Old Testament that mention lending to brothers for profit, but most of them refer to poor brothers. The earliest scripture that appears is Exodus 22:25: “If you lend money to a poor person among my people who lives with you, you must not charge us interest like a moneylender.”
“Interest” in this verse may refer to usury. This and other passages not only condemn usury but also forbid charging the poor any interest. The purpose of prohibiting interest may be that the poor will borrow money because they are in trouble. Borrowing money is to help neighbors. It is immoral to charge interest when neighbors are in need.
Matthew 5:42 says, “Give to anyone who asks you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.” Luke 6:30 also says, “Give to anyone who asks you.” Luke 6:34-35 goes even further: "If you lend to someone and expect to receive back from him, what reward do you have? Even to sinners you lend to sinners and receive back in return. But you must love your enemies, Do good to them, and lend without expectation of repayment, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, who shows kindness to the ungrateful and to the evildoers.”
If we carefully read the context of these verses in the two gospels of Matthew and Luke, we can see that they are all related to the use of God’s love to do good to evil people and persecution of enemies. They also express love for enemies and kindness to ungrateful and evildoers. You can lend money to others without any expectation of repayment, let alone interest. Lending money to others with the hope of getting it back is the same as what ordinary non-believers (sinners) do, but Christians can adopt higher standards, imitate the spirit of Christ, be gracious to their enemies, and therefore be more gracious to their friends.
Therefore, if you lend money to those who need help in daily life, you need to be mentally prepared and do not expect to get it back, and do not calculate interest, which is equivalent to a gift. From a steward’s perspective, having the ability to help others is a blessing from God. Borrowing does not charge interest, and even the principal cannot be recovered. Although it is a loss for the lender, God promises to bless those who do this. Caleb Huang explained in the commentary version of this passage: “We really cannot love our enemies on our own, and we really cannot lend to others without expecting to repay them; but we are the sons of God and have the life of God within us. So we can do things that ordinary people can’t do.”
When building a church or purchasing an office space for a gospel organization, in addition to having the ability to donate, it is also a blessing if a Christian can lend money on interest-free or low-interest terms. Sometimes this kind of low-interest or interest-free funds is the fund that believers rely on to maintain their livelihood, which is even more valuable.
The Bible also mentions that interest can be charged on lending money to foreigners (see Deuteronomy 23:20). At that time, the Gentiles were outside the covenant and were mostly merchants, not poor farmers, so interest was allowed on them. The author believes that this principle applies to general business activities, and interest can be charged as an act of savings and investment. Therefore, if the purpose of borrowing money is to do business, buy a house or invest, it is already a commercial act, not just help. In addition to handling it carefully, it seems that you can charge appropriate interest or remuneration. Otherwise, you will be sacrificing your own interests to help others gain benefits. Benefits are also unfair.
If you borrow money from others, you should also try to pay it back. In the Old Testament, when you lend money to poor brothers, you can ask for collateral (pawn, such as Exodus 22:26, Deuteronomy 24:6, etc.), but you do not have to pay it back unless you wait until the seventh year and the debt is forgiven (see Deuteronomy 15:1-2 and 31:10).
The Lord Jesus taught us: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35) From a lender's perspective, helping others may not expect the lender to repay the debt, but from a lender's perspective, one should be active and try their best Repayment of loans. Because the Bible accuses those who fail to repay a loan as a wicked person (see Psalm 37:21), if the ability allows, you should repay the debt as soon as possible without delay (see Proverbs 3:27-28), and you should pay the debt with interest to show your gratitude. The general principle of lending is that although lenders are lenient towards others, borrowers must be strict with themselves (returning to the golden rule of life and doing things).
▲Taiwan Kingdom of God Secretary General Li Yingfang and her husband Jiang Jizhou are financially transparent as a couple and make good use of the resources given by the Lord to glorify God and benefit people. (Photo courtesy: Li Yingfang)
5. Can members be guarantors for others?
Many places in the Bible, especially in Proverbs (such as 11:15, 17:18, 20:16, 22:26-27, 27:13), mention not to vouch for others. This is a very important and practical issue. "Whoever is a surety for a stranger shall take his clothes; whoever is a surety for a stranger shall bear it." appears twice (20:16 and 27:13, the latter refers to the stranger as a foreign daughter, which has the same meaning). The "Modern Chinese Translation" translates these two verses as: "A person who is surety for a stranger is foolish; he has to use his own clothing as a pledge." Proverbs 6:1-5 advises the surety to release the surety quickly, Otherwise, it is equivalent to preparing to help the insured repay the debt.
