Last night's Psalm spoke to my previous blog entry

Psalm 15

1 LORD, who may dwell in your tabernacle? who may abide upon your holy hill?

2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, who speaks the truth from his heart.

3 There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.

4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, but he honors those who fear the LORD.

5 He has sworn to do no wrong and does not take back his word.

6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

7 Whoever does these things shall never be overthrown.

The Biblical view of personal lending presents a practical expedient for getting one's neighbor through a rough patch. In the Old Testament, the lender could hold some of the borrower's property in pledge of repayment, but the idea of mounting up interest and perpetuating debt is condemned.

Banking and investment were not unknown; in fact Jesus used these as familiar illustrations for those who heard his parables about the coming Kingdom of Heaven. The Bible does not have a lot to say about this kind of normal commercial lending and investment, beyond general principles of honesty (including the marketplace).

What the Bible condemns is the manipulation of another's debt as a "profit center."