BANKRUPTCY

     Bankruptcy entails a release of all or certain debts
without the necessary consent of the creditor.  In one
sense, it violates the principle of paying back debts when
a person is able to pay (Proverbs 3:28).  On the other hand,
the nation of Israel had a limitation on debts such that
every seven years all Israelite debts were cancelled.  

No term of payment exceeded seven years, and debts incurred
late in the cycle were still released at the end of the
seven year cycle.  This enabled an Israelite of limited
means and perhaps difficult circumstances to make a fresh
start after a maximum of seven years of debt or of
indentured servitude (Deuteronomy 15:1ff.).

     This was one of God's gracious provisions for His
people under the covenant of grace.  It did not extend
generally to foreigners.  For a society which does not have
such a provision, it is not my opinion that Christians
should legislate one.  The Lord Jesus Christ teaches that
Christians should lend freely without expecting to receive
anything back in return;  this presupposes a readiness to
forgive the debt before the debt is incurred. (Matthew 5:42;
Luke 6:34-36)

     In recent times, bankruptcy has become much more easily
obtained and much more respectable, to the extent that many
people who actually could pay back all or most of their
debts are filing bankruptcy under the liberalized loopholes
which allow the filing party to keep most of his or her
personal property and pay back little or nothing to the
creditors.  This amounts to stealing.

     The assumption of debt directly incurs commitment to
pay it.  For a Christian, this involves fulfilling his word,
a very important aspect of maintaining the credibility of
the gospel before the world. (cf. Psalms 15:4-5, the man who
swears to his own hurt and does not change.)

     It is my opinion and contention that no Christian
should seek bankruptcy at any time, and especially never
personal bankruptcy.  All other possible means of settlement
should be exhausted, and "all things are possible with God."
(Matthew 19:26)
     Clyde C. Price, Jr.