“The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.”Â
Proverbs 22:7
My that is a very topical quote for a Personal Finance Blog isn’t it?
The bible says that the Rich rule over the poor, that is your thought for Labor Day, since the rich do as they please and the poor work for their lives (OK, trite and over simplification, but still pretty true). I’m sure the bible is not speaking solely on a Financial angle, but this is something to keep in mind.
The borrower is the servant to the lender is very correct. If you are in debt to someone or an institution, they call the shots, and you have no control of the situation (or very little). The only way to get back control if you are a debtor is by paying off the debt, and then you are free.
Tired of me bludgeoning you with Bible quotes on debt? How about this one then?
From Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 1603:
LORD POLONIUS:
Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend…
In life, in the bible and in literature, debt is a bad thing. I am pretty sure the Qur’an also does not view usury in a favorable fashion either.
If credit cards are the greatest source of bad debt, auto loans are a close second. You are upside down on the loan the second you drive off the dealership’s lot and it’s downhill from there. Too many people shrug off a car payment as a necessary evil.
While I agree with the point, I absolutely hate that quote from “Hamlet” being used as ‘advice’. Polonius is a time-serving, puffed-up idiot, who is perfectly willing to wreck his daughter’s life in order to get ahead. The point of the scene is that this stuffed shirt is boring his son Laertes to tears with obvious commonplaces. The association makes the words weaker rather than stronger.
Point taken, I should have checked with mydaughter who is an English major 🙂