A year ago or so, I watched a program on PBS about the concept of microloans. The idea is really very simple. For people who cannot afford to borrow money from traditional banks, which are typically the poor in developing countries, but have a good idea for a business and eager to implement it, a private lender loans them money to implement their idea. The "micro" part is 2 fold: the amount is fairly small, and the interest is very low. This idea has been not only been advocated but also personally tested by Mahammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient. Now, a fairly new corporation (Fall, 2005) has been started called Kiva. This lets you be personally involved. Check out the site for details, but it sounds really exciting!The Bible's addresses the topic of money more than any other topic! Just a few points that stand out (or perhaps have been more emphasized) to me:
- "The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." (Prov. 22:7)
- "If you lend to one who is needy, charge him no interest." (Ex. 22:25-27)
- "'If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you." (Lev. 25:35-36, but view the whole chapter.)
- "He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor." (Prov. 28:8)
- Extortion through excessive interest is condemned beside other vile crimes (Ez. 18)
- "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matt. 6:24, but pay close attention to the context, the surrounding verses! POWERFUL!)
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Credit to Mark Elrod's Lame-O Weblog (aka, M.E.) for "Kiva: Loans That Change Lives" and "Muhammad Yunus".
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