A woman who lends money...

Yesterday, our hosts were talking about money. Apparently, when you borrow money from your wife/girlfriend, you should never misuse it nor fail to pay it back. Mwalimu Kingangi insisted that borrowing money from your woman was not a good idea and could lead to painful results.

My Human Opinion

First things first, prudence demands that you don't misuse or fail to pay back any borrowed money. But clearly not many people are prudent. Does a recent global economic crisis come to mind?

Anyway, women expect their men to provide. So, whereas they may not have a problem giving others (especially their relatives) money, they might feel awkward giving their spouse/boyfriend money. Now, ask them to loan their spouse money, and the awkwardness rises—significantly.

The loan application may go through, but it will be shingo upande and/or with stringent fine print, especially if your(the loanee) credit rating is poor.

My Biblical Opinion

The Bible has quite a lot to say about borrowing and lending of money and other things. Some verses give commands, others give warnings and best practices.

So, to the borrower:

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

If you borrow money and DON'T repay or you give without withholding, see what the Bible calls you

Psalm 37:21
 ²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
   but the righteous give generously;

And to the lender:

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

Women, did you read the above verse? Read again.

Now, for husbands and wives, consider this verse. The Lord commanded Israelites not to charge interest amongst themselves (Muslims still follow this in their sharia law, so why should you charge your husband/wife  interest?

Deuteronomy 23:19-20
 ¹⁹ Do not charge a fellow Israelite interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. ²⁰ You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a fellow Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess.

Give, expecting nothing in return. That is the real test of a true giver.

Luke 6:34-38

³⁴ And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. 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 children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. ³⁶ Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ³⁷ “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

All in all, it's better to be the giver, than the receiver.