Debt, Generosity, and Avoiding Scams

What You Will Learn

• Describe biblical wisdom about borrowing
• Evaluate whether business debt is wise
• Plan generosity as a regular practice
• Recognize red flags of scams, predatory lending, and get-rich-quick schemes

Lesson Notes

What Scripture Says About Debt

Scripture does not call all borrowing sin, but treats it seriously: the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22:7); Owe no man any thing, but to love one another (Romans 13:8). Before borrowing, count the cost (Luke 14:28): Can I repay from income I can reasonably expect? What if sales are slow? Can I start smaller?

Wise and Unwise Business Debt

• Wiser: small, planned, clear repayment, for something that earns money.
• Unwise: covering losses month after month, buying image, or terms you do not understand.
• Dangerous: high-cost lenders targeting people in a hurry, co-signing (Proverbs 22:26), or lenders who use pressure or threats.

Many small businesses start debt-free: one service, one customer, reinvested profit.

Generosity Is Part of the Plan

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). A business can give through the local church, help for neighbors in need, hiring people others overlook, and mentoring. Plan giving on purpose, not from leftovers.

Scams and Get-Rich-Quick Schemes

He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent (Proverbs 28:20). Red flags:

• Big ‘guaranteed’ income for little work.
• Pressure to decide now or pay up front for a ‘starter kit.’
• Income mainly from recruiting others, not real sales.
• Payment by gift card or wire to a stranger.
• Requests for ID numbers, bank logins, or to ‘receive and forward’ money or packages.

The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going (Proverbs 14:15).

Key Terms

In-Class Activities

Scam or Legit?

Read the six printed offers. Label each Scam, Risky, or Legitimate and circle every red flag.

Should She Borrow?

Renee wants to borrow for a commercial carpet cleaner for a cleaning business she has not started. (Renee is a composite example.) List three questions she should answer first and one way to start without borrowing.

Assignment: Money Wisdom Plan

Write one page with three parts:

• My debt rules: three personal rules for business borrowing.
• My giving plan: how you will practice generosity, starting now with time, skills, or money.
• My scam check: five questions to ask before any money offer, and one trusted person you will run it by.

Graded with the Module Assignment Rubric.

Reflection Journal

Have you ever felt controlled by a debt or by someone you owed? What does freedom with money look like to you? Where could you practice generosity this week, even with very little?

Prayer focus: Ask God for freedom from debt and haste, wisdom to recognize traps, and a cheerful, generous heart.

Free to Give

Debt can feel like help at first. But Proverbs 22:7 is honest: the borrower is servant to the lender. Many small businesses that struggle are not short on customers but weighed down by payments. Starting small and growing from profit is slower, and it is free.

Coming home, you may be offered loans, ‘business opportunities,’ and quick money from every direction. Some are honest. Many are not. Scams count on urgency, secrecy, and hope. A prudent woman slows down, asks questions, and gets a second opinion (Proverbs 14:15).

Generosity is the other side of freedom. When we are not ruled by debt or haste, we can give: time, skill, encouragement, and money as God provides. Generosity is not a reward for the rich. It is a habit for the faithful, and it can begin today.

Dana was offered a ‘guaranteed’ home business for an up-front fee the week she came home. (Dana is a composite example.) She remembered her scam check, called her mentor, and walked away. Months later she was giving a little each week from an honest business she started with a bucket and a mop.

Think About It

1. What pressures make quick money tempting? ______________________
2. Who will you call before accepting any money offer? ______________________
3. How can you practice generosity now, with what you have? ______________________

Daily Devotions for Week 6

Servant to the Lender

The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.— Proverbs 22:7 (KJV)

Debt limits freedom. Borrow rarely and carefully.

Reflect: Where do you want more freedom?

Pray: Lord, lead me toward freedom.

Do: Write one rule you will keep about borrowing.

Pay Thy Debt, and Live

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.— 2 Kings 4:7 (KJV)

God provided for a widow through a small business: selling oil. He can multiply what you have.

Reflect: What ‘oil’ do you already have in your house?

Pray: Lord, multiply what I have.

Do: Name one skill you could sell honestly.

A Cheerful Giver

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.— 2 Corinthians 9:7 (KJV)

Planned, cheerful giving reflects God's own generosity.

Reflect: What can you give cheerfully this week?

Pray: Lord, make me a cheerful giver.

Do: Give something today: time, help, or a small gift.

Looking Well

The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.— Proverbs 14:15 (KJV)

Prudence asks questions before trusting an offer.

Reflect: Have you ever believed an offer too quickly?

Pray: Lord, give me prudence.

Do: Write your five scam-check questions from memory.

Gathered by Labour

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.— Proverbs 13:11 (KJV)

Slow, honest growth lasts. Quick money fades.

Reflect: What slow, steady habit could grow your future?

Pray: Lord, bless my honest labour.

Do: Set aside something small toward a goal.