You’re working hard at your calling but you don’t have enough money to pay for something—a car, a coat, a computer. Should you borrow money for that purchase? Should your ministry borrow money?

As with so many matters of practical living, the biblical counsel on debt is not black and white. While the Bible repeatedly warns about the risks of going into debt, it doesn’t forbid it.

Proverbs says that loaning money with interest is okay, implying that borrowing must be too (28:8). But Paul told the Romans “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…” (13:8). Are those opposing views, or complimentary?

If you or your ministry needs to borrow, accountant and financial counselor Tom Coplandsuggests four steps you may want to consider:

• Develop a budget to ensure that you can afford the loan payments.
• Present the need to God in prayer and give God a chance to provide the cash or an alternative at lower cost.
• Ask God if it is really a need. God has promised to meet our needs, not necessarily our wants and desires.
• Seek God’s wisdom and specific direction. Does he want you to borrow the money or not?

God tells us to surround ourselves with godly counsel. Before borrowing, consider the four steps above, and consult godly counsel with prayer.