"To Lend or Not To Lend" by: Bro. Malloy Cabahug

Have you been approached by a brethren, a friend, or a relative and asking you "can you lend me a few bucks?" How have you reacted? What was your response?

This scenario is not uncommon to most, if not all of us. In most cases, this type of a scenario ends bitterly as relationship has now shifted to one being a slave to the other. (Proverbs 22:7)

The three common reasons I have observed why a brethren, a friend or a relative borrows:

• To pay-off a maturing obligation from credit cards, bank loan, or worst from loan sharks, while his or her cash will only be available in the next couple or so days.

• To augment the available fund use to pay an item he or she purchased that accordingly is a discount purchase of something he or she thinks a necessity (in most cases are stuff that one can live without like a cellphone) while his or her salary or loan application will not be released until the next couple or so days.

• To be used for a necessity, like an emergency that happens in a family such as, but not limited to purchase of medicine or for hospitalization.

The reasons could be numerous and varied, but will most likely revolve around these general cases. Whatever it falls into one should take extra caution in just pulling out your cash on the wallet and indiscriminately give it to your friend. You may putting friendship as more important than money as you empathized with the need.

However, you might consider another angle on this scenario. Have you not thought that in giving in with their request and lending them with your extra cash, you are just aggravating their problem.

The worst thing you would do is to borrow in order to lend to your friend. Or sign as a guarantor for your friend. But, these things will be discussed in a separate topic soon.

You may consider the following before lending your precious cash, again with the assumption that by doing so will not strain your own budget:

• You are not teaching him or her to get out of debt and manage his or her finances wisely. As you lend to someone to pay off the maturing debts, and once his or her cash is already available your money could either be paid back as promised or payment postponed. If the former case happens, well and good, but remember there will always be next time until the amount borrowed will gradually increase. If the latter case happens, just pray and be ready for the event that such indebtedness will be forgotten due to its continued postponement of payment. In short, you have not dealt the problem, which is the mismanagement of your brethren, friend or relative's finances, worst you have taught him or her to even get into trouble.

• If it is for purchase of a stuff, you are approving of his or her addiction to indiscriminate shopping. You are allowing him or her to purchase some luxurious items, that without it, he or she could still live. Instead, why not advise him or her the virtues of saving.

• As for the third, you may double check on the claim that the money being borrowed is really for a legitimate need. There are a lot of people who are just making up stories for them just to get what they wanted. Your cash. Granting it is a legitimate need as claimed it to be, then by all means, provide help and not a loan. Make sure that the help you will provide will not strain your budget, no more no less.

The next time your brethren, friend or relative would approach you for a loan pause, gather enough information and ask: "to lend or not to lend?"

You may also remember this quote from William Shakespeare in his literary work Hamlet: "neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft losses both itself and friend."