According to the investigation, those who guaranteed for others, 50% bank lenders and 75% financial company lenders were eventually forced to repay the debts of the insured. Therefore, in order to protect your family from being involved in a surety debt, it is not advisable to be surety for others (see again 1 Timothy 5:8).
Can I guarantee for a relative (such as my children’s college loan)? We believe that the Chinese family concept is very strong. If you have made preparations in advance and have the financial resources to pay off the debt of the insured, then it is an exception to be a guarantee for your relatives. Otherwise, it is not appropriate to be a guarantee (it is best to start setting up an education fund when the child is young. Avoid temporary financing). In the United States, apart from the need for a guarantor for student loans and student rental housing, there are fewer situations where guarantees are required than in Asian countries. In Taiwan, it is common for a surety to go bankrupt trying to compensate the insured for his debts.
Being a surety for someone is equivalent to a loan. Before guaranteeing someone, you need to look at why you want to guarantee. Especially business guarantees should be avoided. Unless members are able to repay the debt of the insured, it is not advisable to agree, especially to avoid using their own real estate as collateral.
▲The ox and the donkey are different, how can they be yoked together? Image source: http://www.godandscience.org/doctrine/unequally_yoked.html
6. Can members do business in partnership?
Second Corinthians 6:14 says: "You are not worthy of unbelievers, so do not be unequally yoked together. What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? What fellowship has light with darkness?" It means Christians and non-Christs Disciples are different kinds of people, with completely different life dispositions and positions before God. The Old Testament clearly stipulates that oxen and donkeys cannot be used to plow the land at the same time, that is, they cannot be "equally yoked" (see Deuteronomy 22:10). Because they have different habits, the farming effect will not be good. The Bible teaches here that believers should not be "equally yoked" with unbelievers, just as righteousness and unrighteousness, light and darkness cannot understand each other.
The main purpose of doing business with others is to raise funds or bring in expertise so that the company can operate more efficiently and earn more profits. The Bible does not encourage believers and non-believers to do business together, that is, not to be "equally yoked." The main reason is that they have different beliefs and values. If they cannot be of the same mind, it will be difficult for them to walk together (see Amos 3:3). Many cases have also proven that such partnerships often lead to bad outcomes.
Also be very careful if you consider partnering with other Christians in business. Before entering into a partnership or partnership, you need to understand each other whether they are suitable to work together. At least you need to know whether the partners are upright, committed to Christ, manage finances according to biblical principles, and have a suitable lifestyle. If married, is the marriage happy and does the spouse approve of the partnership? Secondly, we must consider how hard each other works, how to distribute profits, and who is the general person in charge (CEO) of the company.
It is recommended that the partnership be regulated in detail in legal and written form, with details such as the distribution of responsibilities and interests of each person, including the core values of the enterprise and how to operate together, so that the operation and management can be well-founded and avoid future disputes. If you are partnering with family members, you should consider it carefully because the risks are greater and may often damage the relationship between each other and the family. Especially when family members do not agree on beliefs, values, business concepts and practices, family partnerships will cause many problems.
Conclusion
In the interpersonal relationships between members of the church, financial relationships are very important. If not handled properly, conflicts will occur, which may damage or destroy relationships, and also harm the unity of the church. Readers are welcome to write in with comments or other issues related to the handling of money in the church. As for the financial relationship between relatives within the family, it needs to be explained in another article.
Author profile
Wen Yingqian, who holds the American Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification, is currently an honorary professor of the Department of Economics and the Department of Finance of Donghua University in Taiwan. Kingdom Resources is a director of the Christian Association and the corporate editor of the talent unit of Kingdom of God Magazine. He is crowned the American Chinese Outreach Ministry. Director, Messenger Association Director.