Something to make your brain hurt
NLT Proverbs 11:15 Guaranteeing a loan for a stranger is dangerous; it is better to refuse than to suffer later.
NLT Matthew 5:42 Give to those who ask, and don't turn away from those who want to borrow.
Can you synthesize these two ideas? PLEASE COMMENT!
posted by Emerging Kurt @ Sunday, July 30, 2006
6 comments
6 Comments:
I think guaranteeing a loan for a stranger is completely different from actually loaning directly to someone who asks. If a stranger was borrowing money from a loan company I would not guarantee his loan. But if a friend needed money I would help them out. What do you think?
Yeah, but Matthew says "anyone" doesn't it? In the verses previous to this one in Matthew it talks about carrying a pack for a soldier an extra mile and giving your t-shirt when someone asks for your shirt. A previous relationship is never mentioned and at least in the case of the soldier a previous relationship would be unlikely. So I guess the question is (at least in mind) is proverbs giving a prerequisite for lending that Jesus would have had in mind or is Jesus talking about a kind of generosity that no longer even considers personal loss in to the equation? I guess this could be seen as hyperbole like "pluck out your eye if it causes you to sin" as well. What do you think?
Now you ARE making my brain hurt! I'm going to have to ponder this for a while.
I guess I think Jesus would have lent w/o concern for personal loss. I think there is at least a touch if not more of hyperbole here though.
More like a general principle than a rule for every situation. I definetly think evangelicals would do well to err more on the side of selfless generosity though.
Yeah objectivity is crap. We are all biased and selfish. I agree that we read our own understanding of the world into scripture and miss much of what it is saying. Sometimes have read it to say things it never intended, although again even that view could be biased. I think it makes sense to listen to our detractors and writers from differing points of view to balance our reading of scripture out. Right now I am reading a book called "The Sabbath" by Abraham Joshua Hershel. A Great read and it is definetly broadening my understanding
You also asked about relying on the Spirit. I think we must rely on what the Spirit reveals to us through scripture. I believe that is best served if we come humbly surrendering our pride and our "believed" understanding of what a text says. If we come thinking we know it all, I believe we will be too proud to hear anything but our own ideas. I say this as someone who makes this mistake often not as someone who has mastered this area.
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