I have lent money to some people in my workplace. Is it right to ask it back because in doing so I have to be firm, and when they don’t return it I get weird ideas about them? Basically, my question is whether it is a sin to ask for money back once you have lent it. I know it’s a sin to keep other people’s money, but is the reverse wrong too? I know God will repay my losses, but am I being selfish or is it right? The sum of money is large but is manageable.<\/p>\n
My other question is: Why did Jesus tell us to help others? Because once you help other people, they treat you like this, which is degrading.<\/p>\n\t
The question is are you in the business of lending money to make a profit, or did you loan the money as an act of charity?<\/p>\n
There is nothing wrong with banks and other businesses that provide a service for a fee (Matthew 25:27). I will grant you that there are unethical businesses, such as the payday advance type businesses which charge far too high of an interest rate on the very people who can least afford to pay such rates. But there are legitimate businesses, both public and private, which invest money with the stated goal of gaining interest on the money. Such arrangements are documented in contracts spelling out the terms of the loan.<\/p>\n
But if, as I suspect, you are talking about an informal loan given to help someone out, then the answer is different. “Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil<\/em>” (Luke 6:30-35). When you want to help someone out, which is a noble thing to do, you have to realize that the reason the person needs help is that they aren’t good at managing money. Therefore, a loan means there is a good chance that you won’t get paid back. So in your charity, only give away money that you can willingly and freely give, not expecting it to come back. If it does, then that is wonderful. If it doesn’t, then you still have helped someone in need.<\/p>\n Christians help others because life isn’t about yourself. The second great command is “You shall love your neighbor as yourself<\/em>” (Matthew 22:39). Our focus is to be on others and not ourselves. “This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men<\/em>” (Titus 3:8). If you are helping others because you look for praise back, then you’ve missed the point. Help is offered because there is an opportunity to do good as God commanded, and thus, any praise goes to God. “If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen<\/em>” (I Peter 4:11).<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: I have lent money to some people in my workplace. Is it right to ask it back because in doing so I have to be firm, and when they don’t return it I get weird ideas about them? Basically, my question is whether it is a sin to ask for money back once you…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[194,258],"class_list":["post-30084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-benevolence","tag-money-management"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":41969,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-loaned-a-brother-money-but-he-hasnt-paid-it-back-and-i-need-it-badly\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":0},"title":"I loaned a brother money, but he hasn’t paid it back and I need it badly","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi, I'm in a bit of a situation here. A certain brother borrowed some money from me (about $500). That is indeed a lot of money because I took it from my savings to help out a fellow brother in need. He had promised to return it at the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92387,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-i-do-about-someone-not-paying-back-the-money-i-loaned\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":1},"title":"What do I do about someone not paying back the money I loaned?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, Minister, I hope you are healthy and thriving, and I want to thank you and the church for the work you are doing. I have an issue that's bothering me and my conscience. I lent some money to a colleague, and she promised to pay me on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":28396,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-friends-take-advantage-of-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":2},"title":"Why do friends take advantage of you?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 12, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: With friends, there is a tendency to take things for granted, especially when you do favors. I have a good friend who I have helped out in the past numerous times and continue to help. I lent him transportation since he had no mode of transportation, which I later\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14797,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-wrong-to-win-money-from-a-casino\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":3},"title":"Is it wrong to win money from a casino?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 27, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I basically gamble for money. I gamble on major league baseball and nothing else. I consistently win, having a 58% winning rate, going on two years straight. I am not trying to brag; I just want to tell you where I am and how I feel about this. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52138,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-the-case-of-shanti-devi-prove-reincarnation\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":4},"title":"Does the case of Shanti Devi prove reincarnation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi there, How do you explain the case of Shanti Devi? Why did she have the memory of her past life? She didn't even know Jesus, so why did this happen? This has been affecting me a lot, and I even have no motivation to do anything in my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6718,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-raffles-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":30084,"position":5},"title":"Are raffles wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, I have a concern. As far as I know, I am completely sure that games like lottery, bingo, casinos, etc. are incorrect as are all kinds of raffles or sales sponsored by the church, since it is not authorized by the New Testament for the church to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30084\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}