Is it right for a Christian to engage in business which requires that he should buy goods on credit? If already in business, and having accounts against him, what would be the most consistent course of action?
The only way to know what is right for a Christian is to see what the Bible says: and the testimony of the Scriptures is wholly against going into debt. I do not know of any instance on record in the Bible, of God's children engaging in business and credit; and I do know that when at His command they built the tabernacle, and afterwards the temple, they obeyed His instructions, and had all the money, and materials for building, ready before they began.
We need not too closely press the words of the apostle, "Owe no man anything, but to love one another," (Romans 13:8) in order to show that Christians ought not to be in debt. I will not contend with one who says that the apostle has no reference to business transactions, in the words just quoted; still, nobody can prove that he has not; and the verse just preceding: "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor," (Romans 13:7) savors very strongly of a business precept. But as we are much more in danger of taking Scripture for less than it means, than for more, the safest thing for any man to do is to take Romans 12:8 as a positive command against incurring debts of any kind. There is other evidence, however, equally conclusive. "The borrower is servant to the lender" (Proverbs 22:7)
Now when we remember that God's children are not in bondage, and that the seed of Abraham are all free men, it is plain that none of those who are Israelites indeed can be in the bondage of debt.
This is made still further evident by reference to Deuteronomy 28 where Israel is told that if they hearken diligently to the voice of the Lord, to observe and to do all His commandments, "The Lord shall open unto you His good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand; and you shall land unto many nations, and you shall not borrow. And the Lord shall make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath." (Deuteronomy 28:12-13)
Thus we see that if a person is in debt it is an evidence that he has not been as faithful as he should be in serving the Lord. He has not kept all the commandments.
The person who, in accordance with the common business custom, buys goods on credit, is never free. Thousands of men with the most honest intentions have failed under just those conditions, and have died without being able to pay what they owed. Of course it was because something happened that they did not expect; but nobody can tell when the unexpected will happen, and therefore it is plain that all debt of whatever kind is mere speculation; and God's people are not to deal in uncertainties. They are to walk by faith, (2 Corinthians 5:7) which comes by hearing God's word. (Romans 10:17) They are always to know where they are and whither they are going, and how they are to get there. They are to possess substance, not a shadow.
The man who pays cash for everything he buys, when he buys, can never become bankrupt, and can never by any possibility be the cause of loss to others. He may lose everything he has, by fire or flood; but he can never have less than nothing, as would be the case if he owed for some of the destroyed property.
I am well aware that many will say that this advice, if followed, would greatly hamper business; but I have noticed that business men seem to think more of a customer who always pays cash; and I know, because it is Bible truth, that if nobody ever incurred debt, business would indeed be "business," and not, as is too often the case, a mere lottery.
It is evident, therefore, that the consistent thing for man to do, who is already in debt, is to get out of debt as quickly as possible, even if he has to diminish the amount of his stock. If a man cannot start in a business without going into debt, that fact alone is sufficient proof that he is not ready to engage in it.
What principles should guide a business man in the matter of paying tithe? If the only means of ascertaining his income involves taking stock, which is sometimes too tedious to be frequently done, how is he to decide the amount of tithe to be paid in the intervals? Also, how is he to know whether he is misappropriating funds [the Lord's tithe] in meeting his current expenses?
Every real business man always knows whether his business is gaining or losing. He cannot of course always tell to a penny how he stands, because there will always be unfinished transactions; but the man who does not always know whether he is gaining or losing in his business is not a business man, and ought not to be making believe that he is.
Every business man knows his daily or weekly takings and expenses, and can lay aside his tithe regularly, according to the proportion of those two items. He expects to live out of his business, and the least that he could do would be to set aside a sum equal to one-tenth of his living expenses. Then he will know that he is not living on money that belongs to the Lord.
If a man is in debt, is he justified in making a donation (apart from the tithe) to the Lord's work? Or should he first devote all his spare money toward removing the debt, so that he may be free to give to his own?
One text of Scripture is sufficient to settle that question. It is: "Will a man rob God? yet you have robbed me. But you say, Wherein have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings." (Malachi 3:8)
This shows that we owe offerings to the Lord, as well as the tithe. Then the question resolves itself into this: "If a man is in debt to his fellow-men, and also to God, should he give his fellow-men the preference over God, paying them all off before he pays anything to the Lord?"
Can there be any doubt as to the answer? Ought not the Lord to stand at least an equal chance with other creditors? Ought He not to receive a pro rata [Pro rata is a Latin term used to describe a proportionate allocation. It essentially translates to "in proportion," which means a process where whatever is being allocated will be distributed in equal portions. (investopedia.com)] with the rest? I think you can answer this now for yourself.
There are, I know, hundreds of possible conditions, concerning which questions might arise; but the principles here briefly set forth will cover everything. The right way is always the simplest way.--Present Truth, December 4, 1902.