Are Student Loans A Sin?

Q

I’m a graduate student who has been told in a roundabout way that my student loans for undergrad and grad school are wrong (even sinful) because we are not supposed to owe any man anything. Is this true? This has me very worried!

A

Borrowing money is not a sin. Failure to repay a loan is a kind of theft and is a sin. One of the blessings God promised to Israel for their obedience was that they would lend to many but borrow from none (Deut 28:12). One of their curses for disobedience was that the situation would be reversed and they would become the borrowers. (Deut. 28:44). It wasn’t that borrowing and lending are bad, but that their disobedience would have economic consequences.

More recently, the USA went from the world’s number one lender to its biggest borrower in the span of one generation. That was the generation that began the current trend of disassociation from God. Again, it wasn’t about borrowing or lending, it was about disobedience.

Don’t worry about your school loan. It’s one of the benefits your country provides. Get your education, and then get a good job and pay it back.